Narak Chaturdashi and Hygiene

  

Narak Chaturdashi

When we think of sanitation, most of us are probably reminded of March 2020, but then we move on to hygiene, cleanliness and frequent sterilization, which has slowly become the norm. It’s actually a good thing that, nowadays people aren’t waiting for the last moment and doing their cleaning almost regularly. Waiting to clean only gives more time for diseases to cook and ruin entire lives until its too late to fix or go back. It’s kind of like what Narak said to Krishna, you’ll never know what went wrong till its too late.

“Today you are not killing only me, but all the wrongs that I did – this must be celebrated.” By uncluttering, you not only get rid of all dirt and germs but also all the diseases that someone could have developed. That’s why Narak Chaturdashi, or chotti diwali is indeed, celebrated. The symbolism lies with Narak who represents the dirt and germs, and in a way, the root of all evil, and Krishna killing him is the families getting together to clean their homes and, in essence, ridding themselves of said evils both inside and out.

“Celebrate the death of all the negativity I gathered because this has brought new light to me and it should bring light to everyone.” Narak Chaturdashi marks the end of evil reign and all possible things that could have gone wrong because of it, and in a way by purifying yourselves, you bring light into families and homes. So use this opportunity of diwali and Narak Chaturdashi as an excuse to start cleansing your surroundings, because after all, like Narak said, “You are not killing me, you are taking away all my bad stuff.”

(By Kaushiki Roy, Editorial Department, Adolescence Development Club)