On Saturday, Oct. 23, South Campus Commons transformed from an ordinary Brandeis-style lounge to an elegant red and gold festival hall for Diwali. The staircase, lit with tiny glowing bulbs, served as a mystical entryway into the Festival of Lights. The celebration, which was hosted by the University's Hindu, Sikh and Jain religious group, Namaskar, was well-attended but not overly crowded. Because of its small size, it was especially nice to have the opportunity to feel like a part of the intimate rituals and to be able to do all of the activities without too much of a wait. That's not to say the room wasn't full. There were attendees both from within the community as well as from outside of the University, which really created an atmosphere of being a part of something important and spiritually meaningful.

One of the best parts of the night was Namaskar's religious outreach, during which the club's executive board relayed information to festival-goers by means of a PowerPoint Presentation and a poster, specifically explaining the significance of the holiday. Namaskar's e-board, consisting of Ramya Kuchibhatla '12, Vinay Setty '12, Jasnam Sachdev '12, Vijay Setty '12, Sriya Srikrishnan '12 and Praneetha Vissapragada '13, was very welcoming and willing to explain any aspect of the holiday to attendees, especially those outside of the three aforementioned religions.

As explained in the presentation, Diwali is the observance of the South Asian Harvest Festival and the Sikh, Hindu and Jain Festival of Lights. Diyas, or small lamps, are lit and placed outside of buildings in order to offer the light as a gift to God. The light is said to illuminate the beauty of the world. Celebrants give an offering of light and sweets to the goddess of wealth, Lakshmi, to thank her for the crops that have been harvested.

Each religion has its own significance applied to the holiday, although each recognizes the importance of light. Hindus say a prayer, Aarti, called "Om Jai Jagadish Hare," which recognizes the triumph of good over evil as an important concept of Diwali. The date marks the return of the Lord Rama after defeating the demon king Ravana.

In Jainism, Diwali is the day that Lord Mahavira attained nirvana, the state of being free from suffering. It is one of the most important festivals for Jains because it signifies the arrival of the new year as well.

For Sikhs, Diwali recounts the release of the sixth Guru from prison. After the 18th century, Sikhs began holding one of their biennial meetings regarding matters of the community on Diwali.

After an introduction from the Namaskar e-board, the Hindu prayer was recited accompanied by music, and Namaskar members came around with the aarti thal, or prayer plate, allowing anyone from the community to receive a blessing if they wanted.

Following the religious ceremony, there was delicious traditional South Asian food, including Indian rice pudding, naan bread, curry, rice and mango juice. Tables were set up around the room offering free henna, diya decorating and Rangoli making. Rangoli is a mixture of flowers, flour and rice used to decorate homes and welcome people. At Namaskar's celebration, everyone was able to make his or her own brightly colored Rangoli on sheets of white paper to take home with them, as well as their own lamps.

The end of the celebration, as directed by Akash Vadalia '12, was especially moving. Everyone took their lit diyas outside and arranged them in a circle on the ground in the quad. The lights shining in the darkness, along with members of the Brandeis community from all races, religions and class years really made this a moment of unspoiled unity.

Donations from the event are going to the Akshaya Patra Foundation, which provides meals to underprivileged school children in India.