Why is Lord Shiva innocent if he is a god?

Lord Shiva in Meditation

Someone, asked this question in Quora. And this was my answer to the question.

Lord Shiva is not innocent but, he is very merciful and easily pleased. That's why, he is called Ashutosh or Bhole - Baba. His mercy and quickness in responding to anyone who is worshiping him with boons, might make people think that he is innocent. Tats how, Lord Shiva got into trouble once by giving a boon to a demon called Vrakasura. The boon was the ability to turn anyone into ashes by the touch of the palm. And, then the demon wanted to try and see if the boon is working or not, by trying it on Lord Shiva himself. And, Vishnu had to disguise his form and trick the demon to try the special power that's been granted on himself and finally turning into ashes. Huuhh. A sigh of relief.

As a matter of fact, Lord Shiva is the greatest of all Vaishnavas (Vaishnavanam Yatha Shambu), one of the 12 Mahajanas and the position of him unique in the sense that Lord Shiva does not belong to the Category of living entities, Jivas including Lord Brahma and his creation and is the most powerful, second only to Lord Vishnu. Lord Shiva is neither an avatara nor avesha and is also not in between them. Lord Shiva is the greatest demigod, even greater than Lord Brahma. He is also a spiritual master having his own spiritual line called Rudra Sampradaya. The position of Lord Shiva is very beautiful explained in Brahma Samhita (Verse 45),”Just as milk is transformed into curd by the action of acids, but yet the effect curd is neither same as, nor different from, its cause, viz., milk, so I adore the primeval Lord Govinda of whom the state of Shambhu is a transformation for the performance of the work of destruction”. Thus, Lord Shiva who is in charge of mode of ignorance has connection with the material energy. Parvathi or Durga who is in charge of material energy is his wife.

Lord Shiva is so merciful that he is going around with Ghosts and Hobgoblins. Can’t imagine going around with Ghost without becoming crazy. Lord Shiva is in charge of Tamo Guna, mode of ignorance or the false ego. The greatest false ego one can have is to think one is same the material body. Even though he is so intimately connected with material energy and in charge of Mode of ignorance, he is no way affected by it and always remains pure. Also, to mention his dress of skin of a animal, body painted with ashes. In fact, the name Shivam means, all Auspiciousness. Lord Shiva has his own spiritual world called Mahesh Dham, where he is called Sadashiva. Just confuse, people he appears in the material world from the place between the eyebrows of Lord Brahma as Rudra who became angry at four Kumaras.

The furious Rudra was in Ardhanari form, half his body was male and other half female. He divided himself into two: the male and female. The male form then split itself into eleven, forming the eleven Rudras. Some of them were white and gentle; while others were dark and fierce. Namely,Manyu,Manu,Mahmasa,Mahan,Siva,Rtudhvaja,Ugraretas,Bhava,Kama,Vamadeva and Dhrtavrata.

From the woman were born the eleven Rudranis who became wives of the Rudras.

They are:Dhi,Vrtti,Usana,Urna,Niyuta,Sarpis,Ila,Ambika,Iravatl,Sudha and Diksa.

The names are mentioned different in different Puranas.

In Srimad Bhagavatham,3.12.11, Lord Brahma addresses the Rudra as follows, telling him all the places where he (as anger) can reside.

hṛd indriyāṇy asur vyoma

vāyur agnir jalaṁ mahī

sūryaś candras tapaś caiva

sthānāny agre kṛtāni te

My dear boy, I have already selected the following places for your residence: the heart, the senses, the air of life, the sky, the air, the fire, the water, the earth, the sun, the moon and austerity.

And, so many amazing pastimes of Lord Shiva can be quoted like, the churning of the milk ocean, the deadly venom was released and which was endangering the whole world. Lord Shiva drank the whole poison called Halahala and kept it in his throat, because which his throat became dark blue and that's why he is called Nilakanta - Blue throated one. And, the famous Daksha yajna, where he was humiliated by his father in-law, Daksha Prajapati and he simply walked away without being affected.

