Divali festival a chance to carry on rich Indian culture

Vijay Persad and others at the Hindu temple Shiva Mandir know how to get young people involved: Have them put on a show. And Divali, the exuberant Festival of Lights, is the perfect reason.

For the Deepavali Grand Celebration tonight, more than 20 youngsters will perform in a play about the goddess Lakshmi at the Oakland Park temple. Add a fashion show and dance performances — including the difficult classical Indian dance — and the youths will present much of the 4.5-hour festival.

"Carrying on our culture is important to us and the kids," said Persad, president and chairman of South Florida's oldest Hindu congregation, founded in 1981. "It's lot of hard work, but fun, too."

Divali, which will start Oct. 17, has a good claim to being the quintessential Indian holiday with its food, fables, fireworks — even finances.

Next weekend, Dr. Naren Upadhyaya will attend Divali events at the South Florida Hindu Temple in Southwest Ranches, where he serves as religious chair. Then he plans to drive to Boynton Beach, to take part in Divali at Shree Swaminarayan Mandir.

"One thing that builds community is a festival," Upadhyaya said. "Divali is a festival of light and love. You don't get locked in the boundaries of your own temple."

Devotions at the Boynton temple will include Aarti, a ritual of waving lighted wicks before images of God. The temple will also hold a Chopda Pujan, in which devotees ask Lakshmi for blessings on their accounting books just before the start of another Hindu New Year.

"You want to start the year by blessing the tools of business," said Dhaval Bhagat, director of media relations.

Shiva Vishnu Temple in Southwest Ranches will emphasize solemnity with a ritual in which two priests will bathe an image of Lakshmi in milk and holy water while chanting.

"We're a more formal temple," said Dr. Ram Iyengar, a trustee at Shiva Vishnu. "We follow the Vedic rituals as they were done in ancient times."

Another frequent Divali custom is Annakoot Prasad, an offering of food — a literal mountain of it. Upadhyaya said the custom recalls a story in which Krishna picked up a mountain — with one finger — and sheltered a town from torrential rains.

Whichever facets they emphasize, believers see Divali as a time of joy.

"It's a triumph of light over darkness, good over evil," Iyengar said. "It's important to bring people together and celebrate that spirit of goodness."

James D. Davis can be reached at jdavis@SunSentinel.com or 954-356-4730.