Pakistan

This is to greet all followers of Hindu and Sikh faith who await and celebrate the festival of Diwali. There are a number of legends associated with this marvelous celebration. One of these relates to the Goddess of wealth, Lakshmi who is stated to have taken refuge in the ocean of milk once the gods were sent into exile. The oceans churned and Lakshmi was reborn. The other legend is about Lord Vishnu who rescued Lakshmi from the prison of King Bali on this day. The third version is about Lord Krishna who killed the demon king Narakaasura and rescued 16,000 women from his captivity. The fourth narration is about the return of Pandavas from their 12 years of vanavas on this day. The fifth version talks about Lord Rama having killed Ravana on the Vijaya Dashami and returned to Ayodhya on this day. People of Ayodhya celebrated the occasion by decorating the entire city with lamps. Going by the sixth version Lakshmi visits her devotees and sets up residence in the house which she finds most hospitable. So, the day of Diwali is spent by devotees for cleaning, painting the walls, decorating the floor with attractive rangoli designs. According to the seventh version, Diwali is the day on which great king Vikramaditya was coronated which started the Vikrama era. The people of Ujjain celebrate it by lighting lamps. Diwali is also considered to be the day of nirvana or passing away of the great Mahavira Jain. The lighting of the lamps is a symbolically done as substitute for the light knowledge that was extinguished with Mahavira's passing. This is also the day on which Guru Har Gobind Ji (1595-1644), the sixth Guru of Sikhism, who was imprisoned along with 52 other Hindu kings at Fort Gwalior by Emperor Jahangir was released. After freeing the other prisoners, he went to the Harmandir Sahib (Golden Temple) in the holy city of Amritsar, where he was welcomed happily by the people who lit candles and diyas to greet the Guru.

Diwali is also a harvest festival. It marks the start of the Lunar year. One of the rituals traditionally associated with Diwali is gambling. Buying new clothes, exchange gifts and sweets with friends and neighbors, lighting of lamps and candles and lots of fireworks and doing Lakshmi Pooja are the most common rituals associated with Diwali.

While Diwali is popularly known as the "festival of lights", the most significant spiritual meaning is "the awareness of the inner light". I wish the best of awareness of the inner light to everyone including myself.