As you can see, Lord Shiva or Shiva tattva is a difficult subject matter to understand. Suffice to say, he is not innocent.

As you can see, Lord Shiva or Shiva tattva is a difficult subject matter to understand. Suffice to say that he is not innocent.

Yudhishthira speaks about the advent of Kali Yuga

City Landscape

Five thousand years ago, one day when Yudhishthira Maharaj the eldest of Pandavas was ruling the planet, a citizen came and informed him that he noticed a strange thing happened that day. His fence is moving into other's place and he is wondering why it happened like that.

On the same day, another citizen came and told him that he came across a strange thing that he had a big pot with full of water, he poured that water into small pots then he poured back from the small pots to big pot but surprisingly only half is filling into that big pot.

Another person came and said that he saw a strange thing that a big elephant is passing through from a needle hole but surprisingly its tail got stuck in that hole.

           Meanwhile, another person came and said that he saw big rock in the street and big personalities are not able to move but then, a sadhu came by and simply by waving his Sanyasa danda, it moved.

Yudhishthira Maharaj said that, all these qualities show that kali yuga, the age of degradation, strife and quarrel is coming. He explained the meaning of the unusual happening as below,

The first symptom is one of the citizen's fence is moving into other's area shows that people are interested in what others have and feel unhappy why they don't have, then think a way to acquire them either hook or crook.

The second symptom is the big pot with full of water when it is poured into small pots and pour back into big pot, he noticed only half only, which means that one can expect only fifty percent of love, affection and help from others compared what you did to the same person.

The third symptom of big elephant going through a needle but the tail getting

stuck means that, people are ready to spend a huge chunk of their income, efforts, energy and resources for the sense satisfaction of their family, friends and loved ones but when it comes to God realisation and learning the scriptures like Bhagavatam they are not ready to spend a little bit also.

The fourth symptom, a big rock not moved by persons who are having lot of

strength but a sadhu moved that rock just by waving his danda or the staff, which means that one can get rid of all their unlimited sins, just by performing Namasankirtanam or Chanting of the names of Lord Hari.

Thus, in Hinduism the universe or cosmology is said to be passing in a cyclic manner in four distinct ages or epochs. The Satya Yuga is said to be the best of all the ages, when people’s life duration is long, virtuous nature etc. And, Kali yuga is said to be the last phase or stage of the universe when everything is topsy turvy, degraded and not auspicious.     

So, what is the hope for people of Kali Yuga?

(Srimad Bhagavatham and Bhagavad Gita)

krsne sva-dhamopagate

dharma-jnanadibhih saha

kalau nasta-dṛsam esa

puranarko 'dhunoditaḥ

This Bhagavata Puraṇa is as brilliant as the sun, and it has arisen just after the departure of Lord Krishna to His own abode, accompanied by religion, knowledge, etc. Persons who have lost their vision due to the dense darkness of ignorance in the age of Kali shall get light from this Purana.(SB1.3.43)

Bhagavad-gita is the preliminary study of the Bhagavatam. And Srimad-Bhagavatam is the summum bonum of life, Lord Sri Kṛsna personified. We must therefore accept Srimad-Bhagavatam as the direct representation of Lord Krisha. One who can see Srimad-Bhagavatam can see also Lord Sri Krishna in person. They are identical.

Furthermore, in Bhagavatham, there is assurance and solace about Kali Yuga.

Though there are so many faults in this kaliyuga, the good thing is, just by

chanting the holy names of the lord, one can get up to the highest benefit of

liberation as mentioned in SB 12.3.51 that,

kaler dosa-nidhe rajann

asti hy eko mahan gunah

kirtanad eva krsnasya

mukta-sangah param´ vrajet

My dear King, although Kali-yuga is an ocean of faults, there is still one

good quality about this age: Simply by chanting the name of Lord Sri Krishna,

one can become free from material bondage and be promoted to the

transcendental kingdom of Vaikunta

Gita Jayanti and Gita Dhyanam - Meditation on The Gita

Few days ago, 30th Nov 2017 was the Anniversary of Gita Jayanti - the day on which about 5000 years ago, Lord Krishna spoke Bhagavad Gita to Arjuna in the battle of Kurukshetra. The place where Lord Krishna spoke the Bhagavad Gita is located at a place called as Jyotisaar Kurukestra, state of Haryana which is about 160 Kms from Delhi and well connected by a Train Station and road. Train journey takes about 2 and haif hours and the place Jyotisar is located at a distance of 8 km from the railway station.

