Diwali is the biggest festival in India and today is the first day of Diwali, called Vasu Baras. This day is 12th day of Hindu month Ashwin .also called as Dwadashi in Krishna paksha. Vasu Baras is dedicated to cows and calves. They are worshipped and said thank you for their existence in human lives. According to Hindu Vedic mythology, cows are very sacred and worshipped in all over India for many reasons throughout the country.. For Hindus, cows are mothers who give milk and cow milk is supposed to be very healthy and full of essential vitamins and minerals. Even if sometimes a newborn baby doesn’t get enough mother’s breast milk , they are fed with cow’s milk in proportion. It is said to be better and natural than packaged products.
Hindus believe that a cow is an avatar of a God. And many different deities reside in the cow. That’s the reason cows are seen worshipped on different festivals.
Cow helps not only with milk but also vow dung and urine is used in some places. Ancient times, there was a practice of using cow dung to laminate house walls and on the floor too. Especially during festivals. It was said to have antibacterial properties. I haven’t done much research on that but I have seen people living in such houses and they were doing perfectly fine. In India cow dung is also used as a fuel in rural areas to cook food or boil water. Those cow dung can be collected from the streets of a village or can be bought online, even on amazon
It is dried fully and then can be burned for the purpose. These practices can still be seen in small villages. This is the fuel freely available on the streets as we can see cows on the streets. It’s very obvious for an Indian to see cows roaming on the street freely. They are very much humanized.
Cow is said to be the most calm and loving animal just like mother. This is the reason we celebrate this day to Thank and to return favors to the Holy cow.
This day is symbolized with a picture of a cow feeding her calf. This also indicates the sacred and nonverbal relation of mother and baby.
So, Diwali is here and Hindus celebrate it by lighting diyas and electric lights with lanterns all over the house ,both inside and outside. In Mythology Lord Rama was returned to home after 14 years of vanwasa in the forest and after killing Devil Rama. All households put diya and Lanterns outside the home to welcome King Rama , Brother Laxman and Rama’s Wife Sita.
Lots of specific snack items are to be made these days along with laddoos, gujiya and other sweets. Savory items like chakali, namakpara, shakkarpara, chiwda, farsan and many more. Click here for Diwali snack recipes
This is 5 day’s festival but people start preparing for it in a month. Kids are super excited for firecrackers, holidays and yummy food and Diwali sweets.
If one wants to see and study the Hindu culture they must go and stay at such a house for a few days during Diwali. I will keep posting about Diwali for the next few days. More about other days and the story behind it and how it’s celebrated in Indian households.
So it’s Vasu Baras today, I am not in India currently ,so I can’t see any cows on the street here to worship. So we will go and visit some farms to thank the Mother cow and her baby. And for giving so much to the environment. It’s on us how we take it and use it without harming nature and the environment.
Happy Diwali everyone!! May this world become more peaceful and happy for everyone!
