Happy Diwali!

Diwali is the festival of lights. The significance of the lights is to portray the triumph of good over evil. These lights are kept lit throughout the night to welcome Goddess Lakshmi – the goddess of wealth.

 

Firecrackers are burnt on this day to drive the evil spirits away.

Diwali is a 5 day festival and each day has its own significance:

The festival starts with Dhanteras on which most Indian business communities begin their financial year.

The second day of the festival is called the Naraka Chaturdasi.

Amavasya, the third day of Diwali, marks the worship of Lakshmi, the goddess of wealth.

The fourth day of Diwali is known as Kartika Shudda Padyami.

The fifth day is referred to as Yama Dvitiya (also called Bhai Dooj), and on this day sisters invite their brothers to their homes.

To signify this festival and to help everyone celebrate this together, The Indian Student Association (Drishti) is celebrating this festival on Nov-18-2012 at The University of Akron. Please do join us in the celebration J

Happy Dussehra

Dussehra...

There are 2 major reasons to celebrate Dussehra:

The name is derived from Sanskrit “Dasha-hara” means remover of ten referring to Lord Rama's defeat of the ten-headed demon king Ravana. On this day, Lord Ram killed the great demon Ravana who had abducted Rama's wife Sita to his kingdom of Lanka. Rama, his brother Lakshmana, their follower Hanuman and an army of monkeys fought a great battle to rescue Sita.

The day also marks the victory of Goddess Durga over the demon Mahishasur. The name Vijayadashami is also derived from the Sanskrit words "Vijaya-dashmi" meaning the victory on the dashmi (Dashmi being the tenth lunar day of the Hindu calendar month). Hence Dasha-Hara is also known as Navratri or Durgotsav and is a celebration of Durga's victory. Durga, as Consort of Lord Shiva, represents two forms of female energy - one mild and protective and the other fierce and destructive.

To mark the return of Lord Rama, in the evening, the residents of Ayodhya lit their city with millions of earthen lamps (called Deepak). Since then, this day is celebrated in India as Deepawali or Diwali.

Dusshera is celebrated all over India for various other reasons.

The BIG DIWALI Invite!

The Indian Student Association invites you to the annual BIG DIWALI party!

Hope to see you there!

Gandhi Jayanthi

Happy Gandhi Jayanthi!

Ganesh Chaturthi

Happy Ganesh Chaturthi!

            Ganesh Chaturthi or Vinayaka Chaturthi is celebrated nation wide to celebrate the birth of Lord Ganesha - the son of Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvathi. Ganesh is widely worshipped as the God of wisdom, prosperity, good fortune and at the beginning of a auspicious event or a journey.

Legend:

Stories tell us that Lord Ganesh was created by goddess Parvati out of sandalwood paste that she used for her bath and breathed life into the figure. She then set him to stand guard at her door while she bathed. Lord Shiva returned and as Ganesh didn't know him, he didn't allow him to enter. Lord Shiva became enraged and ask his followers to teach the child a lesson. Since Ganesh was born of Parvati, he was an embodiment of shakti and all powerful. He defeated Shiva's followers and declared that nobody was allowed to enter while his mother was bathing. Sensing a growing turmoil, Narada and Saptarashi went to appease Ganesh but it was in vain. Angered, Indira attacked Ganesh with his entire heavenly army and they lost too. During this fight, Shiva severed Ganesh's head. This made Parvati weep with sorry and angry with Shiva. She vowed to destroy the universe where her son was killed. The Gods prostrated before her and Shiva promised to get Ganesh back to life. The trinity hunted the world for a head and came across a mother elephant crying for her dead baby. They consoled the mother and promised to fix the head of the baby elephant in place of Ganesh's head. Lord Shiva declared from that day that the boy would be called Ganesha. In this way, Lord Ganesh came to be depicted as the elephant-headed God. 

                                                          

Thank You KPK!

KPK Technologies is a Michigan(Detroit area) based company. They are primarily into Information Technology Consulting; in business since 1998. They are a full service IT company with Project Development, Consulting and Training. They help hundreds realize their dreams in building careers in IT. Please do go to their website - KPK Technologies to read more and to contact them.

KPK was generous enough to sponsor the Fresher's party for Fall 2012 and ISA sincerely thanks them for their donation.

Teachers Day!

In many countries, Teachers' Days are intended to be special days for the appreciation of teachers, and may include celebrations to honor them for their special contributions in a particular field area, or the community in general. The date on which Teachers' day is celebrated varies from country to country. Teachers' days are distinct from World Teachers' Day which is officially celebrated across the world on Oct 5.

Did you know whose birthday is celebrated as Teacher’s day in India? Well, it is the birthdate (5 September 1888) of an academic philosopher, Dr. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan. He was the second President of India and the first Vice President of India. One of India's most influential scholars of comparative religion and philosophy, Radhakrishnan built a bridge between the East and the West by showing how the philosophical systems of each tradition are comprehensible within the terms of the other.

From the era of the gurus to the modern teaching era, teachers have always set an example in molding us to what we are today. 

Lets all wish our teachers from all over a very Happy Teacher's day!