Dear Editor,

ON Monday, October 20, 2025, Guyanese from all walks of life, including Christians, Muslims and Orthodox religions, will join with their Hindu brothers and sisters to celebrate Diwali, or Deepavali, to symbolise unity and to show that good will always triumph over evil, not only externally but in one’s heart and mind.

It is a national holiday in Guyana, and is celebrated by Hindus performing a mélange of traditional activities, with persons from across the religious and cultural spectrum participating in the festival. The event features fireworks, floats, worshipping, fasting and the lighting of diyas.

Thousands of Guyanese will throng the streets in Georgetown and other cities and villages in the country to watch floats and motorcades with a blend of colourful and captivating religious depictions, a psychedelic array of lights and music representing the various mandirs across the country.   

Deepavali is one of the most important and celebrated Hindu festivals in Guyana. It is the festival of lights—an ancient Hindu gala that is celebrated in the autumn of every year. It is celebrated by Hindus, Sikhs, and Jains in India and elsewhere. About (0.4%) of India’s 1.4 billion population identifies as Jains, making them the smallest of the country’s six major religious groups after Hinduism, Islam, Christianity, Sikhism and Buddhism.

The main theme of the festival is the triumph of light over darkness and good over evil. Diwali is a five-day festival of lights, celebrated by more than two billion people around the world, particularly in countries, including Guyana, with significant populations of Hindus, Jains and Sikhs. The full story behind Deepavali is in the Hindu holy book called “the Ramayana,” which is frequently read aloud at the festival.

The festival coincides with the Hindu New Year, and is traditionally celebrated on the 15th of the Hindu month of Kartika, which is in late October to early November on the Gregorian calendar. On this day, Hindus would pray and fast for spiritual and physical blessings. The spiritual significance marks the different historical events, stories or myths and reminds all Hindus that the celebration symbolises the victory that light and goodness are more powerful than darkness and evil, knowledge more than ignorance, and hope over despair. When light enters one’s life, it is as if darkness had never existed.

The origins of the Diwali festival date back to the birth of Mother Lakshmi from the cosmic ocean of milk that was churned by the gods and demons. On the third day of the celebration, Mother Lakshmi, the goddess of wealth and prosperity, married Lord Vishnu and is invited into the homes of Hindus for the lighting of diyas.

Diwali is one of the most popular stories told about the legend, Lord Rama and his wife Sita who defeated the demon king Ravanna in the 15th century BC and returned from exile to their kingdom in northern India in the city of Madura by the new moon.

The religious significance of Diwali varies regionally within India, based on Hindu philosophy, regional myths, legends, and beliefs. The Yoga, Vedanta, and Samkhya schools of philosophy share the belief that beyond the physical body and mind is the Atman, which is pure, infinite, eternal and compassionate. In the Jain religion, Diwali marks the spiritual awakening of Lord Mahavira. In Sikhism, it is the gathering of Sikhs to receive their Guru’s blessings and the freeing of their 8^th Guru from prison.

The festival brings families and friends together, and is observed by sharing the traditional Indian sweets, gifts and greeting cards to highlight the importance of sharing good things with others in order to express good will towards them; wearing of new clothes to symbolize a healthy soul inside of a healthy body; cleaning of houses and the installation of bright lights both inside and outside so that the spiritual goddess, Mother Lakshmi could enter; praying and fasting as a family, avoiding alcohol and attending services at Hindu temples. Diwali refreshes the human spirit and mind and creates the atmosphere for a happy, prosperous and inspiring life.

It restores reverence, removes the feelings of hopelessness, inspires optimism, and reinforces the belief that light and goodness will always triumph over evil and darkness. This traditional belief has been passed down from generation to generation. Happy Diwali to all my Hindu Brothers and Sisters.

Sincerely,

Dr. Asquith Rose