Happy Diwali

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A festival has different flavors - the holidays (fun time) , the shopping for clothes, gifts (fun material time) , family and friends (people time), food (yum time :) ) ,rituals (pooja and prayer time), mythology (story time) and celebrations.

At the core though is the essence of any festival - what it stands for . Diwali is all of the above and also represents the triumph of good over evil - not just in the world, but also within us .

Here is wishing you all the essence and everything else this Diwali !!

For those of you with Guruji this Diwali - well lucky you :)

Here is a beautiful article on Diwali by Guruji :

Diwali is lighting :

The lamp of love in one's heart;
The lamp of abundance in one's home;
The lamp of compassion to serve others;
The lamp of Knowledge to dispel darkness

Every lamp that you light is symbolic of a good quality. There are good qualities in every human being. Some have forbearance, some have love, strength, generosity; others have the ability to accept all as one' own, yet others have a scientific temperament that will uplift humanity; and others have the ability to unite people from all religions. A latent talent is a lamp. When latent talents awaken, that is Diwali. Don't be satisfied with simply lighting one lamp; light a thousand. Eg. If you are a good sevak, don't be satisfied only with that; light the lamp of wisdom in you. Acquire knowledge. If you are interested in acquiring knowledge, don't limit yourself only to that. Take an interest in the creative arts, in dance, music etc.

Do you know why we do aarti? It is so that light of our life always rotates around the Divine.

Do you know why we burst crackers? We suppress many emotions within ourselves; cravings, aversions, hatred or too much attachment and we reach bursting point. When there are a lot of worries, people say, "I feel my head is going to burst." If there is a lot of sorrow, people say, "My heart is going to burst." Knowing this experience, the ancient people said that when you see an explosion outside, you feel similar sensations within you as well. Along with the explosion, there is so much light. Similarly by lighting the crackers, when there is an explosion outside, you release the suppressed emotions and become hollow and empty. You become free and are able to celebrate the festival and distribute sweets.

The darkness is dispelled, light has come into the house, and joy spreads. This is a festival of joy. For the wise man, Diwali is every moment and every day.

Diwali - the Festival of Lights. The streets and buildings are lit up with colorful lights.

The four aspects of Diwali:

1. Lights: symbolizing the spreading of Knowledge.
2. Firecrackers: Watching the firecrackers gives a relief to the explosive tendencies inside. When the explosion happens outside, the explosion inside is diffused.
3. Gift exchange and distribution of sweets: Sweets dispel the bitterness and renew the friendship.
4. Feeling abundance: Feeling a sense of abundance brings awareness and gratefulness for what one has.

When this wisdom dawns, it gives rise to celebration. However, in celebration you may lose your focus or awareness. The ancient Rishis knew this, so to maintain awareness amidst the gaiety of celebration, they brought sacredness and puja to every event.

- H.H.Sri Sri Ravi Shankar


Happy Diwali , Jai Guru Dev,