Abundance is a beautiful word; it gives a feeling of completeness. The Universe responds to what we are feeling. Abundance is not related only to money. It is a about feeling of contentedness with all the goodness life has offered. The word abundance encompasses health, relationships, standard of living, profession, entertainment, affection, and status. On Dhanteras Hindus thank Goddess of abundance by doing her pooja.  The festival of Dhanteras falls in the month of Kartik which usually comes in October/November.

This auspicious day is celebrated two days before the festival of lights, the Diwali. Dhanteras holds special significance for the business community due to the customary purchases of precious metals on this day. On Dhanteras, business premises are refurbished and decorated. They are cleaned up; the entrances are decorated with flowers and mango leaves garlands. They are decorated even with motifs, Rangoli designs to welcome the Goddess Laxmi.  Small footprints are sketched with rangoli powder to signify her long-awaited arrival. Oil lamps are lit all through the day and night.

Dhanteras is considered very auspicious by Hindus; they purchase gold or silver articles or at least one or two new utensils. Some people buy large quantity of grains on this day. Gold, silver, metal, grains are considered as “Dhan” wealth and good luck among Hindus. You will hear devotional songs in praise of Goddess Lakshmi in many people’s house on Dhanteras.

Hindus also worship Lord Kuber who is believed to be the treasurer of wealth.  The meaning of the name ‘Kuber’ in Sanskrit is ‘poorly–shaped.’ I am yet to see Lord Kubera’s well shaped statue in any temple; it seems he assists the Goddess of wealth. His name is derived from ‘kumba’ which means ‘to conceal.’ You will see Lord Kubera as fat and dwarf man embedded with lot of jewelry and carrying a bag of gold coins.

On Dhanteras people worship Lakshmi and Kuber together. You will see rush in all jewellery and utensil shops on this day. People wear new clothes, ornaments, perfume as they light the first day of Diwali lamps.

The business community gambles on this day. It is considered lucky and auspicious to play cards on Dhanteras as well as Laxmi Puja. Men and women flock to clubs and friend’s houses to play cards.  It is believed that on playing cards, the goddess of wealth smiles upon the player and ensures her goodwill. Well, the winners can enjoy the windfall and the losers can wait for the next Diwali to come around! It is a festival of gaiety and prosperity. It is also believed by some people that losers are in for some good news. So many players relax and take the game lightly – for the sake of losing!

Dhanteras marks the beginning of Diwali. And, Diwali is a festival of abundance. The festival of Diwali or Deepavali symbolizes the victory of good over evil. The Sanskrit word “Deepavali” means “an assortment of lights.” The lights signify the conquest of brightness over darkness. It is festival to cheer, new beginning, and gathering, giving and receiving.  India is a spiritually oriented country. Spirituality lies in the ethnicity of this country. Therefore, festivity is a part and parcel of Indians. The varieties of festivals are directly linked to its cultural heritage.

Diwali is a festival of abundance; galore of sweets, lights, clothes and gifts.  It is about giving and receiving. We give gifts to our neighbors, friends and relatives to make this festival more special.  Gifts are a great way to express your feelings, love and appreciation. A gift says thousand things without speaking and is a binder in any relationship. Everyone loves to receive gifts from the person they like or love. At the same time, you would also like to express your feelings with the help of this gifts giving custom. Yes, you would agree on that it has become customary to give presents to your near and dear ones on any special occasion or just to make any day an occasion that they would remember when look at that gift.

Friends, abundance begins in the mind. Cultivate the belief of abundance in your life by enjoying each day. Abundance is a feeling of warmth; it is about enjoying each day with your family, each one’s small or big accomplishments, good food, good music, travelling, pursuing your hobby, and entertainment. Abundance is seeing a seedling grow; sprouting of flowers, soaking in rains, soaking in sunlight on a cold day. It is simply a feeling of fulfillment, of being filled with goodness. No matter what you are doing and where you are learn to nurture the feeling of abundance.

WISHING YOU ALL A VERY HAPPY AND PROSPEROUS DIWALI!!!