(http://ausram.blogspot.com.au/2016/12/gita-jayanti-and-jyotisar.html)

Gita Dhyanam is a prayers or meditation on Lord Krishna, prayers to the Great Rishi Veda Vyasa, the author of Bhagavad Gita which is a part of Mahabharata. These prayer verses are written by a great acharya by name Madhusudana Saraswati before he wrote his commentary on the Bhagavad Gita. The name of his commentary is called Gudhartha Dipika, a lamp which illumines the hidden and deeper meanings of the Bhagavad Gita. It is a very famous commentary on the Gita. Thus, before starting the study actual Gita, it has become customary to study these nine verses of Dhyana Sloka written by this Acharya,to invoke auspiciousness, grace of the Lord  and removal of obstacles and successfully complete the study of the great scripture Bhagavad Gita. I came across these verses, read them and found them to be profound. In fact, we all must have heard these verses many times during our growing up years. I have decided to collect and post this as an article for the benefit of myself and my readers. I had to bit of research on the actual author of Gita Dhyanam verses and found out that the author is not Sripad ShankaraCharya but, only the verse 5 is ascribed to him. Also, I had to look at various versions of the verses available on the net and which one is easy to read and recite and as close as possible to the original Sanskrit version.

 

Lord Sri Krishna

1.Om Parthaya prathi boditham bhagawathaa narayanena swayam,

   Vyasaena grahitham Purana muninaa madhye Mahabaratham,

   Advaithamrutha varshaneem bhagawtheem ashta dasa dhyayineem,

   Ambaa thwaam anusandadhami bhagwad geethaa bhava dweshineem.

Om.O Bhagavad Gita, with which Partha was illumined by Lord Narayana Himself, and which was composed within the Mahabharata by the ancient sage, Vyasa, O Divine Mother, the destroyer of rebirth, the showerer of the nectar of Advaita, and consisting of eighteen discourses—upon Thee, O Gita, Oaffectionate Mother, I meditate!

2. Namosthuthe Vyasa vishala budhe

    phullaravindata tha pathra nethra

    Yena thwayaa Bharatha thaila poorna

    prajjvalitho jnanamaya pradheepa.

Salutations to Vyasa, of broad intellect and with eyes like the petals of a full-blown lotus, by whom the lamp of knowledge, filled with the oil of the Mahabharata, has been lighted!

3.Prapanna parijataya

   totra vetraika panaye

   Jnana mudhraaya Krishnaaya

   geethamritha duhe namah.

Salutations to Lord Krishna, the Parijata or the Kalpataru or the bestower of all desires for those who take refuge in Him, the holder of the whip in one hand, the holder of the symbol of divine knowledge and the milker of the divine nectar of the Bhagavad Gita!

4.Sarvaopanishadho gaavo

   dogdhaa Gopala Nandanah,

   Parthoo vathsa sudheer bhokthaa

   dugdam Geetamritham mahath.

All the Upanishads are the cows; the milker is Krishna; the cowherd boy, Partha (Arjuna), is the calf; men of purified intellect are the drinkers; the milk is the great nectar of the Gita.

5.Vasudeva sutham devam

    kamsa Chanoora mardhanam,

    Devaki paramanandam

    Krishnam vande Jagat Gurum.

I salute Sri Krishna, the world-teacher, son of Vasudeva, the destroyer of Kamsa         and Chanura, the supreme bliss of Devaki!

6.Bheeshma drona thata jayadradha jalaa , Gandhaara neelothphala,

   Shalyaaa grahavathee , kripena vahanee , karnena Velakulaa,

   Aswathama Vikarnaa ghora Makaraa Duryodhana varthinee,

   Sotheerno kalu Pandavai , rana nadhee kaivarthaka Kesava.

