Diwali it is

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Some of my relatives want to know if I do Diwali Puja. When my reply is affirmative, they are shocked. Any guesses why? Gujaratis are business families. They feel only people who have their own business can do Lakshmi Puja. Lakshmi is the Goddess of Wealth in Hindu mythology. The reaction for them is natural as we are 'service class' and then how can we pray to the Goddess.I am ashamed to share this but this is how some Mumbai relatives relate to me. And here we are not talking about caste system or middle/upper class values. I am talking about so called normal loving people in my life. Do they believe the Gods are rigid about who can pray to them? Is it that they feel, people who work for an organisation  cannot earn enough money, hence they have no business of praying to Goddess Laxmi. Am I sounding like a hurt person, who will soon be categorised as "Right Wing" by the secular lot? Why are we so fussy about who prays to whom and why. I know this question was not about prayers or religion, it was just coming from the economic disparity in their minds.
For some families, children have become a commodity to be dressed up. As children, we dressed up our dolls with Mom's old saree falls or torn dupattas. Today children have become a thing to show off. The well dressed child in branded clothes, speaks volumes about your financial status. Its a scary trend amongst parents, this subtle competition and the urge to dress a child like an adult. The other way to look at it is with the riches, the expensive clothes are a way of life, for them.  Each one has different ideas about  how to spend money and raise their children sensibly. Maybe, its a simple case of the 'Haves' and the 'Have Nots'. In some parts of India, Diwali is a festival of wealth. Some people play cards during Diwali to test their luck. They feel if they make money in cards, then their year will be good. Heavy gambling happens in certain circles for Diwali. 

Diwali is also a festival for clearing the clutter from your life, the physical and the mental. Its about celebrating the homecoming of Lord Ram, the King of Ayodhya, after 14 years of exile. Its a festival of Ram's victory over Raavan. Its a celebration of Lord Krishna's victory over Narkasura. It is about constantly defeating the Narkasura of your mind. Its about coming out of the sewage within. It is about practising the cleansing and completing every single day. Its about the victory over your own self. It is not about defeating.

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