November 2, 2021

Diwali- The festival of lights-Dhanteras.

Diwali is the ' Festival of Lights ' in India. It is also known as Deepavali. The festival usually manifests the success of light over darkness. This festival lasts for five days. In Sanskrit Deepavali means “row of light”. Rituals of  Diwali rely on the region and tradition of people. Most of the people light diyas (lights), candles at the festival. 

The first day of Diwali is considered as Dhanteras. Dhan signifies wealth and Teras signifies thirteen. The thirteenth day of Kartika month is the first/ initial day of  Diwali.

Just like many Indian festivals, this day is too linked to famous Hindu mythological stories. There's an interesting story behind Dhanteras, for which people worship Lord Yamaraja on this day. As per one of the popular stories, it is believed that the horoscope of a king's son predicted that he will die on the fourth day of marriage after getting bitten by a snake. On the 4th day of his marriage, his wife decided to turn fate around. She made sure her husband didn't sleep, as she narrated stories to keep him awake.

To lure the snake away, she laid out all the ornaments and coins at the entrance in a heap. It is believed when the God of Death came in disguise of a snake, he was blinded by all the dazzling jewelry and coins. This way the serpent couldn't enter the prince's chamber and also got hooked to the wife's stories and songs. It is believed that he silently left the place in the morning and bared the life of the prince. 

 People work in their business or jobs with an intention to make wealth so that they live happy and comfortable in later years. Many people I see end up working hard and they believe the income they earn from their jobs or business is actually wealth. This is not true. Income is not wealth. What you do with your income is wealth.

Just like the story of the princess let’s be wakeful and not just be depending on the income (like the songs and Stories) but also creating that glittering wealth to keep the snake of financial-related old age problems at bay. There are different ways to make your money work and let this Dhanteras be the beginning of this awakening.

 May this Dhanteras Light up new dreams, fresh hopes, undiscovered avenues, and different perspectives, everything bright & beautiful and fill your days with pleasant surprises and moments. Happy Dhanteras to you and your family.

Srikanth Ram, a life and business coach, is also the author of the No 1 Bestseller “Leadership lessons from 22 Yards”- An interesting comparison of cricket and corporate stories for entrepreneurs and leaders to create high-performance teams and a winning culture.