As I'm writing these lines, Dashain is being celebrated with full devotion and enthusiasm across Nepal and various parts of India. The biggest festival of Hindus has a great importance as it celebrates the triumph of good over evil. It is celebrated in different manner and with different names like Durga Puja, Dasara, Dusshera, Navratra, Vijaya Dashami etc. The celebration lasts over ten days. The almighty Durga (Devi) is worshipped in various forms for the first nine days. The term Devi represents the divine power to suppress the forces of evil and protect the holy qualities. When the forces of injustice, immorality and untruth have grown to monstrous proportions, when selfishness and self-interest are rampant, when men have lost all sense of kindness and compassion, the Devi, assuming the form of Shakti (power), seeks to destroy the evil elements. The tenth day is the called Vijaya Dashami, the celebration day that marks the victory of gods over demons.
Dashain is the greatest of all the festivals especially for the Nepalese. It is celebrated as a national festival in Nepal. There are several good facts associated to this festival that make me feel proud. However, there are definitely a couple of things that make me upset a bit. Lets discuss the good, the bad and the ugly aspects of this great Hindu festival.
The good
Dashain is the most auspicious festival. This is also marked by reunion of the families. People living abroad and far from their dear ones are set to return back (at least they try to get back) home on this occasion. The festival gives us a wonderful opportunity to be together with all our family members.
The festival teaches people the lesson of unity. They bring together people from all comers of the society, irrespective of their language, locality and sometimes, even religion. For example, various ethnic and religious groups in Nepal observe Dashain as joyously as the Hindu do. It brings people closer irrespective of religion, caste, creed, and colour. It reconnects us with nature so harmoniously, creating a strong sense of belonging. Dashain is all about forgiveness, kindness and respect.
One can't ignore the significant socio-cultural aspect of this festival. Youngsters pay their respects towards elders especially on the tenth day. They receive blessings of the elders in the form of auspicious 'Tika' on their forehead.
Above all, people look happy with smiles back on their faces. It's a rare thing in a country like Nepal that is indulged in conflicts and insurgency since more than a decade. Delicious mouthwatering foods and new cloths are among the essential ingredients of this festival. In Nepal, Dashain's most popular cuisine is meat and meat products. Meat is expensive food item and normally hard to afford for poor families. So it's the time of eating lots of meat.
Dashain is also a good time for the business activities. People mostly buy clothes and food items. One can notice crowded clothes shops, departmental stores, shopping complex, etc. Besides cloths, people also buy electronic appliances, jewelry, furniture, home appliances, etc.
The bad
During the Dashain festival, people sacrifice animals (typically from the seventh day to the ninth day). Hundreds of thousand animals are slaughtered in the name of offering to the goddess Durga who killed the demon Mahisasura and freed the people from his oppression. The animals thus sacrificed are believed to be the part of the forces that had fled the battle scene and therefore deserved the capital punishment. And the tradition of sacrifice continues till today despite of some debate that has recently started over these merciless killings. Every living creature on the earth has equal right to live peacefully.
The ugly
Gambling and playing cards, although not legal in Nepal, have become a routine stuff during festival period especially among the younger generation. Playing cards usually among the family members are being popular during Dashain. It's okay if these growing traditions are followed for purely entertainment and fun. However, last few years have seen several instances of people loosing their properties in gambling. Many tend to drink a lot of alcohol during the festival period more than in other days. This sometimes results in people quarreling with each other. At times, fight among the family members and/or neighbors threatens to spoil the joyous mood of people.
The celebration of Dashain warrants huge expenses. People belonging to the poor segment of the society often find it hard to meet the high expenses. However, they push themselves beyond their economic capabilities. They have to provide the family members with new clothes and delicious foods by hook or by crook. As a result, people even end up taking loan in order to meet the festival requirements.
The lesson to be learned
According to the mythological stories, Ravana is said to have ten heads. However, he was not born with ten heads. As a matter of fact, the ten heads of Ravana correspond to an interesting analogy. Kama (lust), Krodha (anger), Moha (delusion), Lobha (greed), Mada (pride), Maatsyasya (envy), Manas (mind), Buddhi (intellect), Chitta (will) and Ahamkara (the ego) - all these ten attributes constituted the ten heads.
If we reflect upon our society, it won't take long time to know what actually the ten heads of demon Ravana mean. These ten heads are the evils prevailing in our society. These ten heads can be thought of as the symbol of injustice, immorality, corruption, betrayal, selfishness, overpopulation, poverty, illiteracy, rape, murder, discrimination, hatred feelings and what not. Every year we celebrate our festivals but how much we have learned from these mythological stories? We celebrate the killing of demons but how about the existing demons in our neighborhood? Ravana may be within us or moving freely in our society. Have we ever thought that we hardly go in to the crux of the matter and that we are running from the reality? Shouldn't we stand against the Ravana within us and the Ravana existing in our society rather than celebrating the festival in mere symbolic sense?
Vijaya Dashami marks the victory of the gods over the demons. There are basically two stories associated with this day. This is the day when the lord Rama managed to kill the demon Ravana. The second story commemorates the day as the triumph of the goddess Durga over the demon Mahisasur. The first nine days signify the nine days of intense battle between the goddess and the demon while, the tenth day is the day when Mahisasur was finished.
Dashain is the greatest of all the festivals especially for the Nepalese. It is celebrated as a national festival in Nepal. There are several good facts associated to this festival that make me feel proud. However, there are definitely a couple of things that make me upset a bit. Lets discuss the good, the bad and the ugly aspects of this great Hindu festival.
The good
Dashain is the most auspicious festival. This is also marked by reunion of the families. People living abroad and far from their dear ones are set to return back (at least they try to get back) home on this occasion. The festival gives us a wonderful opportunity to be together with all our family members.
