Dussehra is the festival of awakening bravery and power
According to the Hindu calendar, the festival of Dussehra is celebrated every year on the tenth day of Shukla Paksha of Ashwin month. This festival is a festival symbolizing the fight against evil, this festival is also a festival to give new energy to the cultural consciousness and nationalism of the country. Even today, there is a need to enliven the culture of this inspirational and motivational festival to fight darkness. The question is who should protect this culture? Who should lead the rise of ideals? Who should get his first name written in the foundation of life values? This journey of fighting evil is very difficult. This practice of awakening brilliance and power is very difficult. It is very complex to give a high peak to self-existence and self-identity. After all, how to fight the evils hidden in the house, when Ravana is being born in the courtyard of the house, be it in the form of corruption, be it in the form of political criminalization, be it in the form of those spreading communal hatred, be it in the form of national Be it in the form of terrorism that breaks the law, or in the form of those that make education, medicine and justice a business. Celebrating this festival every year, where strength is prayed for, attention is drawn towards issues of national importance. This provides new inspiration, new freshness, new strength and new directions.
The festival of Dussehra, which comes after Navratri, is a very special festival of Hindus, it comes every year 20 days before the festival of Diwali. Dussehra is celebrated to mark the victory of Lord Shri Ram over the demon king Ravana. People stage the war between Shri Ram and Ravana in the form of a drama for ten days during Dussehra. This dramatic form is called Ram-Leela. In North India, people organize Ram-Leela by wearing masks and through various dance forms and also enjoy it, making it a medium to organize Hindu culture. Following the verses of Ramayana, they make giant size effigies of the three great demons namely Ravana, Meghnad and Kumbhakarna. After this, explosive material is filled in the effigies to burn them and huge fireworks are done.
Lord Shri Ram is the symbol of truth and Ravana is the power of evil. This great religious festival and custom is celebrated by the Hindu people with the worship of Goddess Durga. The traditions and procedures of celebrating this festival are different across the country. Lord Shri Ram was a devotee of the war goddess Maa Durga, he worshiped Maa Durga for the first nine days during the war and killed the evil Ravana on the tenth day. After this, Shri Ram rescued Sita by fighting a big battle with brother Lakshman, devotee Hanuman, and an army of monkeys. Therefore Vijayadashami is a very important day of good over evil, truth over false and light over darkness. On this day, along with burning Ravana, there is also a tradition of worshiping weapons, vehicles and worshiping Maa Durga, Lord Shri Ram and Ganpati Dev. Apart from this, Vijayadashami has been called Vijaya Tithi. It is believed that this day is very auspicious to please Goddess Lakshmi.
Dussehra also has a cultural aspect. It is also a festival to unite the cultural unity and integrity of the country. This year’s Vijayadashami festival is special because with the positive revolutionary energy of this festival, not only a strong message has to be given to the negative and anti-national forces operating in the nation, but also a challenge and caution has to be given against the misdeeds of neighboring countries like Pakistan, China etc. . After celebrating the Amrit Mahotsav year of independence, the nation has to be strengthened for the centenary year. The new consciousness that has come in the country with the strengthening of fundamental beliefs and nationalism is a living evidence of a powerful leadership. The efforts being made in search of renewable sources of energy for nationalism, self-identity, indigenous sentiments and Hindu culture are unprecedented. The contemporary environment in which the nation is being presented in accordance with public aspirations is extraordinary.
Dussehra is also a festival of Shakti sadhana, karma, new creation and worship. In the last eight decades, there have been continuous political moves to weaken Hindu culture. Actually Hindu is not a religion, it is an idea, it is a culture. Being a Hindu nation does not mean religion but the all-embracing spirit of Hindu culture. Hindu culture is the inherent sound of generosity because it is the only culture in the entire world which embraces pluralism i.e. all religions, ideas and cultures. This country also gave the title of Rishi to a materialistic thinker like Charvak who had said that ‘Rinaam Kritva Ghritam Peevet’ i.e. whatever is there is today, who has seen tomorrow, hence today should be lived to the fullest and even if one has to take a loan, If it has to be done, it should be done. Along with this, our sages also gave us this advice that ‘Satyam Buryat Na Buryat Satyam Apriyam’ i.e. speak the truth but do not speak the bitter truth.
The greatness and specialty of Hindu culture has been that it advocates the beloved truth but also asks for its prohibition when it becomes harsh. This Hindu culture is a culture of non-violence but it also talks about self-defense by taking up arms if necessary. The word ‘Hindu’ itself gives the sense of ‘Swarashtra’ which is a part of the larger form of Hindu culture. Vijayadashami festival is a powerful medium to strengthen this ideology. Through this festival, everyone’s voice and objective is to destroy evil and encourage goodness. After Navratri, the last i.e. tenth day of Dussehra is Vijayadashami, which means that you have conquered all the three gunas – Tamas, Rajas or Sattva.
