Diwali

[Guest guest]

First I'd like to thank everyone. This is a divine group and i have enhanced

spiritually quite significantly because of the love generated by this group.

 

I'm part of the youth group in my local centre here in Australia. I have to do a

speech on Diwali soon. If anyone has any interesting material on what Swami has

to say about this occassion, it would be of great help. I would really like

with Swami's help to captivate the audience and so on such a special occassion,

thought-provoking divine messages would be great!

 

Thank you

God Bless

Sister Sathya

[Guest guest]

Sai Ram Sister Sathya,

Below you will find some information that I found about what Swami

has said about Diwali. I hope this will be of help to you.

 

In the Service of Swami,

Vidya.

 

 

Why the lamps are lit on Deepavail day

This Amavasya day is the day of liberation for the gopikas. It is a

moonless day when the night is utterly dark. The gopikas prayed that

as on that day they had got the light of freedom it should be marked

by illuminations which would make everyone rejoice as on a full moon

night. It is for this reason that the day, which is a New Moon Day,

is illumined by lamps and fireworks and turned into a Full Moon Night.

There is a scientific reason also for this celebration. With the end

of the rainy season water stagnates in many places and the

surrounding areas teem with mosquitoes and other insects. The smoke

from the crackers and fireworks destroys these insects and disinfects

the atmosphere.

The inner meaning underlying the Bharatiya festivals should be

rightly understood. Note, for instance, the fact that the whole array

of lamps are lit by the light from one lamp. That one lamp symbolizes

the Supreme Effulgent Lord. The others symbolize the light in

individual selves. The truth of the Vedic saying, "The One willed to

become the Many" is exemplified by the lighting of lamps by the flame

of one. The Deepavali festival thus bears out the profoundest

spiritual truth.

The lamp points to another significant fact. Wherever it may be

placed, the flame goes upwards only and never moves down. Likewise,

the flame of Jnana (Spiritual Wisdom) leads one to a sublime level

through the path of Righteousness.

Four elements required to light the inner lamp

If you want to light a lamp, you need four things. First a container,

second oil, third a wick and fourth a match box. If anyone of these

is lacking, you cannot light the lamp. This lamp can, however, remove

only the outside darkness. How is the darkness in the heart to be

removed? It can be removed only by Inana Jyoti (the Light of Wisdom)

and by nothing else. How is this Light of Wisdom, this spiritual

light, to be lit? This also needs four elements. Vairagya

(detachment) is the container. Bhakti (devotion) is the oil.

Ekaagrata (one-pointed concentration) is the wick. Jnana (Knowledge

of the Supreme Truth) is the match-stick. Without all the four, the

Light of Spiritual Wisdom cannot be got.

Of the four, the primary requisite is the spirit of vairagya

(renunciation). Without this detachment, all knowledge of scriptures

is of no avail. What is this detachment? It is the absence of

attachment to the body. The ego-feeling which makes one think of

the "I' all the time should be given up. The sense of mamakara

(possessiveness) and the ego-feeling are the causes of raga

(attachment). How is this disease of attachment to be eradicated? By

the process of self-enquiry. When you realize the impermanence of the

body and all the sensory experiences, you acquire the sense of

vairagya (detachment). It only means you should discharge your

duties, treating the body as a God-given instrument for this

purpose. "Paropakaaraartham idam sareeram" ("This body is for the

purpose of helping others"). It should not be used solely for selfish

ends.

Deepavail has to be observed as a day for getting rid of all the bad

qualities in us, symbolized by the demon Narakaasura. The Gopikas who

were freed on that day represent the imprisoned good qualities in us.

They should be manifested effulgently. This is the inner significance

of the festival. As long as the demonic qualities remain in man, he

will be immersed in darkness. Bad qualities and thoughts have to be

got rid of altogether.

I desire that our festivals and the holy days should be observed in

the right spirit, with an understanding of their inner significance.

The destruction of the Narakaasura symbolizes the destruction of evil

and the restoration of what is good.

 

 

Deepavali ushers in the light of prosperity

>From the very name of today's festival--Deepavali--it can be seen

that the Divine effulgence is manifest in it. Deepavali means "the

array of lights.Thamasomaa jyotirgamaya" (Lead me from darkness to

light) is an Upanishadic prayer: This means that where there is

darkness light is needed. What is this darkness? Sorrow is one form

of darkness. Peacelessness is another. Loss is another.

Disappointment is one form of darkness. Misery is yet another. Lack

of enthusiasm is another. All these are different forms of darkness.

To get rid of the darkness of sorrow, you have to light the lamp of

happiness. To dispel the darkness of disease, you have to install the

light of health. To get over the darkness of losses and failures, you

have to usher in the light of prosperity.

These apparently opposing conditions are not totally separate from

each other: They are interrelated. You see in the world the

prevalence of heat and cold. They appear to be opposed to each other:

But nevertheless, according to the prevailing situation, both are

useful for man. During the cold weather, we welcome heat. In the

summer, coolness is desired. Hence, it is clear that both heat and

cold are aids to man and not harmful to him. Likewise, joy and

sorrow, loss and gain are helpful to man and not inimical. If there

is no sorrow, one cannot know the value of happiness. If there is no

darkness, the value of light cannot be appreciated.

