- Video shows residents celebrating Diwali and the Chinmaya Mission in Bakersfield.
- Diwali is the biggest Indian festival. It celebrates Rama's triumph over Ravana, signaling the victory of light over darkness, knowledge over ignorance.
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
“Diwali is the festival of lights, and we celebrate it because on this day, Lord Rama, who is the incarnation of God, destroyed the evil Ravana,” Anil Mehta said.
Anil Mehta, President of the Chinmaya of Bakersfield, a Hindu cultural center, says when Lord Rama returned to his kingdom –
“He was welcomed by people with lights,” Mehat said, “Today is a victory of good over evil, light over darkness, which means knowledge over ignorance.”
The celebration started at with a worship.
“We do Lakshmi Puja on this day, on the Diwali day. [Lakshmi] is the Goddess of wealth, and we pray to her to give us inner wealth,” said Neeru Mehta.
Neeru Mehta is the organizer for the Sunday school at Chinmaya and says Diwali is -
“A festive atmosphere, people visit each other's houses, buy gifts for each other, and it's like friendship and festival.”
They followed their worship with an outdoor festival - with booths set-up representing different regions in India: North West, East and South.
“There's so many different parts of India that have different snacks and sweets that they make,” Neeru said.
The booths were set up by teachers and students at Chinmaya – giving information about region -specific clothing, food and traditions.
“For the children here who grew up in the United States or in other countries, for them to connect with their culture and know how their culture is practiced,” Anil explained.
The celebration also featured crafts and games for the children – with a depiction of the Demon Ravana hung up so participants could defeat him by striking his naval.
“In our culture we have a saying ‘Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam’ which means, 'The world is one.’ And we also try to help each other out.”
Manish Ahuja is a volunteer at Chinmaya and he told me that the celebrations also featured a donation drive - collecting things like clothes and toys to donate to the Jamison Center.
“We’re here to not just help our community but the community at large,” Ahuja said.
Education is an important part of the Chinmaya mission, which aims to preserve Indian culture by passing it down to the younger generations
“We teach them about their culture, their heritage, their religion, and teach them values,” Anil said, “We teach them how to be good citizens of the country they live in, and at the same time not to forget their motherland.”
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