‘DIWALI’-the Feast of Lights celebrated at St Aloysius College for Promoting Inter-Faith Harmony
Mangaluru: Diwali-the Feast of Lights was celebrated uniquely with the combination of all religions, at St Aloysius College (Autonomous), Mangaluru for promoting interfaith harmony. Harmony and friendliness is not just a message it has to be adopted in our everyday life. It was indeed a unique Diwali celebration, where all religions, Christians, Hindus and Muslims celebrated the festival of lights together.
Some holidays remind us of the values that unite humanity, and the annual Diwali Festival is one of them. Though the holiday has many interpretations, the core message is the victory of good over evil. Hindus light rows of clay lamps to celebrate the story of King Rama’s return to Ayodhya after he defeated Ravana. As seen in the Indian example, many faiths come together to celebrate Diwali for many reasons, but the common theme unites them all. In today’s complex world, the need to accommodate diversity and find common ground is as relevant as ever. The display of lights and colourful Goodu Deepas seen at homes, malls, and other places reflect “a highly inclusive, all-welcoming celebration of peace and harmony,” and that Diwali reminds us “to keep improving spiritually in this lifetime — through unity in thought, word and deed.
“We All Learn & Grow Together in Harmony & Unity, Irrespective of Caste or Religion at St Aloysius College- a Tradition held here since 143 Years “
Deepavali is a festival of lights and togetherness. It’s the festival of unity without any caste and religious differentiations. As a lamp spreads light equally to everyone, so we must also love everyone equally. All religions teach us to be united and let us become the light of love and prosperity. We need to celebrate Deepavali in such a way that it will instigate to spread of peace and love in society. We need to applaud the management, staff and students of St Aloysius College for organizing this unique Diwali Celebration to promote Inter-Faith Harmony, to bring peace, love and harmony to society.
The programme began with invoking God’s blessings through a prayer song by Rohan and the team followed by a traditional welcome dance. The welcome address was delivered by Chethan Shettgar-Convenor of the programme and a faculty in dept of BBA at the College. The programme was inaugurated by lighting the Lamp and Diyas by the dignitaries on the dais, namely–the three guests and speakers of the programme- Kolaru Satheesh Chandra Bhandary-Former Director and Vice President of Campco Ltd; Fr Roshan D’cunha- Director YCS and YSM Mangalore Diocese’ and Dr Zubaida H- Associate Professor Dept of English St Agnes College Mangaluru; Rev Dr Praveen Martis SJ-Principal St Aloysius College; Rev Fr Vincent Pinto SJ -Finance Officer at the College; among others.
KOLARU SATHEESH CHANDRA BHANDARY
The introduction of Bhandary was done by Austin Rodrigues; the introduction of Fr D’cunha was done by Ms Maryan M and the introduction of Dr Zubaida was done by Suha Khan. In his address, Kolaru Satheesh Chandra Bhandary said ” Being a student from 1972 to 1977 at this college it is a privilege and honour to come and speak on this stage of my Alma mater after 50 years. During my college days, we never had programmes like these, but compared to us you are all bright and smart students, who have a good future and become the future leaders of India. “Success is not achieved by the size of your brain, but by your confidence and thoughts’ said Swami Vivekananda. Be cheerful always be happy, and don’t live with tension and worries”
” Always remember these four words- Discipline, Dedication, Determination and Dynamism. Follow these words and success will be yours. We have to apply the ancient practices to modern times. when we give importance to “Humanity” and “Harmony”. This Diwali festival and other events develop harmony among students, staff and others. Let us not support any activities which promote and disturb harmony. The ideal way of celebrating the festival of light is to share the light of joy, cooperation and brotherhood irrespective of religion, caste and creed. It should be the celebration of togetherness and humanity. I am happy to be here at this prestigious college, and may this feast of lights bring Knowledge, Happiness and Prosperity. When we lit the light today, it was not just for one or two days, but for every day and every moment of our lives. Throughout my life I have lived in a harmonized society” added Bhandari.
