Let’s Illuminate Lives This Diwali

Today is Diwali, a festival of lights. It is one of the most popular festivals of India.

The day is celebrated to mark the return of Lord Rama to his kingdom Ayodhya after defeating Ravana in Lanka. Yesterday over 1.7 million earthen lamps (diyas) 🪔 were lit up on the banks of Saryu river and other places in Ayodhya as a part of Diwali celebrations.

Diwali also marks the day when Lord Krishna was supposed to have slain the demon Narakasur, one who was causing hell to everyone. People celebrated the occasion by lighting lamps in every house. Crackers are burst to keep awake from such evil forces.

On this auspicious occasion, we clean our houses and decorate with diyas (lamps) and rangolis, as it is believed that Goddess Lakshmi visits houses on this day to bless her devotees with happiness and prosperity. Diya in Hindi also means “to give”. We exchange sweets, gifts and pleasantries with one another.

The important aspect of Diwali or for that matter of any festival is to beat the inertia. Life is an interplay of time and energy. Time passes, whether you are busy or lazy, healthy or sick. If you are ecstatic, the day will seem to pass like a moment, but if you are depressed, it will be an eon for you. When you are joyful, you can do everything, and beat the culture of “Thank God, it’s Friday.”

But the celebration is not just about lighting lamps outside, an inner light has to be lit. A human being doesn’t have to bring any light from anywhere. If he just dispels darkness that he has allowed to engulf within him, light will happen.

Diwali symbolises the spiritual triumph of light over darkness, good over evil and knowledge over ignorance. That’s why we offer prayers –

असतो मा सद्गमय ।
तमसो मा ज्योतिर्गमय ।
मृत्योर्मा अमृतं गमय ।

asato mā sadgamaya
tamasomā jyotir gamaya
mrityormāamritam gamaya

Lead me from the unreal to the real,
lead me from darkness to light,
lead me from death to immortality.

So let’s ponder whether-

This Diwali,
instead of wearing a new dress,
can I change the way I address people?

This Diwali,
instead of cleaning an already clean house,
can I work on scrubbing my dusty heart?

This Diwali,
instead of lighting up my doorway,
can I light up my pathway to ignorance?

This Diwali,
instead of stuffing myself with sweets,
can I give up the bitterness in my heart?

This Diwali,
instead of bursting crackers,
can I burst my egoistic pride?

If we really do all this, God will quietly walk into our hearts.

Here, again I share a small video on the importance of Diwali by B K Shivani of Brahmakumaris spiritual movement. This video has English subtitles, wherever she speaks in Hindi. There can’t be a better message for Diwali, when she says that the best gift to be given to anybody is, “I accept you as you are.🙏“

Let the gleam of Diyas and the echo of the chants bring happiness and contentment into your life.

Let’s light a Diya 🪔 for illuminating lives in and around us…

Let this festival bring joy and celebrations to one another and to the entire universe…

Wish you all a very Happy Diwali
🪔🪔🪔🎉🚀💥🌟⭐💫✨⚡

–Kaushal Kishore

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