Diwali Photos

Diwali!

We just wanted to share with you all some pics we took a few days ago on Diwali. Diwali is one of the numerous festivals/holidays celebrated in India, and one of the biggest. It is also called the Festival of Lights. On Diwali the return of the king Ram to his kingdom Ayodhya is celebrated. Ram, the rightful king of Ayodhya had been exiled from his kingdom for 14 years, most of which he spent in the jungle. His wife is kidnapped from him by an evil demon called Ravan. Ram succeeds in defeating the demon and taking back his wife, returning victorious to claim his throne. His reign is called the golden age. On the way back to Ayodhya, people from the kingdom kept lights on the roofs of their houses so that these would show Ram the way back home. This is what people celebrate and remember on Diwali.

For us, Diwali is a celebration of the Light of Life who came to establish his perfect kingdom in this world. It is like Christmas! So, on this day we get together and worship and light diyas (oil lamps) and share sweets with friends. And, we do what all the other people do in India: light fireworks!

It is hard to describe what craziness is going on during Diwali days - the whole sky is full of light (and smoke!) and the air filled with almost constant bangs! It can be quite scary actually. They put fireworks in the middle of the roads, set off rockets, so all pedestrians and vehicles have to stop and wait for them to pop before continuing on. Saturday night some kid set off a rocket which flew uncontrolled just feet above our heads - scary!
We really had fun though ;-)

To wrap it up here we'll post some pictures on the next entry (above).

Shanti, Shanti, Shanti, (Peace)
Dana & Joel

The Ashram Pictures

Joel, Dana and friends eating lunch with our old Hindi language Guru (teacher) Swami Muktanand one of the founders of Mukteshwar Ashram ('Lord of Salvation' Monastery - or spiritual community centre)

The Ashram, being a very old building near the river in Varanasi is currently under repairs.


A traditionally carved stone work lattice window at the Ashram