SOROOR AHMED discusses the changing contours of celebration of Diwali and Chhath in North India, especially in Bihar.
The Hindu goddess of wealth (Lakshmi) was worshipped this Diwali with much more devotion and dedication than in the past by a large number of countrymen. They prayed for their personal wealth, rise in stock prices, which have been tumbling, and improvement in the country’s economy, which is experiencing the impact of the global meltdown. Incidentally this year Diwali fell on the ‘auspicious’ week day, that is, Tuesday.
However, wealth worshipping is not a single day practice, especially in the modern world; nor is it confined to the Hindus. In fact even among Hindus there are ascetic groups which preach austerity and believe in the renunciation of the world.
The truth is that people of other faiths are also worshipping wealth but in a different way. They may be Jews, Christians, Buddhists and even Muslims. Though they may not accept it, the fact is that for all practical purposes they are busy worshipping wealth, in particular, its ugly manifestations. Though they may worship it without keeping the idol of Lakshmi in their front, all the communities of the world have their own quota of people who renounce wealth and shun mundane life.
But the renunciation of world can never be the answer to the ugly display of wealth and its worship. If everyone renounces wealth then what will happen to this world?
In contrast Islam provides the solution. It stands for the creation of wealth but at the same time strongly denounces its dreadful and vulgar display. Moreover, there is absolutely no place in Islam for ill-gotten wealth. Besides this, Islam denounces the unequal distribution of wealth. So it has its own concept of economy, which is in total contrast to what the wealth-worshippers or even the ascetics want to preach.
The tragedy is that more the society is getting modernised the more are we displaying wealth. While Islam stands for simplicity there is no dearth of Muslims, who are knowingly or unknowingly worshipping wealth, even though they claim that they are not idol-worshippers. The irony is that they do not play any role in creation of wealth – which they may wrongly claim – rather they block the flow of wealth. They deposit this wealth in banks and rotate it in the limited hands. These people are engaged in money begetting money business. Thus even if they are creating wealth they are doing so without labour and by speculation, gamble, interest and fraud. This is not genuine and healthy wealth creation.
Since in the eyes of many people money worshipping is not a sin, in fact a pious act, they do not feel shy in indulging in all the above mentioned practices. We now do not need a Diwali to play the game of gambling. And we just do not need to be a Hindu too. The entire global stock exchange business and banks are engaged in this business – and of late they are paying the price too.
There is other side of the story too. Just on the sixth day of Diwali falls Chhath, one of the biggest festivals of Hindus of North India. In contrast to the festival of lights, there is no celebrations, no bursting of crackers and no enjoyment of any sort. Chhath stands for simplicity, serenity and religiosity. Many Hindus, especially women, observe fast and take bath at the time of sun-rise and sun-set. The Hindu god of sun is worshipped in this festival. However, unlike all the Pujas Chhath is the only festival of Hindus in which no idol is worshipped.
Yet of late Lakshmi has come to play its role in Chhath too. Migrants, especially of Bihar and Uttar Pradesh, travel back home to observe this occasion. In this four-day ritual a large amount of money is spent. Hindus of North India may not come back home on the occasion of Durga Puja, Holi, Diwali etc but they will certainly try to be with their family members during Chhath. And there is no dearth of poor Hindus, who take loans from Mahajans (money-lenders) at the whopping interest rate of 10 per cent monthly to observe this festival. While the Mahajan, the agent of crass capitalism, is in all practical purpose a Lakshmi worshipper – with or without idol – he has drawn the worshippers of Sun-god to his side. Of late even idols are being worshipped during Chhath and money has come to play a bigger role in its observance.