| Thousands of Guyanese of all walks of life lined the East Coast Demerara seawall all the way to the village of La Bonne Intention (LBI),Cheap NFL Jerseys, last evening, to get a glimpse of the always spectacular Diwali Motorcade.The event is put on annually by the Guyana Hindu Dharmic Sabha and receives the support of corporate Guyana to put out elaborate floats.While Diwali is celebrated in other member states of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), mainly Trinidad and Tobago and Suriname, Guyana is the only country that assembles such a spectacle prior to Diwali.When the event started decades ago, it was mainly of vehicles with lights, but the motorcades have grown over the years to include artistic depictions of Hindu gods and goddesses, namely Maha Lakshmi Mata, who Hindus worship as the Goddess of Light.In addition, young men are dressed to depict various Hindu gods such as Krishna, Ganesh and Ram.A series of motorcades are held countrywide and culminate in the grand motorcade which leaves annually from the Rama Krishna Mandir in Campbellvile and proceeds to the LBI Community Centre Ground.The motorcades bring out the creativity of Hindu adherents. Mainly mandirs (Hindu congregations) pool their resources to have the best decorated vehicle and vie for the top prize. Almost all of them feature some representation of Diwali, with the most common attraction being a lotus flower with a little girl decked out as Maha Lakshmi Mata.The grand show on the streets attracted thousands. Many parents brought their children out and they camped out on the lawns of the seawall – those who couldn’t find sitting room on the seawall.Yet many more stayed in their vehicles and waited, and waited. They never left until they could see the floats, which are accompanied by either live singing by Mandir groups, or recorded music paying homage to the goddess Maha Lakshmi.While the yet thousands more who flocked the LBI Community Centre waited for the floats to arrive, a grand cultural show was put on.This show featured singing by notable Indian singer Sookranie Boodhoo and Mohan Nandu. Dances were done by the Dharmic Sabha.At LBI, Public Service Minister, Dr Jennifer Westford,Cheap Jerseys From China, performing the duties of President, and Finance Minister, Dr Ashni Singh, acting as Prime Minister,Wholesale NFL Jerseys, joined the spectators.Also present was Minister within the Ministry of Health Dr Bheri Ramsaran and President of the Guyana Hindu Dharmic Sabha, Pandit Reepu Daman Persaud.Diwali is being celebrated as a national holiday in Guyana today.On the night of Diwali, Hindus light diyas – small clay pots filled with oil and a cotton wick – to signify victory of good over the evil.In Hinduism,Cheap Jerseys Store, across Guyana, Diwali is the homecoming of Lord Rama after a 14-year exile in the forest and his victory over Ravana. In the legend, the people of Ayodhya (the capital of his kingdom) welcomed Rama by lighting rows of lamps.While Diwali is popularly known as the “festival of lights”, the most significant spiritual meaning is “the awareness of the inner light”.Central to Hindu philosophy is the assertion that there is something beyond the physical body and mind which is pure, infinite,holesale NFL Jerseys, and eternal, called the Atman.Just as one celebrates a birthday, Diwali, for Hindus, is the celebration of this inner light, in particular the knowing of which outshines all darkness (removes all obstacles and dispels all ignorance),Authentic NHL Jerseys, awakening the individual to one’s true nature, not as the body, but as the unchanging, infinite, immanent and transcendent reality.With the realization of the Atman comes universal compassion, love, and the awareness of the oneness of all things (higher knowledge). This brings Ananda (inner joy or peace).Diwali celebrates this through lights, flowers, sharing of sweets, and worship. |
