Diwali - A Festival Of Lights, Unity And Prosperity Poem by Bernedita Rosinha Pinto

Every faith has its own
reverence, worship and celebration;
Diwali brings lamps, lights and laughter,
in every household, in every Hindu,
it evokes a sense of love, joy, unity and prosperity.

God speaks a language which only an individual
from his very own religion can comprehend,
so deep-rooted is the essence of faith
in those veins where blood rushes through
with the meaning of his religion gushing in him
that as he inherits it, he perceives it
the dimension, the dynamism of his religion
bequeathed upon him, as long as he lives.

So much of solace and blessings he receives
when he calls out to His Gods in his own way,
by his own prayers, by his own sense of worship
those recitals of prayers, those verses, those hymns
for centuries it has been on the lips of his ancestors
as faith itself becomes the first healer in all situations.

And as traditions gets handed to generations
they know why Diwali - the Festival of Light
brings much enthusiasm, exuberance in every heart
as new clothes women and young girls wear -
bright colored sarees, salwar-kameez they adorn,
boys in their best attires, all smiling and charming.

O' to find out the momentum of joy
which every Hindu feels when it is Diwali,
it is only that one has to be born as a Hindu
to know the depth and breadth of a religion
which makes every home spin around a colorful Rangoli
with dance and music and lighted lamps all around
that it looks like stars have descended on earth momentarily.