麻豆约拍

Good Morning. 聽From the middle of next week it will be Diwali: one of the major festivals celebrated worldwide by Hindus Sikhs and Jains. 聽Each year for five days, clay lamps filled with oil are lit and adorn houses, shops and Hindu temples to welcome Lakshmi, the goddess of wealth and happiness. For Hindus, the festival also commemorates the return of Lord Rama after 14 years of exile, during which he had fought and defeated the demon king, Ravana. On Rama鈥檚 return, people were joyous and lit their houses to celebrate his victory over evil: a victory of light over darkness.
In this season of Remembrance, we recall how light has triumphed in other dark times. 聽Researching for the British Army Museum, I discovered that Hindu soldiers formed the majority of the British Indian Army in the First World War. Many of these men were decorated for their acts of valour and bravery.
In the battle of Cambrai one November night in 1917, with his regiment cut off and surrounded by the enemy - under fire, and across a six-mile stretch of open ground - one Hindu soldier managed to deliver and return a vital message to brigade headquarters. For this action, Gobind Singh Rathore was awarded the Victoria Cross; Britain鈥檚 highest award for gallantry.聽
The Diwali message of victory of good over evil is a metaphor for the conflict in our own lives. Let us strive with courage to fight and win the internal battle between light and darkness within our own minds.