Dussera and Vijaydasami same festival different messages

It is festival season in India. There are celebrations everywhere. Streets are illuminated with colorful and flashing lights. Pandals(tents) Comes up in every nook and corner of the cities, towns and villages. The size and decor of the pandals and the idols installed is usually an indication of the financial health of the neighborhood.  It is time for artists, local and nationally reputed to market their talents. Evenings are packed with cultural programs, dance, drama and concerts. Local and budding talents see this as a window of opportunity to showcase their talent. Famed artists are overbooked, one can say it is a harvest season for all varieties. 

The celebrations as I mentioned is across the nation from Kashmir to Kanyakumari and Bengal to the Kutch of Gujarat. The historians of the independent India may claim India as a nation was born in 1947. However, there are tons of traces that reveals the common thread binding the ancient India with one culture and many diversities. The diversity is that the celebrations are known differently. For example, the same festival is Dussera in some part and Vijaydasami in other parts of the country. The common thread is that these names are celebration of virtue winning over evil. The underlying message is the same. The significance is in the way it is celebrated. As an example in Dussera, it is all about war and the overpowering of the evil person and killing him. The celebration ends with killing the evil minded. The effigies of the evil person is burnt as a symbolism of the end of the individual who was personified as the evil. In this form of celebrations the evil person is in prominence and not the evil in itself. That is why we find it necessary to burn the effigy of the person. This is a form of celebration where the might is glorified. 

Now let us examine the Vijayadasami celebrations. It also celebrates the win of virtue over evil. However, the theme in this celebration is different. We can see it from the format followed in the Vijayadasami celebrations. Vijayadasami celebrations focuses attention on transforming the evil minded to a virtuous person. It emphasis on removing ignorance by imparting knowledge. Vijayadasami emphasizes on winning over the intellect of the evil minded as opposed to overpowering physically. Vijayadasami celebrations symbolizes removing darkness from the misguided and imparting knowledge and virtue. Vijayadasami is thus celebrated as the Vidhyarambham, initiation of learning.

There is nothing wrong in either way of the celebrations, nor we can say one is right and other is wrong. Both are right in their own way. However, the focus on the evil and transformational approach will result into sustainable and rewarding outcome. This approach comes from the acknowledgement of the virtue by the transformed and adopted rather than forced acceptance. In today's context what we need is adoption not imposition. The society is ladden with a number of evils perpetuated by the earlier generations. The new generations should be willing to recognize it and move on with the transformational approach. Those who are descendants of the fortunates in the old system should be willing to acknowlede the oppression and work shoulder to shoulder to create a modern society with equal opportunity and respect. Those whose older generations were subjects of oppression will be better off if they adopt a forward looking approach towards life. If our society is able to adopt the Vijayadasami format of celebrations, it is certain that we will have a much more tolerant and peaceful living condition amongst us.