Deepavali or Diwali?

The debate over the term Deepavali or Diwali popped up again this year.

Many Hindus themselves have different views on both the terms.

Every word has a meaning.

Deepavali is a religious festival of the Hindus. It refers to the rows of lights that is put at homes.

Diwali, on the other hand, is a corruption of the word, Deepavali because some people in the West were not able to pronounce Deepavali.

The meaning of Diwal is bankrupt. So are they anyone interested in getting bankrupt while celebrating Deepavali?

To illustrate further, Bombay was the name given by the British to the city of Mumbai.

Mumbai is the name derived from Goddess Mumba Devi.

The name was reverted back to original in 1995.

Going back to Deepavali, its religious significance is related to the Lord Ram, Krishna and there are also aspects Goddess Lakshmi in the celebration.

Hindus celebrate Deepavali to commemorate the return of Ram to Ayodhya after defeating Raavan in Sri Lanka. It is also to celebrate Krishna defeating the various bad characters in upholding dharma.

Hindus clean their homes days before Deepavali to usher Goddess Lakshmi into their lives. Lakshmi is the goddess related to wealth.

As stated earlier, it is a religious festival.

Hence it is a wonder why two news organisations found it worthy to publish stories of individuals who converted out of the faith without bothering to understand the significance of the Festival of Lights.

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