Fr ROSHAN D’CUNHA
Fr Roshan D’cunha said ” While Diwali is rooted in Hinduism, it is also celebrated by many people of other faiths, including Christians, Sikhs, Jains, and Buddhists. From a Christian perspective, Diwali can be seen as an opportunity to celebrate the triumph of light over darkness in a broader spiritual sense. The theme of light overcoming darkness is a universal concept that resonates across various religious traditions. For Christians, light holds significant symbolism. In the Bible, light is often associated with God, goodness, and truth. Christians can use Diwali as a time for reflection on the themes of light, hope, and victory over spiritual darkness. It can be an opportunity to appreciate and celebrate the cultural diversity of their communities and to build bridges of understanding with neighbours of different faiths.:”
” While participating in Diwali celebrations, Christians can also take the opportunity to pray for peace, understanding, and harmony among people of diverse backgrounds. Engaging in interfaith dialogue and learning about the customs and beliefs of others fosters a spirit of mutual respect and cooperation. It’s important to note that individuals may have varying perspectives within any religious community. Some Christians may be more open to participating in interfaith celebrations, while others may approach such events with caution. Respecting individual beliefs and practices is key when navigating cultural and religious diversity” said Fr D’cunha.
Quoting from the Holy Bible, Fr Roshan said, ” (Mathew 5:14) “You are the light of the world. 15 Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. 16 In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.
(Luke 16:8) “The master commended the dishonest manager because he had acted shrewd. For the people of this world are more shrewd in dealing with their kind than are the people of the light” (1 Pet 2:9) “But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light” (virtues) (1 jn 1:7) “But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all [a] sin. ( fellowship) Acts 13:47 “For this is what the Lord has commanded us: “‘I have made you[a] a light for the Gentiles, that you[b] may bring salvation to the ends of the earth.’[c]”
Dr ZUBAIDA H
Diwali from an Islamic perspective, addressing the audience Dr Zubaida said, ” The one point where all religions converge is humanity- as the basis of all religions begins with the elementary steps of humanity. However, there’s another meeting point and that is “light.” Light is Diwali’s central symbol and if I have to open a channel of inter-faith dialogue here, it would be by examining the importance of light within Islam. One of Allah’s 99 beautiful names is “An-Nur” meaning “the light” and prophets have reported seeing lights while communicating with Allah”
” Light symbolizes goodness in Islam as it does in Diwali, and angels, wholly good beings are made from light. Deepavali’s signature event is the lighting of the small lamps and the Quranic verse “Ayat a Nur’ explains the light of God through an extended metaphor about the lighting of a lamp. The lamp that God has placed in each of our hearts must shine through our acts of charity which can remove the darkness of misery from the world. There are a couple of other meeting points that have been found in the history of our land. Diwali during the rule of the Moghuls, was known as Jashn-e Chiragan and was celebrated with great enthusiasm from Tughlaq to Bahadur Shah. Shahjahan introduced the Akash Diya- a giant sky lamp, for which according to R V Smith, Sikhs at the Gurudwara contributed oil and Muslims provided the cotton for the “batti”.Today, the various religions of the world need to actively seek meeting points, rather than differences, and look into the past not for hate, but for a history of inter-religious acceptance, integration and mutual respect”.
Fr VINCENT PINTO SJ
Fr Vincent Pinto shared his younger days celebrating Diwali, and also mentioned how Diwali was celebrated at the Hostel in Harihar St Aloysius College when he was in charge there.”This light represents victory over evil. The message of Diwali is -Victory over evil, the dispelling of darkness, and we need to focus on core values like love, friendship and Love for other faiths that come from Catholic priests since we learn a lot of other religions during our philosophy studies. We need to respect all religions since core values are also the same in other religions. Every religion believes in forgiveness also”
Rev Dr PRAVEEN MARTIS SJ
In his presidential address, Rev Dr Praveen Martis SJ said, “Light is important in everyone’s life. Let’s celebrate Diwali with peace and love, that should be our motto. In the eyes of God, we are all equal and we should never incite communal riots and hatred among different faiths. So during this Diwali season let us spread the message to love one another and maintain peace throughout. All three speakers shed the right light on Diwali and its beliefs. We need to live in unison irrespective of caste or creed. For 143 years St Aloysius College has celebrated Diwali in harmony, love and respect for every religion. Sacrifice, Knowledge and Forgiveness should be a must Let the light of Diwali shine upon us and take away the darkness and give us peace and prosperity”.
The vote of thanks was proposed by Ms Ananya P and the programme was eloquently compered by Ms Julia Veigas I B B A
