Happy Diwali and Happy Bandi Chor Divas to all of those celebrating!

Week 26 – welcome back and it is starting to get colder, at times like this I am pleased that I am being kept warmer by the warmth of my beard. It also means that I can get a side job of being Santa Claus at Christmas (just kidding!). 🎅 

I have become quite the expert at making Indian tea and have been watching my wife closely when she has been making it. As with my approach to most things, I have timed and measured everything meticulously. My issue was the consistency not being thick enough, but now with my tinkering of the recipe, we are on a path to some happy tea success. Though one day I added so much fresh ginger that it nearly knocked out my wife. 🫖 

Note to self: you do not need to add a quarter of the whole ginger to get the ginger taste. 

This week I will be covering a religious event which is taking place right now, and I wanted to share it so leaders can understand it better, apply it to their leadership and have the emotional intelligence to collaborate with their teams. That event is ‘Diwali ‘and in Sikhism (my religion) it is called ‘Bandi Chor’. 🪔 

Firstly, as with anything religious, apologies if I have made any mistakes in what I have stated or have written – do feel free to contact me directly should any changes need to be made and I will happily make them.

What is Diwali?

Diwali is a 5 day festival of lights and it coincides with the Hindu lunar calendar. It is the festival of new beginnings and triumph of good over evil, and light over darkness.

Diwali comes from the sanskrit word ‘deepavali’ meaning ‘rows of lighted lamps’.

Hindus celebrate the return of deities Rama and Sita to Ayodhya after their 14-year exile.

Jains also celebrate this festival as the moment that Lord Mahavira reached a state called Mokcha (nirvana, or eternal bliss).

What are the 5 days for Diwali?

1. Day 1 – Dhanteras – dedicated to cleaning homes and purchasing small items of gold.
2. Day 2 – Choti Diwali – commemorates Krishna’s destruction of Narakasura. Prayers are offered for the souls of ancestors.
3. Day 3 – Lakshmi Puja – seeking blessings from Lakshmi. This is the main day of the Diwali festival. Lakshmi is the Hindu goddess of wealth and they are the bringer of blessings for the new year.
4. Day 4 – Goverdhan Puja – commemorating Krishnas defeat of Indra. It is the start of the new year in the Hindu calendar.
5. Day 5 – Bhai Dooj – bond between brothers and sisters. On this day, sisters pray for the success and well being of their brothers.

Some facts

• More than 800 million people celebrate the festival.
• Another way they attract Lakhsmi is via vibrant firework displays. 💥
• The total cost of fire crackers every year accounts to over one billion dollars. 
• It is an official holiday in: India, Fiji, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Singapore.

How is Diwali celebrated? 🪔 

It is like Christmas in the UK and it is seen as the move into a new year. It is a time where families get together, have delicious food and visit the temple. 🙏 

As this is the triumph of light over darkness, many lights and oil lamps are lit on the streets and in houses. People also do fireworks.

Homes are decorated, and floors inside and out are covered with Rangoli (elaborate designs made of coloured rice, sand or flower petals). 🌸 

People celebrating also exchange gifts, wear new clothes and feed the poor.

This is also a time to settle any debts and make peace. 🤝 

I read online that in the past Indian and Pakistani soldiers have exchanged Indian sweets along the disputed borders as a gesture of Diwali goodwill.

Bandi Chor Divas 🪔 

It is celebrated by Sikhs, in the past I generally knew it as Diwali, though as I have started to understand it more I have seen it referred to as ‘Bandi Chor Divas’.

This translates to ‘prisoner release date’. It was when the Sixth Guru, Guru Hargobind Sahib Ji was released from Gwalior Fort in India in 1619.

Guru Hargobind Sahib Ji was requested to attend the fort by Wazir Khan, who worked under the Mughal emperor at the time. As the emperor became ill, a holy saint was needed to offer prayers for his recovery.

Wazir Khan was captivated by the Guru Ji’s charm and purity of his spirit, however the Guru Ji was held captive.