The festival is celebrated to enjoy the triumphant return of Lord Rama to Ayodhya, after his voluntary exile of 14 years. The people of Ayodhya welcomed Rama by illuminating the capital with lights. Lord Rama is said to have governed for a long time during which the people were happy and contented. This festival is also celebrated as Lord Krishna killed the demon king Narakaasura; the demon’s mother, Mother Earth, requested that the occasion be celebrated as one of euphoria. Lord Krishna agreed to her wishes and, since then, the celebration has continued with lights, crackers, sweets and festivity.

Diwali brings the light of happiness, togetherness, spiritual enlightenment and prosperity for one and all. The lighting of lamps is a way of paying obeisance to God for attainment of health, wealth, knowledge, peace, bravery and fame. Crackers are burnt because their sounds kill bad-omens. The festival of Diwali fills the air with a sensation of goodness and a blissful atmosphere. The reality is that this festival denotes festivity to life….it signifies that life is nothing but a festival, because when you are unhappy, you also throw unhappiness all around and when you are happy you spread happiness all around.

People express their cheerfulness by lighting earthen lamps (diyas), people wear new clothes, share sweets, decorate the houses, burst firecrackers and inviting near and dear ones to their homes for participating in their happiness.

The celebration is about fear, anger, jealousy accumulated in your mind in the last one year should get suspended, should get washed away. Hence, people make new resolutions and new beginnings on the eve of Diwali.

Let us pray to the Goddess Laxmi to lead us from untruth to truth, from darkness to light and from death to immortality!!!

Diwali is one of the most auspicious festivals in India; it’s a festival of lights. Diwali has a unique charm of its own; it is known as festival of prosperity. People start preparing for the celebrations well before the start of the festive season. They clean, pain, decorate their homes and prepare exotic dishes to be distributed among the loved ones. The celebration begins with shopping, buying gifts for distribution. It is difficult to imagine celebrating Diwali without thinking about giving or receiving Gifts. Gifting is a major part of the celebration.

In India, Diwali celebration is a time for the corporate to distribute gifts; from micro, small, medium to big corporate houses all believe in gifting their employees, suppliers, consultants, bankers, channel partners etc. It is one of the best times to reward the employees for all their hard work throughout the year: employees get their bonus, this is a very old method of rewarding the employees.

The rich and the poor all celebrate the festival in their own way. One can add a personal touch and, unique ideas while gifting in Diwali. People give gifts because it helps in strengthening relationship; the gifts are a wonderful way to express affection. For some gifting is a way to celebrate the festival, while for others it is a special occasion to let family and friends know that the giver cares for them. In short, people give gifts as a way of showing thoughtfulness, love and affection. When we give gifts, it brings joy or pleasure to the receiver. In addition, giving gifts is something which usually makes us feels good. When shopping for gifts it does not matter whether the gift is small or big, expensive of cheap, the value in terms of love is beyond measure.

Gifting is an art. It shows the gracefulness of the giver and the receiver as well. Giving a handmade gifts indicates that one is willing to put in the time and efforts for the loved ones. It’s just not crafts or painting which can be given as gifts in this category it can also be homemade chocolates and cakes, self-knitted scarves and more. Gifting handicrafts and items from cottage industry shows how much one cares for the artisans and micro industry workers.  I believe people enjoy gifting because they reaps the biggest psychological gains from a gift. The act of giving helps to think of others. When we think of others and put them ahead of ourselves, we reduce our thoughts about ourselves and thereby resting our ego a little bit. Similarly, when we accept gifts with genuine gratitude irrespective of whether we like it or not, we reduce thoughts about ourselves and thereby our ego. This is a spiritual benefit of giving and receiving gifts.

Gifts are given to mark milestones, and Diwali is one of the most auspicious occasion. Diwali also marks the end of harvest season of the year.  This is the time, farmers measure their harvest from their crops. Farmers gratify the mother earth for the plentiful bounty of the year gone by, and hence they share their happiness with everybody else. In fact this is one important reason why they exchange gifts and sweets.

That said this is not the only reason why we gift sweets. Diwali also means start of a new year. It also marks the beginning of a new farming, starting a new year of business. We welcome New Year by firing crackers, wearing new clothes, visiting temples, visiting the friends and relatives and exchanging sweets and gifts.

Wishing a very Happy Diwali and a Prosperous New Year to all regular and wonderful readers on my blog!!!