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Hindu festivals are combinations of reli-gious ceremonies, semi-ritual spectacles, worship, prayer, lustrations, processions, music, dances, magical acts—participants throw fertilizing water or, during the services to God and with the conviction

that all life is sacred and God-centred. A devout way of living and a nonemotional mysticism are thus much recommended.

Kashmir Shaivism developed the prac-tice of a simple method of salvation: by the recognition ( pratyabhijna )—direct, spontaneous, technique-free, but full of bhakti —of one’s identity with God.

Vaishnava Rites

The faithful Shrivaishnava Brahman arranges his day around fi ve pursuits:

purifi catory rites, collecting the requi-sites for worship, acts of worship, study and contemplation of the meaning of the sacred books, and meditative con-centration on the Lord’s image. Lifelong obligations include the performance of sacrifi ces and other rites, restraint of the senses, fasting and soberness, worship, recitation of the scriptures, and visits to sacred places. Ramanuja, the great theologian and philosopher of the 12th century, recommended, in addition to these practices, concentration on God, a virtuous way of living, and insensibility to luck and misfortune.

According to Madhva ( c. 1199– c.

1278), faithful observance of all regula-tions of daily conduct—including bathing, breath control, etc.—will contribute to eventual success in the quest for lib-eration. Devout Vaishnavas emphasize God’s omnipotence and the far-reaching eff ects of his grace. They attach much value to the repetition of his name or of sacred formulas ( japa ) and to the praise

Ramanuja, bronze sculpture, 12th cen-tury; from a Vishnu temple in Thanjavur (Tanjore) district, India. Courtesy of the Institut Français d’Indologie, Pondicherry

people who live along the west coast of India from Mumbai to Goa, the descen-dants of heroes who died on the battlefield perform a dance, sword in hand, in hon-our of their ancestors until they believe themselves possessed by the spirits of the heroes. In Bengal swings are made for Krishna; in other regions a bonfire is also essential. The tradition that accounts for the festival of Holi describes how young Prahlada, in spite of his demonic father’s opposition, worshipped Vishnu and was carried into the fire by the female demon Holika, the embodiment of evil, who was believed to be immune to the ravages of fire. Through Vishnu’s intervention, Prahlada emerged unharmed, while Holika was burned to ashes. The bonfires are intended to commemorate this event or rather to reiterate the triumph of vir-tue and religion over evil and sacrilege.

This explains why objects representing the sickness and impurities of the past year—the new year begins immediately after Holi—are thrown into the bonfire, and it is considered inauspicious not to look at it. Moreover, people pay or for-give debts, reconcile quarrels, and try to rid themselves of the evils, conflicts, and impurities they have accumulated during the preceding months, translating the central conception of the festival into a justification for dealing anew with con-tinuing situations in their lives.

Hindus celebrate a number of other important festivals, including Diwali, in which all classes of society participate, though it is believed to have been given Holi festival, coloured powder at each

other—eating, drinking, lovemaking, licentiousness, feeding the poor, and other activities of a religious or traditional character. The original purpose of these activities was to purify, avert malicious influences, renew society, bridge over critical moments, and stimulate or resus-citate the vital powers of nature (hence the term utsava, meaning both the gen-eration of power and a festival). Because Hindu festivals relate to the cyclical life of nature, they are supposed to prevent it from stagnating. These cyclic festivals—

which may last for many days—continue to be celebrated throughout India.

Such festivals refresh the mood of the participants, further the consciousness of their own power, and help to compensate for their sensations of fear and inferior-ity concerning the forces of nature. Such mixtures of worship and pleasure require the participation of the entire community and create harmony among its members, even if not all contemporary participants are aware of the festival’s original charac-ter. There are also innumerable festivities in honour of specific gods, celebrated by individual temples, villages, and reli-gious communities.

An important festival, formerly cel-ebrating Kama, the god of sexual desire, survives in the Holi, a saturnalia con-nected with the spring equinox and in western India with the wheat harvest.

Although commemorated throughout India, the rituals associated with Holi vary regionally. Among the Marathas, a

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Diwali

One of the major religious festivals in Hinduism, Diwali (Divali) lasts for fi ve days from the 13th day of the dark half of the lunar month Ashvina to the second day of the light half of Karttika. (The corre-sponding dates in the Gregorian calendar usually fall in late October and November.) The name is derived from the Sanskrit term dipavali meaning

“row of lights,” which are lit on the new-moon night to bid the presence of Lakshmi, the goddess of wealth.

In Bengal, however, the goddess Kali is worshiped, and in north India the festival also celebrates the return of Rama, Sita, Lakshmana, and Hanuman to the city of Ayodhya, where Rama’s rule of righteous-ness would commence.

During the festival, small earthenware lamps fi lled with oil are lighted and placed in rows along the parapets of temples and houses and set adrift on rivers and streams. The fourth day—the main Diwali festival day and the beginning of the lunar month of Karttika—marks the beginning of the new year according to the Vikrama calendar. Merchants perform religious ceremonies and open new account books. It is generally a time for visiting, exchanging gifts, cleaning and decorating houses, feasting, set-ting off fi reworks displays, and wearing new clothes.

Gambling is encouraged during this season as a way of ensuring good luck for the coming year and in remembrance of the games of dice played by the Lord Shiva and Parvati on Mount Kailasa or similar contests between Radha and Krishna. Ritually, in honour of Lakshmi, the female player always wins.

Diwali is also an important festival in Jainism. For the Jain community, many of whose members belong to the merchant class, the day commemorates the passing into nirvana of Mahavira, the most recent of the Jain Tirthankaras. The lighting of the lamps is explained as a material substitute for the light of holy knowledge that was extinguished with Mahavira’s pass-ing. Since the 18th century Diwali has been celebrated in Sikhism as the time Guru Hargobind returned to Amritsar from a supposed captivity in Gwalior—apparently an echo of Rama’s return to Ayodhya. Residents of Amritsar are said to have lighted lamps throughout the city to celebrate the occasion.

Krishna and Radha, detail of a Kishangarh painting, mid-18th century; in a private collection.

P. Chandra

transformation, the artisan is believed to transform the material used to create the image into a receptacle of divine power.

Like the artisan, the worshiper (sadhaka,

“the one who wishes to attain the goal”), must grasp the esoteric meaning of a statue, picture, or pot and identify his or her self with the power residing in it. The usual offering, a handful of flowers, is the means to convey the worshiper’s “life-breath” into the image.

Types of Symbols

If they know how to handle the symbols, the worshipers have at their disposal an instrument for utilizing the possibilities lying in the depths of their own subcon-scious as well as a key to the mysteries of the forces dominating the world.

Yantra and Mandala

The general term for an “instrument [for controlling]” is yantra, which is especially applied to ritual diagrams but can also be applied to cult images, pictures, and other such aids to worship. Any yantra represents some aspect of the divine and enables devotees to worship it immedi-ately within their hearts while identifying themselves with it. Except in its greater complexity, a mandala does not differ from a yantra, and both are drawn during a highly complex ritual in a purified and ritually consecrated place. The mean-ing and the use of both are similar, and they may be permanent or provisional.

by Vishnu to the Vaishyas (traders, et al.).

It takes place in October and features worship and ceremonial lights in honour of Lakshmi, the goddess of wealth and good fortune; fireworks to chase away the spirits of the deceased; and gambling, an old ritual custom intended to secure luck for the coming year. The nine-day Durga festival, or Navaratri, is, especially in Bengal, splendid homage to Shakti; in South India it is a celebration of Rama’s victory over Ravana.

Cultural Expressions: Visual