The Jai Jais Blog

Light is one of the oldest and most meaningful symbols, found in cultures and religions worldwide. Deepawali, Deepavali, or Diwali is the biggest and the brightest of all Hindu festivals. It is the festival of lights: deep means "light" and avali "a row" to become "a row of lights." The Festival of Lights, is the most popular Hindu festival of good overcoming evil. The triumph of light over darkness is celebrated with Divas, lamps and fireworks. Diwali is composed of five days, each with its own story. 

Villains, ghosts, witches and demons, every good story has a bad guy…. The conflict of “good” versus “evil”.  Somehow good always prevails, but who doesn’t like a “Happy Ending?”.

The Ramayana, the story of the mighty warrior Lord Rama through his trials and tribulations, has inspired millions over the centuries. Originally written in the ancient language of Sanskrit by Sage Valmiki, the Ramayana teaches us about Dharma (duty and righteousness), devotion, hope, bravery, respect, confidence, among many more qualities.

Exiled for fourteen years, by his dearest father King Dasharatha, Lord Rama began an adventure to save his beautiful wife Princess Sita from the evil demon Ravana; with his faithful brother Lakshamana, and companion Hanuman.  The finale is his mighty battle with Ravana but along the way with his trusted  bow….there are a number of demons they slay…. But who are they?, many blogs talk about the gods and goddesses, but it’s time to find out more about the bad guys. All these demons do not feature in the Jai Jais Ramayana as the version is shortened for children to enjoy.

TAKE NOTE: There will be some gore which may not be suitable for some children.

On 24^th October 2020, Hindus will be celebrating its most popular festivals- Durga Ashtmi and Maha Navmi pooja. Usually, Maha Navami pooja is celebrated on the next day of Durga Ashtami. However, this year, the two festivals are occurring on the same day. “Ashtami” and “Navmi” mean the eighth and the ninth day of Navratri that is dedicated to Goddess Durga.

How Is It Celebrated?

‘Maha Navmi’ pooja is considered to hold so much value that the worship on this day is equivalent to all the nine days of  ‘Navratri’. Traditionally every state in India has different and unique ways to celebrate the festival but what remains common is the worship of the mighty Goddess Durga.

Arti, (Hindi “the ceremony of lights”) Sanskrit “Aratrika”, in Hindu rituals is the offering of lighted divas before an image of a god or goddesses. In performing the ritual the worshiper circles the diva in a clockwise direction while chanting a prayer or singing a hymn. Aarti is one of the most frequently observed parts of both temple and home pooja. The god or goddess is honoured by the lighted ghee (clarified butter) or camphor and is protected by the invocation of the deities of the directions of the compass.