With Kesava as the helmsman, verily was crossed by the Pandavas the battle-river, whose banks were Bhishma and Drona, whose water was Jayadratha, whose blue lotus was the king of Gandhara       Sakuni, whose crocodile was Salya, whose current was   Kripa, whose billow was Karna, whose terrible alligators were Vikarna and Asvatthama, whose whirlpool was Duryodhana.

7.Parashrayaa vacha sarojamamalam Geethartha gandothkatam,

   Nanakhyanaka kesaram harikatha sambodhanaa bodhitham,

   Loke sajjana shat padairaharaha pepeyamaanam mudhaa,

   Bhooyad Bharatha pankajam kali mala pradhwamsina shreyase.

May this lotus of the Mahabharata, born in the lake of the words of Vyasa, sweet with the fragrance of the meaning of the Gita, with many stories as its stamens, fully opened by the discourses of Hari, the destroyer of the sins of Kali, and drunk     joyously by the bees of good men in the world, become day by day the bestower of good to us!

8.Mookam karoti vaachaalam pangum langhayate girim;

   Yatkripaa tamaham vande Paramananda madhavam.

I salute that Madhava, the source of supreme bliss, whose Grace makes the dumb eloquent and the cripple cross mountains!

9.Yam brahmaVaruna indrua Rudra maruthsthunvanthi divyai sthavai,

   Vedai saang padakrama upanishadair gayanthi yam SAmaga,

   Dhyanasthitha thadgadaina manasa pasyanthi yam Yogino,

   Yasyaantham na vidhu surasura ganaa devaaya tasmai nama.

Salutations to that God whom Brahma, Indra, Varuna, Rudra and the Maruts praise with divine hymns, of whom the Sama-chanters sing by the Vedas and their Angas (in the Pada and Krama methods), and by the Upanishads; whom the Yogis see with their minds absorbed in Him through meditation, and whose ends, the hosts of Devas and Asuras can never be found - unto that Supreme Personality of Godhead I offer my humble obeisance’s.

Here is the link to download the PDF version of Gita Dhyanam.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1U06EwRSOvCte9KOtrcbxi7X3kK81N8Rz/view?usp=sharing

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Creatures of habit - A Simple Habit that leads to a Winning Mindset

It is said that we are all Creatures of Habit which means, majority of the time, the things that we do in day to day life are done out of habit. For example, I have a wonderful neighbour kind retired old lady who at 8:00 AM sharp, goes out to buy a Cup of coffee and a Newspaper. So, precise and punctual is her timing that, I started keeping track of time just by looking at her. No matter, whether it is raining or Sunny, she always does this everyday consistently.

That's my Desk at Work

It is said that; our habits are like default settings on a computer. As soon as you start it, they load automatically like, the Wall paper, Time, desktop settings, folders etc. The moment we get up from the bed, the default programs called Habits start working and makes us do things that we are habituated to do. The problem is that, the habits can be of good or bad and that determines a person’s success in life. And, as it is said, Habits are dam hard to give up. In-fact, almost impossible. The only way you can change a habit is by replacing them with something better for your long term.

So, one simple habit that I noticed would make a lot of impact and difference is getting up in the morning. Of course, we all work or party hard and go to bed late but, still need to get up on time to meet deadlines, jobs etc. So, what do we do? We put an Alarm in our mobile and go to bed. And, when it rings in the morning at the exact time we set it to, what do we do? We snooze it and go back to sleep. Snooze, again and again, until we star feeling most terrible, frustrated and forced to get up and go. I used to have a friend, who is an expert in snoozing the alarm. So, he used to do shift work in a Petrol Station and had to go in the morning shift to relive the guy who started in the night shift. Not only, he would be snoozing the Alarm but, answering the calls that the worried colleague calling him to make sure that he is on his way. First call, he would say..yeah, I got up. Second call, brushing my teeth. Third call, about to take bath. Fourth call, in a taxi etc. Finally, when he is supposed to reach the work, he will stop answering his mobile and starts getting ready frantically. And, no wonder he would be late to work with lamest excuses like, the Taxi had a flat Tyre, I forgot my wallet at home and had to go back etc.