Hence, if the greatness of light is to be realized, darkness is

necessary. It is rightly said: "Pleasure is an interval between two

pains." The truth about sorrow and joy will be realized when they are

considered as equal from the spiritual point of view.

>From the practical worldly point of view, the festivals have one

aspect. From the spiritual viewpoint they carry a different

significance. But there is a common purport in both. Only the

ignorant will give diverse meanings to them and miss the essential

significance.

Origin of Deepavali from scientific point

Looking at the Deepavali festival from the scientific point of view,

it should be noted that at one time in the distant past, our

ancestors lived in the Arctic region (the polar region). In this

region, darkness prevailed for six months. The sun appears on Mesha

Sankranthi day (the sun entering the Aries sign of the Zodiac). The

sun sets in this region on Tula Sankranthi day (when the sun enters

Libra). In the movement between these two signs, there is an interval

of six months. After the sun sets in Libra, the dark half-year

starts.

Today is Chathurdasi (the fourteenth day) in the month of Karthik. It

is Amavasya (New Moon day). The month is called Kaumudi. The people

in the polar region used to start lighting their lamps from this day.

The lighting of the lamp is not without other significance. As they

would be in darkness for a long period, they described the lamp that

was lit as Nithyajyothi (the perennial light).

Different events that caused the celebration

Five thousand years ago there were some planets going round the

earth. Some of these planets disappear from time to time. There was

one planet called Naraka which used to go round the earth. In the

course of their orbits, sometimes the moon and the Naraka planet used

to get close to each other. At one time, the Naraka planet appeared

to be approaching close to the earth. The inhabitants of the earth

were filled with dread of the approaching catastrophe. They prayed to

the Lord for averting the imminent disaster and saving them. At that

stage, Sri Krishna used His Prajna (extraordinary knowledge) to

destroy that planet. This extraordinary knowledge of Krishna was

termed Sathya. That is to say, Krishna destroyed the Naraka planet in

association with Sathya. The denizens of the world started

celebrating that day with lighting of lamps and adoring the Lord who

saved them. That day of the Lord's triumph was celebrated as a

festive occasion.

It was on Deepavali day that Sri Rama's coronation took place after

his victorious return to Ayodhya from Lanka vanquishing Ravana and

his Rakshasa brood. For a long period Ayodhya had been plunged in

darkness when Rama was in exile in the forest. In the absence of the

effulgent Rama, Ayodhya was a city of darkness. The forests were

filled with light. The return of Rama was hailed by the people of

Ayodhya as the return of divine effulgence and hence they celebrated

the event by the lighting of lamps everywhere.

Nor is that all. Today's festival is marked by other significant

features. This is the day on which the Lord in His Vamana incarnation

sent the Emperor Bali to the Nether World after He had got the

promise of three feet of ground (measured by the Lord's foot) from

Bali. Vamana (as the incarnation of Vishnu) used the gift of three

feet of land to put down the Ahamkara (egoism) of Bali. Bali is

described as Chakravarthi (sovereign lord).

Deepavali signifies suppression of the ego

In every human being there is a sovereign who presides over all his

qualities. That sovereign is the Ego. This sovereign Ego--Ahamkara

Chakravarthi--suppresses all the good qualities in man. Ahamkara has

another meaning. It is the very form of Aham the "I'. The egoist is

one who identifies the body with his Self. But you are not the body

The body is only an instrument. It is an agglomeration of material

substances. How can this inert body be equated with the Self?. It is

the association of consciousness with the body that it is able to

undertake various activities.

Deepavali is a festival which is designed to celebrate the

suppression of the Ego by the Higher Self. Man is plunged in the

darkness of ignorance and has lost the power of discrimination

between the permanent and the evanescent. When the darkness of

ignorance caused by Ahamkara (the ego-feeling) is dispelled by the

light of Divine knowledge, the effulgence of the Divine is

experienced. Deepavali is also the day on which Emperor Vikramaditya

ascended the throne.

It is for these various reasons that Deepavali has been observed by

Bharatiyas, young and old, as a day of great rejoicing.

However, the lights lit on Deepavali day remove only the external

darkness and not the darkness within man. Even when the sun shines

brightly, his light cannot dispel the inner darkness. For this

purpose, you have to learn a lesson from the external light. For

instance, if you want to light a lamp, you need a container. You have

to fill it with oil and place a wick in it. You need a matchbox to

light the wick. Only when you have all the four accessories can you

light the lamp. The lamp cannot be lit if any one of them is lacking.

This lamp dispels the external darkness. As the wick burns, the oil

is consumed. When the oil is exhausted the flame goes out. Saint

Ramadas compared human life to a lighted lamp and declared in one of

his songs that when the oil of life ebbs away, neither the wick nor

the light will follow the departed.

