Conclusions (Introduction)

Even today after more than a thousand years, there is a great influence of Lord Jhulelal on the Sindhi community. The Kutchi community is also a strong believer in Lord Dariyalal as they call him.

Especially for the Sindhi community, He is the one who inspires practically each and every member of Sindhi community to gather under one roof while celebrating the new year 'Cheti Chand' which is the birthday of this great deity.

This is the devotion and faith Sindhi community has reposed in their 'Ishtadeva' or principal deity. Any celebration in India is not just rituals but has many more facets to it. There would be Bhajans, Kirtans, dances, dramas and a variety of entertainment programs. The Prasad is also an important part of celebrations.

It is noted that along with the middle-aged and senior citizens, the younger generation happily participates in the 'Cheti Chand' celebration. Right from the procession that goes around the temple and takes a good hour and a half, the youngsters enthusiastically take part in every event.

After the returning of the procession to Jhulelal temple, there are Bhajan, Kirtan and Pallo in the temple and distribution of Prasad to devotees. After 'Prasad' there is generally an entertainment program which is with live music and singing. The film songs are also included in the programme. This is an added attraction for the younger generation.

Prima facie the Sindhi celebrations might appear like any other religious celebrations which are a part of Indian culture, but there is a deep meaning and specific purpose in them.

To bring the community under one roof is quite a big task. The preparations, the arrangements, the schedule of programs and events, all this needs a lot of hard work and a dedicated team of volunteers who would be interested in such religious and social activity. It is a lot of hard work, but they know that their efforts are quite worthwhile.

These celebrations bind the people with a common thread of devotion. It not only helps in preserving the culture of the Sindhi people but strengthening it further. It keeps the people of the society connected, especially the new generation, which gets inducted into 'Bhakti Marg' (devotional path) by way of participation in Cheti Chand celebration and Bhajans and Kirtans, Pooja and Prasad. The music programs are also included to give it a modern touch. During 'Cheti Chand', devotees give a voluntary contribution to the trust or temple which is conducting such activities, teaching them to give back something to the society in which they have flourished. We have enough, we have ample, so let us do some kind act of Philanthropy, such a thought is bound to arise in the minds of devotees. An act of kindness and generosity when done by a large number of people is bound to generate good results. The Sindhi community believes in results. They believe in this Philosophy and the results can be seen as a large number of schools, colleges, hospitals and many other institutions are founded and run by the Sindhi community.

Lord Jhulelal has been the ‘Ishtadeva’ or Principal deity of Sindhi community for more than a thousand years. Whether during the period of his existence in Sindh many centuries ago, or even during the difficult times of partition, or even today, He has been a beacon in the rough sea and guiding them to walk the right path.

The seafarers had an unwavering and unshakable faith in Him as reflected in some historical novels of the ancient period. He has been mentioned in various books written by many scholars with different faiths and by civil servants during the British rule in Government Gazetteers of undivided India, His mention in the census of castes and tribes of India etc are all indicative of one fact and that is the importance of this deity.

The lighthouse of Jhulelal is a constant source of guidance for a large population who call themselves Sindhis and Lohanas as well.

The religious freedom is unique to India and a person may choose a God or Goddess as per own desire. One can choose Lord Rama who is called the 'Maryada Purushottam' or Lord Krishan who is called 'Yogeshvara'. Due to no weight of any sort on the mind, one enjoys the freedom and to an extent is attracted towards the path of spirituality. Certain things cannot be done by external force, but they come on their own when the mind is convinced. Spirituality is one such feature.

The gist is to state that the Indian mind is tilted and attracted towards spiritualism right from birth. Faith and devotion are the two very powerful resources with which one is well equipped to deal with the hardships and hassles of life. Life is not a bed of roses but is full of struggle. Especially when living in a world of fierce competition, one has to run faster every day to survive. At such times spiritual inclination may help to remain calm and face the situation with a balanced mind.

The well-known spiritual master Sri Sri Ravi Shankar^[1] has once said that the diverse social conditions, the large gap between rich and poor, extreme climatic conditions and harsh terrains, heavy rains and floods might make the life a struggle for people in many parts of the country. Still, a majority of Indians seem to be the part of a happy society. One of the reasons for this is ‘Celebrations’ as he says. In India, the celebrations are a regular feature. Be it a public festival, or even a private affair, they are celebrated with a lot of enthusiasm.

This statement holds a lot of truth. The celebration does not mean running away from reality, but to get rejuvenated to work with vigour and strength. The true meaning of celebration would be that after the ‘Wari’ is over, it would be time to get back to work. Similarly, after a festival like Diwali has been fully enjoyed, it is best to get back to routine with renewed energy.

Sindhi community seems to have known the importance of celebration for many centuries. The purpose of celebration and gathering during the Cheti Chand festival seems to be giving a new energy and enthusiasm to Sindhi community. The gathering brings the people together, there is a lot of interaction amongst the people, exchange of views takes. From such interactions the new ideas could take birth. They could be of philanthropic nature such as building schools and colleges or hospitals and charitable trusts to help the needy. They contribute towards building a healthy society. Therefore, such celebrations are quite essential for the welfare of the community or the entire society as such and many new ideas and new thoughts could generate and take a shape through them.

The celebration of Lord Jhulelal's birthday, which is Cheti Chand, is the celebration of Sindhi people and it is a very important event for the entire community.

The Indians are peace-loving people and hard working as well. Except for the delta regions along the major rivers in the northern part of India, the soil in many other parts of India is not as fertile. Therefore, without hard work no returns are possible. Despite differences in the financial status of people in India, it is seldom seen that people revolt or rebel, and fortunately India is devoid of words like class struggle. The reason could be in the mindset of Indians. Their basic nature tilts towards spirituality and their needs are limited. They are on the whole a society with will to keep their own culture alive and such a combination helps to generate new ideas and progressive thinking which are found in this community. These have been some of the strong contributory factors for the unity of the Sindhi community and the present scenario is very promising and optimistic. It can be said that the celebrations like the Cheti Chand festival would continue to be an integral part of the community for the many more generations to come. This is the effect and impact of Lord Jhulelal.

In the foregoing chapters, it is narrated how Lord Jhulelal convinced the ruler of Sindh that he should not discriminate between his subjects on the basis of religion but treat them with equality. As a result, the people of both religions, Hindu and Muslim, lived side by side in harmony and peace. There was a long-lasting effect and impact of this change on the society.

Footnotes and references:

[1]:

Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar is a spiritual leader from India, a humanitarian and founder of Art of Living Foundation