Psychologists say that, the first thing that you do in the morning determines your mindset or attitude for whole day. During the course of day, so many things could go wrong and so is your motivation. So, if you can get up in the morning for the first ring of Alarm, without pressing the snooze button, you are already a winner. You won the first battle of the day against your biggest enemy called the Mind (also your best friend if controlled). And, then as an extra bonus, you can make your bed, fold the comforter and pillows in proper place, that’s a bonus. Subconsciously, you will be started your day with a feeling of accomplishing some work. And, no matter whatever happens during the day, you will still have the feeling of accomplishment and a positive attitude that will keep you going for the rest of the day.

As a famous saying ‘Your Attitude Determines Your Altitude’. This may sound simple, but worked personally wonders for me and sure will be a Habit that changes your lives. Few words of caution are. make sure whatever happens, you are not hitting the snooze button which is accepting the defeat before even starting the day. Be, realistic and have reasonable expectations. If you are sleeping at 12:00 PM in the night, don’t put an alarm for 5 AM in the morning. And, if you do than get up and become a Winner.

The Temple of Lord Jagannatha at Puri

Temple of Sri Jagannath at Night - The closest I could get

So, I am still at Jagannath Puri (mentally and in spirit) and writing about my trip to this amazing place. The historic Jagannath temple (Shrimandir) at Puri was built in the year 1078 and some of the incredible facts about the temple that I read are,

 1. The flag atop the temple has been observed to flap in the opposite direction of the breeze.

Apart from this, the flags are changed every day by the temple Pujaris. This itself is an amazing thing, to watch someone climbing some 215 feet with bare hands, carrying heaps of flags. It happens during the evening time, I think some time around 5:30PM. There are two or three pujaris or the staff appointed by the temple (I presume someone that belongs to the family of temple Priests) climbing the different domes to change the flags. And, once the flags are changed, they comeback with the old ones and the flags will be sold. I bought one flag to keep as a special memory of the temple.

2.It is said that, Irrespective of where you stand in Puri, it seems to you that the Sudarshana Chakra on top of the temple is always facing you. I haven't tried this myself.

3. Usually in coastal areas during the day-time, the breeze blows from the sea towards the land and during evening hours it blows from the land towards the sea. But in the case of Puri it is the reverse.

04. No birds fly above the Jagannath temple in Puri. (Actually, don’t remember seeing any birds in the temple complex).

Aerial View of  Sri Jagannath Puri Temple

  

Temple of Sri Jagannath at Night

05. The shadow of the main dome of Jagannath temple is not visible, whatever be the time of day. Maybe an architectural feat or the Lord’s desire?

06. The food cooked inside the temple everyday will not go waste.

Sri Jagannath replica elsewhere at Puri

07. After entering the temple from Singha dwara’s entrance, after the first step you cannot hear any sound produced by the ocean. But, when you exit it can be clearly heard. This can be noticed clearly during evening. There is no scientific explanation for this. Legend has it that Subhadra Mayi, the sister of the two Lords wished peace and serenity within the temple abode and hence it was made to come about that way.

On the main Road Opp to Temple of Sri Jagannath 

To move around in Jagannath Puri temple complex which consists of number of mini temples and other significant places, you need the help of a local person, a priest that works or authorised by the temple. The pujaris or priests are called as Panda and this visit we sought the help of a young Panda called "Purushottam Panda with an interesting background. He is in his early thirty’s and did his education, study of Yajur Veda from Maharshi Mahesh yogi School. He studied Vedas from a young age and finally moved to Puri and took up this profession since last few years.

