DEEPAVALI

[Guest guest]

" DEEPAVALI or Diwali means "a row of lights".

There are various alleged origins attributed to this festival. Some hold

that they celebrate the marriage of Lakshmi with Lord Vishnu. In Bengal the

festival is dedicated to the worship of Kali. It

also commemorates that blessed day on which the triumphant Lord Rama

returned to Ayodhya after defeating Ravana. On this day also Sri Krishna

killed the demon Narakasura.

 

In South India people take an oil bath in the morning and wear new clothes.

They partake of sweetmeats. They light fireworks which are regarded as the

effigies of Narakasura who was killed on this day. They greet one another,

asking, "Have you had your Ganges bath?" which actually refers to the oil

bath that morning as it is regarded as purifying as a bath in the holy

Ganges.

 

Everyone forgets and forgives the wrongs done by others. There is an air of

freedom, festivity and friendliness everywhere. This festival brings about

unity. It instils charity in the hearts of people. Everyone buys new clothes

for the family. Employers, too, purchase new clothes for their employees.

 

Waking up during the Brahmamuhurta (at 4a.m.) is a great blessing from the

standpoint of health, ethical discipline, efficiency in work and spiritual

advancement. It is on Deepavali that everyone wakes up early in the morning.

The sages who instituted this custom must have cherished the hope that their

descendents would realise its benefits and make it a regular habit in their

lives.

 

In a happy mood of great rejoicing village folk move about freely, mixing

with one another without any reserve, all enmity being forgotten. People

embrace one another with love. Deepavali

is a great unifying force. Those with keen inner spiritual ears will

clearly hear the voice of the sages, "O Children of God! unite, and love

all".

 

The vibrations produced by the greetings of love which fill

the atmosphere are powerful enough to bring about a change of heart in

every man and woman in the world.

 

On this day Hindu merchants in North India open their new account books and

pray for success and prosperity during the coming year. The homes are

cleaned and decorated by day and illuminated by night with earthern

oil-lamps. The best and finest illuminations are to be seen in Bombay and

Amritsar. The famous Golden Temple at Amritsar is lit in the evening with

thousands of lamps placed all over the steps of the big tank. Vaishnavites

celebrate the Govardhan Puja and

feed the poor on a large scale.

 

O Ram! The light of lights, the self-luminous inner light of the Self is

ever shining steadily in the chamber of your heart. Sit quietly. Close your

eyes. Withdraw the senses. Fix the mind on this

supreme light and enjoy the real Deepavali, by attaining illumination of

the soul.

 

Merge yourself in this light of lights and enjoy the supreme Deepavali.

Many Deepavali festivals have come and gone. Yet the hearts of the vast

majority are as dark as the night of the new moon. The house is lit with

lamps, but the heart is full of the darkness of

ignorance. O man! wake up from the slumber of ignorance. Realise the

constant and eternal light of the Soul which neither rises nor sets, through

meditation and deep enquiry.