Let the light of spiritual happiness and inner bliss shine on you this Diwali and forever
“Thamasomaa jyotirgamaya” (Lead me from darkness to light) so goes an Upanishadic prayer. And this very prayer carries in it the essence of man’s purpose.
Deepavali literally means “the array of lights”and where there is light, it means that somewhere darkness is dispelled and the bleakness is being eradicated. What is darkness? How do we define it? Does it mean a place or condition where there is an absence of light? Or the colour black? Isn’t pain also one form of darkness? Doesn’t unhappiness also mean darkness? Loss and grief are another. All these are some forms of darkness. Hence, it is important to light the lamp of light first within ourselves. Let’s look at Deepavali from the scientific point of view. Our ancestors lived in the Arctic region where as we know geographically, that darkness prevailed for six months at a stretch. The sun appears on Mesha Sankranthi day (the sun enters the Aries sign of the Zodiac). The sun sets in this region on Tula Sankranthi day (the sun enters Libra). In the movement between these two signs, there is an interval of six months. The dark half-year starts after the sun sets in Libra.
On the fourteenth day in the month of Karthik, it is Amavasya (New Moon day). The people who lived in the polar region then used to start lighting their lamps from this day. Here lies the significance of lighting of the lamp. They would thus usher in the light as a commencement of the better part of the year.Also, it was on the glorious day of Deepavali day that Sri Rama’s coronation took place after his victorious return to Ayodhya from Lanka annihilating Ravana. Indeed, for a long time, Ayodhya had been plunged into darkness when Rama was in exile in the forest. The return of Lord Rama was hailed by the people of Ayodhya as the return of divine guidance and they celebrated the event by the lighting of lamps everywhere.
This Diwali light the fire both externally an within you!
Spiritually, Deepavali is a festival that hails man’s search for the good over the bad. The victory of the righteous over the evil. Man is often trapped into the darkness of his own thoughts and self inflicted ignorance. If this darkness of ignorance is to be dispelled, man needs a container of self restraint, the oil of goodness, the wick of faith and a matchbox of sacrifice, only then will he truly be able to light the fire both externally an within him. When the light of the Spirit is aflame, the light of knowledge shuns all negative attributes that cast a dark shadow on human existence. Thus the true significance of Deepavali lies in lead man from darkness to light, from the bad to the good, from darkness to light. Remember, the flame of the lamp has two eternal qualities, one is to banish darkness and the other is its continuous upward movement. Carry that lamp of goodness and righteousness wherever you go. It will light your path this Diwali and forever.