Temple of Sri Jagannath at Night

Purushottam Panda was very helpful in every step, not only from taking us inside the temple, but also talking to Auto Rickshaw drivers for our visits to nearby places, booking train tickets. And, he knows everyone in Puri and ins and out of the place and temple. Also, I noticed that when we went with him to the Jagannath temple, no other Pandas come to us to ask for a donation or something like that. Otherwise, I heard some stories like one of my friend went to a smaller temple within Jagannath temple complex and was demanded dakshina or donation. My friend refused to donate anything saying that he doesn’t have any money. Before, he could realise what was happening, the panda angrily applied a strong camphor to his eyes, saying why did you come without any donation. It took few minutes for my friend to get back to normal, with his eyes burning. Luckily I did not go through any such experience.

And, of course Mobiles and cameras are strictly prohibited in the temple. I could manage to take pictures of temple only from outside. Inside the temple, Apart from Lord Jagannath, Baladev, Subhadra there is more to see like, Bimala Devi temple, Narasimhadev temple and few more temples. First time, it took us around 1 hour to go around the temple. (Apart from queue and darshan in the main temple).

And, also one more amazing thing was visit to the Kitchen of Jagannath, the Lord of the universe (That took us about 30 mins). There are lots of unique things about the Kitchen and how the cooking for the Lord is done. Firstly, only the native or indigenous vegetables are used in cooking which means, no Tomato’s, Potato’s etc. And, there are no machines or automation. Everything is done manually or by hand and people. Right from drawing water from a well, peeling coconuts, cutting vegetables etc. No gas or electricity stoves. Only, wood and coal. Also, all the preparations are cooked in Mud Pots. Each mix pot is prepared at one time, like Rice, vegetables etc. and they are stacked one on top of each other. Up to 7 Pots are stacked and the way the top ones gets cooked is by heat conduction and heat transfer in the form of steam between the pots. Interestingly, the bottom one doesn’t get burnt or that is the expertise of the cooks. Of course, we are not allowed to go inside the Kitchen but, we went around the huge Kitchen and saw the Bhoga - preparation being cooked. I was told, the number of stoves is around 150 and all staff for kitchen duties with around 600 cooks and 400 assistants per day. Each day, the Lord is offered 80 to 100 different items, six times a day starting from the morning. The details as below,

Gopal Vallabh Bhog (Breakfast at 8.30 am)

Sakala Dhupa (Morning meal at 10.00 am)

Bhoga Mandapa Bhoga (Supplementary to breakfast at 11.00 am)

Madhyanna Dhupa (Midday meal at 12.30 to 1.00 pm)

Sandhya Dhupa (Evening meal at 7.00 to 8.00 pm)

Bada Singhara Bhoga (Late night Meal at 11.00 pm).

I saw the Offering being carried in Pots by two people. Multiple pots are hung on to a stick, by a rope or a cloth which is carried by two people. Once, the food is offered to the Lord and then to Vimala Devi.The food called as Mahaprasad is then, distributed and sold in the market called as Anand Bazar which is attached to the temple complex.

Purushottam Panda

Again, because of Purushottam Panda, we had wonderful darshan of the Lord and also a nice feast of prasadam which tasted excellent. This time, we stayed in a Hotel close to the temple, basically on the same road and a ten minutes’ walk, mainly because we had to walk in the traffic of people, Autos, Rickshaws, Street sellers shop that is spread on the road and on footpath. We had a nice darshan (holy view) of the Lord Jagannath 4 times at different times of the day with the only dissatisfaction that, compared to our last visit few years ago, we could not go to the Lord as near. Apparently, couple of rocks slipped and fell from the roof of the main dome and was under repair and that was the reason for not allowing anyone to enter close to the sanctum sanctorum.

Jagannath means, the Lord of the universe and the world famous Ratha Yatra or carrying the Lord ships, Sri Jagannatha, Lord Baladeva and Subhdra Mata is an annual event, which draws millions of people from all over India and the world. Ratha Yatra is the day, when anyone and everyone from the world can have a darshan of the Lord and celebrated during the summer months.

*Darshan - means a view of someone Holy, sacred or revered like the Deities of the Lord or a Holy person.
P.S:- For some reason, I am not able to find the photo that I took with Purushottam Pandaji. I will try to find and post it ASAP.
30/10/2017: As promised, I am attaching the Photo of Purushottam Panda that I took.I still have his contact details and if anyone visiting Puri and need some assistance, let me know and I can share his details.