The festival teaches people the lesson of unity. They bring together people from all comers of the society, irrespective of their language, locality and sometimes, even religion. For example, various ethnic and religious groups in Nepal observe Dashain as joyously as the Hindu do. It brings people closer irrespective of religion, caste, creed, and colour. It reconnects us with nature so harmoniously, creating a strong sense of belonging. Dashain is all about forgiveness, kindness and respect.
One can't ignore the significant socio-cultural aspect of this festival. Youngsters pay their respects towards elders especially on the tenth day. They receive blessings of the elders in the form of auspicious 'Tika' on their forehead.
Above all, people look happy with smiles back on their faces. It's a rare thing in a country like Nepal that is indulged in conflicts and insurgency since more than a decade. Delicious mouthwatering foods and new cloths are among the essential ingredients of this festival. In Nepal, Dashain's most popular cuisine is meat and meat products. Meat is expensive food item and normally hard to afford for poor families. So it's the time of eating lots of meat.
Dashain is also a good time for the business activities. People mostly buy clothes and food items. One can notice crowded clothes shops, departmental stores, shopping complex, etc. Besides cloths, people also buy electronic appliances, jewelry, furniture, home appliances, etc.
The bad
During the Dashain festival, people sacrifice animals (typically from the seventh day to the ninth day). Hundreds of thousand animals are slaughtered in the name of offering to the goddess Durga who killed the demon Mahisasura and freed the people from his oppression. The animals thus sacrificed are believed to be the part of the forces that had fled the battle scene and therefore deserved the capital punishment. And the tradition of sacrifice continues till today despite of some debate that has recently started over these merciless killings. Every living creature on the earth has equal right to live peacefully.
The ugly
Gambling and playing cards, although not legal in Nepal, have become a routine stuff during festival period especially among the younger generation. Playing cards usually among the family members are being popular during Dashain. It's okay if these growing traditions are followed for purely entertainment and fun. However, last few years have seen several instances of people loosing their properties in gambling. Many tend to drink a lot of alcohol during the festival period more than in other days. This sometimes results in people quarreling with each other. At times, fight among the family members and/or neighbors threatens to spoil the joyous mood of people.
The celebration of Dashain warrants huge expenses. People belonging to the poor segment of the society often find it hard to meet the high expenses. However, they push themselves beyond their economic capabilities. They have to provide the family members with new clothes and delicious foods by hook or by crook. As a result, people even end up taking loan in order to meet the festival requirements.
The lesson to be learned
According to the mythological stories, Ravana is said to have ten heads. However, he was not born with ten heads. As a matter of fact, the ten heads of Ravana correspond to an interesting analogy. Kama (lust), Krodha (anger), Moha (delusion), Lobha (greed), Mada (pride), Maatsyasya (envy), Manas (mind), Buddhi (intellect), Chitta (will) and Ahamkara (the ego) - all these ten attributes constituted the ten heads.
If we reflect upon our society, it won't take long time to know what actually the ten heads of demon Ravana mean. These ten heads are the evils prevailing in our society. These ten heads can be thought of as the symbol of injustice, immorality, corruption, betrayal, selfishness, overpopulation, poverty, illiteracy, rape, murder, discrimination, hatred feelings and what not. Every year we celebrate our festivals but how much we have learned from these mythological stories? We celebrate the killing of demons but how about the existing demons in our neighborhood? Ravana may be within us or moving freely in our society. Have we ever thought that we hardly go in to the crux of the matter and that we are running from the reality? Shouldn't we stand against the Ravana within us and the Ravana existing in our society rather than celebrating the festival in mere symbolic sense?
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8 Comments:
I always like to read you. I liked this post too. really interesting way to describe the various aspects of Dashain celebrations. Wish you and your family a happy Vijaya Dashami 2066.
Never Stop Dreaming! cheers, my friend.
A very good and well analyzed post!
I hope you had a great Dashain!
Dashain is often referred to as a 'secular festival' as several other religious groups participate and enjoy in large numbers. recently, I read that in India, the Karnataka state government officially promoted the state’s Dasara festival as a secular celebration. I like every aspects of Dashain except the animal killings in the name of god. I am not a vegetarian but still I feel awkward when mass slaughtering happens in the temples during Dashain. Lets not institutionalize mass killings! by the way, I like playing cards in Dashain and Tihar but just for fun. I think you also like it, don't you?
I hope you had a great Dashain. keep sharing your thoughts.
Yup! dashain is a secular festival of Hindus all over the world. But playing cards, etc is very bad habit.
Thank you all for sharing your opinions on Dashain festival.
Basanta ji, I won't say it was a great Dashain as we are away from home. I think you will agree with me on how much we miss our dear ones during the festival. Anyway, we had a small gathering on the last day of Dashain (Tika) here.
Alok, I agree with your views to some extent. well, I too like playing cards during festivals but have not been able to do it for last few years. However, my point here is not to criticize those who play cards purely for fun. But, there is a limit to every thing!
I've seen a statue of Durga in the British Museum before. Is it true that she is a "weapon" created by the other Hindu gods?
I like ur post about our festival...
it's our culture and there's bad or good both ahve in culture..
we justify it for our good's...
and according to time everything is changed..
so now we are the new generation and what's good or bad in our culture we know and it's our responsbilities to justify and make changes or edit of them....
I like your post. Actually it is very interesting and the way of describing is fantastic. I took some ideas from this post and wrote my own essay on the topic "Social problems prevalent during Dashain And Tihar" and i got 9.5 out of 10 which is totally fantastic outcome. So thanks for this post and context about our festival
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