From Our Special Correspondent
Daijiworld Media Network - Bengaluru
Bengaluru, Nov 9: Extending his Deepavali greetings to the people, Archbishop of Bangalore Dr Bernard Moras has urged the people to have eco-sensitive festival of lights and bear in mind that all must do our part to achieve victory over darkness by dedicating ourselves to service to others.
"If we affirm our commitments to one another and strive to lift each other up, then together, we will continue moving closer to that brighter future we all seek," said the Archbishop, who is also the President of Karnataka Region Catholic Bishops’ Council (KRCBC) and Karnataka United Christian Forum for Human Rights (KUCFHR).
Joining the calls by several prominent persons, including President Pranab Kumar Kukherjee, Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Home Minister Dr G Parameshwara, for celebrating an eco-sensitive Diwali, the Archbishop also echoed the sentiments of the President that the celebrations must strengthen the bonds of goodwill and brotherhood between us and further promote mutual understanding.
"Let the celebrations be in an eco-friendly and pollution-free manner and also be an occasionto dedicate ourselves to spreading the message of compassion, love, brotherhood and peace. May this Diwali be an occasion to bring the light of happiness and joy into the lives of the needy," he said.
The Archbishop, in his greetings on the occasion of Deepavali, said: "Diwali is about bonding, of ritual,of a belief that that good will always triumph over evilfor dark night must always make way for morning light," he said adding: "May thousands of lamps light up your lifewith endless happiness, richness, health and wealth forever."
Deepavali symbolizes that age-old culture of India which teaches to vanquish ignorance that subdues humanity and to drive away darkness that engulfs the light of knowledge. Diwali, the festival of lights even to-day in this modern world projects the rich and glorious past of India.
The Archbishop drew attention to the three major environmental impacts that this Festival has on our environment: Air Pollution through Firecrackers; Excessive Consumerism and High Energy Consumption.
He also advised the people to follow the five principles of nature conservation by reducing the amount of things we use, reusing the things we have in different forms until we have absolutely no use for them, recycling the items that are no longer functional, rethinking the choices we make when deciding to buy something and refusing things that we do not need at all.