Diwali Celebration

Saturday, November 2, 2013

5:00 pm to 12:00 midnight

Celebrate the magnificent festival of Diwali 

at Radha Madhav Dham 

and enlighten your heart with the flame of devotion to God.

Come with your family and friends and celebrate Diwali at Radha Madhav Dham on Saturday, November 2, 2013.   The very special Diwali program will include Dinner Maha Prasad, Sita Ram abhishek, satsang and Diwali speech by Sushree Diwakari Devi, cultural dances of India, a leela of Ram's return to Ayodha & meeting with Bharat, fireworks, outdoor dandia garba danced to a live band, indoor continuous chanting until Midnight.  Bhagwan Ram's midnight Arti will conclude the 2013 Diwali celebration. 

Program Schedule:

5:00 pm  :    Dinner Maha Prasad
6:30 pm  :   Sita Ram Abhishek
7:00 pm  :   Speech by Sushree Diwakari Devi
7:45 pm  :   Cultural Program and Ram leela
9:20 pm  :   Magnificent fireworks display
9:30 pm  :   Dandia Garba (dancing) outdoors on Maha Raas Mandal
                        along with chanting inside the Prayer Hall
12:00 am :  Offer Arti to Bhagwan Ram

Diwali, also called Deepavali, is one of the most popular Hindu festivals. It is known as the festival of lights, which stems from its origin. Bhagwan Ram (Who is a more formal form of Shree Krishna) had been away in the forest for 14 years, and was now returning home to the city of Ayodhya. The happiness of the residents of Ayodhya knew no bounds as they cleaned every corner of their homes and decorated every building in the entire city with diyas (lights) in anticipation of Ram's return. They wanted to welcome Him back with all their hearts. When Ram was entering the city, all the citizens wished to meet Him first. Seeing their desire, Ram multiplied Himself into as many forms as there were people and met them all simultaneously. Each person thought that Ram had come to them first. This was the scene as Ram returned to Ayodhya, and it is to commemorate this event that we decorate with lights on Diwali.

The use of lights on Diwali also carries a deeper philosophical meaning. Within each person's heart, there lies the potential for both good and evil. These qualities are called sattva and tam in Sanskrit and they represent light and darkness, respectively. Developing the sattvic quality of one's mind through good thoughts and actions, and through devotion to God, is like lighting up your heart, which drives away the darkness of tam. You can learn more about the true meaning of Diwali by reading English translation of a Diwali message delivered by Jagadguru Shree Kripaluji Maharaj (Light on the Occasion of Deepavali part 1 and part 2)

When Radha and Krishna were on the earth planet, They also celebrated Diwali in a special way. They went to Mansi Ganga (a large holy pond near Govardhan hill) and placed floating diyas on the water from opposite sides of the pond. Then They, along with all the Gopis and Gwalbals, created waves with their hands, causing the diyas to cover the entire pond.