Over many months the Guru Ji was held captive at the fort even though the Emperor recovered. Guru Ji met many Kings who were falsely imprisoned in poor conditions. 

The Guru Ji requested to leave the fort and Wazir Khan reminded the emperor that the Guru Ji had saved his life, and then he relented. He added a condition: in order to be released from the fort, each prince who was imprisoned must be holding on to the Guru Ji’s chola, as he walked out of the prison gates. The emperor was pleased with himself as he was sure that a mere handful would be able to fulfil this condition.

Unbeknown to him, the Guru Ji accepted this challenge by having their tailor make a special chola with 52 tassels attached to it. The 52 princes each grasped the tassel, 26 on the right and 26 on the left.

Careful not to let go, the princes stepped out into the sunlight and into freedom, to the cheers of the Guru Ji’s Sikhs.

Several days later Sri Guru Hargobind Sahib Ji reached Amritsar, the Hindu festival of light, Diwali, was being celebrated. In their joy at seeing their Guru Ji again, the people lit up the city with candles, lights and lamps.

After almost four hundred years, this tradition continues in Amritsar, and on this day the Sri Harmandir Sahib is lit with thousands of candles and floating lamps, and shabads are sang in praise of Sri Guru Hargobind Sahib Ji.

How do Sikhs celebrate Bandi Chor Diwas?

Here are things that I do personally:

1. We go to the Gurdwara, do our prayers and listen to shabads (religious hymns). This personally gives me peace and I am thankful for all that I have.
2. We decorate the house with colourful decorations – my wife is left to the decorating, as if I had my way my whole house would be coloured in Claret and Blue! (UTV). This is to symbolise lightness over darkness, colour always illuminates one’s mind and soul.
3. We (my wife and I’m the dishwasher) make a feast fit for a king (me 😂). Given it’s a special occasion, it is important to cherish and enjoy time together, what better way than for my wife to see me stuffing my face full with Indian treats. 
4. We spend time with family (if possible) – this is important as it’s always important to pause and switch off. 
5. I like to get some fireworks and try my best not to burn down the house. Note to self: it is not a good idea to daisy chain fireworks. Again this is to symbolise lightness over darkness. 🎆 

Overall it’s a nice evening – though it would be great if we had a national bank holiday in the UK. 

My memories as a child are when my mum cleaned the whole house, and then me making a mess and getting told off for doing it. A nice memory is lighting a candle and placing one in each room, including the garage – I remember not being able to sleep until the candle went out. I was eventually promoted to help my Dad to put the candles in each room, luckily I did not burn anything down. 🔥 

This year I’m hopeful that my wife will give me the candle duty and I will make sure that I put one in the garage also. 

I am also on Cat babysitting duty, where I am helping a neighbour to feed their cat and let it out. Here’s to hoping that me, my wife and Basil can celebrate together as a family. 🐱 

Leadership view

From a leadership perspective we can learn a lot from these occasions. Some key aspects include:

1. Acts of compassion and selflessness mean that we can conquer our challenges. If we can help others it will all together be a better world. 🌎 
2. For every obstacle we have faced, we must not forget our aspirations. We all have aspirations and we encounter issues, we should remember that what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger. 💪 
3. For every hardship we must always remember our achievements. Be kind to yourself and see that in adversity we can always come out stronger. 🏅 
4. A good leader is full of integrity and ethics. As per my examples, integrity is always key and helping others will always make you a better leader. 🤚 
5. A leader in their actions can create more leaders. If you lead with the right intentions, it will mean that others can learn and become better themselves. ⬆️ 
6. Leaders do not discriminate. Leaving those in a bad situation and doing nothing is not a path that was followed, we must all do the same in our daily lives. If something is not right we must help others and stand up to injustice. 💪 

Summary

In summary, reflecting I see that a story of compassion, selflessness, community, cohesion and helping others regardless of the background are key.

Have a great Diwali (dee-paa-waali) and Bandi Chor Diwas to all those celebrating.

Do share in the comments how you celebrate…

Leaving you with some photos of our celebration.