Happy Diwali and The Five Days of Deepavali

Happy Diwali, one of my friends at work greeted me this morning. Happy Diwali to you too, it is Diwali today?  I asked him, thinking of my past memories of Diwali in India. No, actually today is Dhan Teras, tomorrow is Chota Diwali and day after i,e 19th Oct  is the actual Diwali day" my friend replied.

So how many days, Diwali is celebrated and what is the significance of each day? I tried to recollect my thought and after quick surfing of the net, came up with the following.

Diwali or Deepawali, means a row of lamps. The custom of decorating the houses with row of lamps, candles or electric bulbs these days originated from the times of yore. The people of Ayodhya welcomed Lord Rama Chandra back to the kingdom by decorating their houses with lamps. It’s a time of celebration, joy, marks victory of good over evil like, Lord Rama killing Ravana.

But, this is only one day. What about the rest of the four days? Read on...

 

Diwali Lamps

Diwali Crackers

The First Day of Diwali: -

Called as Dhan Teras or Dhanvantari Tryodasi, this is the day when Lord Dhanvantari an avatar of Lord Vishnu appeared from churning of the Ocean, carrying a pot of Amruta or the celestial Elixir of life and Ayurvedic medicine for mankind. This day marks the beginning of Diwali celebrations. At sunset, Hindus bathe and offer oil lamps along with sanctified food to Yamaraja, the Lord of Death, and pray for protection from untimely death.

The Second Day of Diwali:-

Also, called as the Chota Diwali or Naraka Chaturdasi. On this day Lord Krishna along with his queen Satyabhama fought and killed the demon Narakasura, liberating the 16,000 princesses the demon held as captive.

The Third Day - the Actual Diwali day:-

Commonly known as the Hindu New Year, especially for the business man, merchants etc. New, Accounts and ledger books are marked with sacred symbol of AUM or Swastika with turmeric, placed alongside the photos of Ganesh and Lakshmi Devi and worshipped. Basically, new Account books are started on this day. The goddess Lakshmi is worshipped to receive blessings of wealth, prosperity. This also the day in Treta Yuga Lord Rama returned to Ayodhya, having successfully rescued Sita and killing the demon Ravana asura.

The Fourth Day of Diwali:-

This is the day when Govardhana Puja is celebrated in Vrindavan, Mathura, by Vaishnava’s all around India and world. Govardhana Puja is worship of the great mountain Goverdhana, a harvest festival which was started around five thousand years ago by Lord Krishna. 

It is also called Vishwakarma Day, when workman, tradies worship their instruments, arms and machinery.Hmm. can’t remember but, I think this was the day my grandfather used to take out his revolver (which was licensed of course) and worship it, fire one bullet in the air and put is back somewhere hidden safe.

The Fifth Day of Diwali:-

Diwali Cracker

Called as Bhratri Dooj is a day dedicated to sisters. Just like Raksha Bandhan,a brother's day, this is a sister's day. It is mentioned in the puranas that after twelve years, Yamaraja the Lord of Death, visited His sister river Yamuna Devi on this day. He gave Yamuna a boon that whoever visits her on this day shall be liberated from all sins; they will achieve moksha, liberation. From then on, brothers visit their sisters on this day to inquire about their welfare, and many faithful bathe in the holy waters of the Yamuna River. Thus, this day is known for the sister's praying for their brother's safety, success and well-being.

This day marks the end of the five days of Diwali celebrations.

OK, all that I can remember about Diwali in India, when I was a kid is burning the fire crackers, sparklers, rockets etc. Some temporary shops would be setup a week or ten day before the festival. Myself with friends would visit these shops every day, buying some stuff with our pocket money until the Big day, when accompanied by my father would visit the shop and make the big sale that includes all the varieties of toy crackers, sparklers, rockets, flower pots to be burnt on the Diwali day as a part of celebration.

I know, its a waste of money, not safe for environment, pets etc, but compared to what is being done today, it was still on a low scale and not so much hype and also, not so costly.