This weekend marked the end of Diwali, a significant days-long holiday for multiple faiths around the world. Known as India’s festival of lights, the holiday has religious significance for Hindus, Sikhs, Jains and Buddhists.
After a much smaller gathering last year, Nashville’s largest Hindu Temple hosted a Diwali that once again looked — and sounded — like a celebration.
All visitors took off their shoes before going upstairs at Sri Ganesha Temple in West Nashville. Kids slid back and forth, taking advantage of socks and tile floors.
At the same time, inside the prayer hall, priests performed Puja, or worship, while devotees reverently filed through, stopping to pay tribute to dozens of deities around the room.
Naga Rajan is a board member at the temple, and a volunteer tour guide. He says there’s a few reasons to celebrate Diwali, which literally means “row of lights.”
“Illumination, basically,” Rajan says. “So, the significance of that is a triumph of goodness over evil. Light over darkness. Knowledge over evil. And then hope over despair.”
Tasha Lemley WPLN News“There is quite a bit of misrepresentation or misinformation … on Hinduism,” Sri Ganesha board member Naga Rajan said, explaining more about the faith’s history with Diwali.
For those who celebrate Diwali, the holiday can be to commemorate Lord Ram’s return home after a long exile and hard fight, to celebrate the bond between brothers and sisters or to honor a number of God’s various forms.
“In Hinduism, there is only one God, called Brahman,” Rajan says.
The visible depictions, like Ganesha, Vishnu, Shiva and Parvathi, are just various forms of the same God, he says.
“There is a lot of symbolism in Hinduism,” Rajan says. “There are different layers of meaning in every concept.”
Tasha Lemley WPLN NewsRajesh Kumar brandishes a flaming sword to celebrate Diwali, the festival of lights.
Whatever the reason one celebrates, this night is special.
Tasha Lemley WPLN NewsA child looks on as older children and adults light fireworks in the Sri Ganesha Temple parking lot for Diwali.
As the Puja continued in the prayer hall, right outside in the parking lot, people shot off fireworks in an enviable display. Sparklers were everywhere and smoke billowed down onto Old Hickory Boulevard. Parents taught their kids how to safely light fuses, encouraging them to “Get in there!” and celebrate the festival of lights.
“Happy Diwali!” shouted one child with a sparkler in each hand.
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