Significance Of Lighting Lamps With The Same One Candle

 

"On Dipavali day, we light numerous lamps with one candle. The light

with which

other lamps are lit is a symbol of the Divine. Other lamps are Jivana

Jyotis

(individual lamps). They derive their light from the One Supreme

Light. It is to

teach this truth to men that the Festival of Lights (Dipavali) is

observed.

Thus, every festival has an inner meaning and purpose." Sai Baba, SS,

1/90. p.

II

 

"One lamp symbolizes the Supreme Effulgent Lord. The others symbolize

the light

in individual selves. The truth of the Vedic saying, "The One willed

to become

the Many", is exemplified by the lighting of many lamps with the

flame of one.

The Dipavali festival thus bears out the profoundest spiritual

truth." Sai Baba.

SS, 1/89, pp. 14 &15

 

 

Significance Of Dhana-Lakshmi Puja On Dipavali

 

"Dipavali is also a day dedicated to the Goddess of Riches, called

Dhana-Lakshmi. They celebrate the Day as Dhana-Lakshmi Puja Day in

many states

of India. Newspapers highlight the celebration with big headlines.

But, riches

when one comes by them, have to be revered as something given on

trust, and must

be used for the amelioration of the needs of society, not for personal

aggrandizement. When people use it for parading their

 

wealth, they become ludicrous specimens of humanity. How can wealth

and

scholarship shine, except against the background of virtue and

humility? Riches

may come or riches may go; scholarship may be acquired or may not be

acquired,

even joy may come and go. Whatever happens, man must be unmoved, he

must not

swerve from the path that he has chosen towards the goal. March

along, straight,

never deviating towards falsehood or trickery. Do not be attracted by

glamour of

name and form. SeekJhe Atma with one-pointed zeal. This is the

message I give

you on this Festival of Lights (Dipavali)." Sai Baba, SSS, Vol. VIII,

Discourse

on 25-10-1973. pp. 206 & 207

 

Significance Of Decoration On Dipavali

 

"Dipavali is the day when old clothes are discarded and new ones are

worn. Home

and its precincts are swept clean, given a new look, and made to

appear fresh

and fine. Flowers are arranged in lovely designs in each room and in

courtyard.

Festoons of green leaves add charm to every door. But even while

doing all this,

attention has to be paid to the discarding of wom-out prejudices and

adoption of

new habits of love and mutual respect, the freshening of one's

attitude towards

one's kith and kin, brothers and sisters of all creeds and castes,

the hanging

of the festoons of friendship and fraternity over the door sill of

the heart.

This will make the Festival really meaningful and fruitful." Sai

Baba, SSS. Vol.

VIII, Discourse on 25-10-73. p. 204

 

How To Observe Dipavali?

 

"Dipavali has to observed as the day for getting rid of all the bad

qualities in

us, symbolized by demon Narakasura. The Gopikas who were freed on

that day

represent the imprisoned good qualities in us. They should be

manifested

effulgently. This is the inner significance of the festival. As long

as demonic

qualities remain in man, he will be immersed in darkness. Bad

qualities and

thoughts have to be got rid of altogether. I desire that our

festivals and holy

days should be observed in the right spirit, with an understanding of

their

deeper significance. The destruction of Narakasura symbolizes the

destruction of

evil and the restoration of what is good." Sai Baba, SS, 1/89, p. 15

 

"The Narakasura in man can be destroyed by the constant dwelling of

the mind on

Krishna who slew him, as the Bhagavad relates. The Smarana (God's

remembrance)

has to be constant. This state of constant remembrance can come only

through

long practice. It will not be acquired suddenly." Sai Baba, SSS. Vol.

V, Dis.

11-11-66, pp. 300 & 301

 

"On this Dipavali Day, resolve to light the lamp of Namasmarana

(repitition of

God's name) and place it at your doorstep, the lips. Feed it with the

oil of

devotion. Have steadiness as the wick. Let the lamp illumine every

minute of

your life. The splendour of the Name will drive away darkness from

outside you

as well as inside you." Sai Baba. SSS, Vol. V. Dis dtd: 24-10-65, p.

110

 

"Dipavali is intended to teach you the lesson of light and love. Move

out,

clasp, spread, expand, give up limits of mine and thine, his and

theirs, caste

and creed, in one limitless flow of love. That is the culmination of

all

spiritual Sadhana (practice). Love is the breath of the Sadhaka

(spiritual

aspirant). I call upon you to celebrate the Dipaavali, not by

feasting and

exploding crackers to disturb the peace of the neighborhood, but by

silent

lighting of lamps and silent service through love.'' Sai Baba. SSS,

Vol. V.

Discourse on 9-10-70, pp. 346 & 348

 

 

 

 

saibabanews, Sathya Sivalohan

<sathya_shanna> wrote:

> .... I'm part of the youth group in my local centre here in

> Australia. I have to do a speech on Diwali soon. If anyone has any interesting

material on what Swami has to say about this occassion, it would be of great

help......