(Light outside has no meaning if the inside is not enlightened)
Every year people wait to celebrate Dipawali with a festive spirit by lighting lamps or decorating homes with colourful festoons of electric bulbs and by bursting crackers and with colourful fireworks. The celebration has been reduced to a mere festivity for colourful lightings, exchange of sweets and bursting crackers. Every year children wait for the fun time and elders make it an occasion for eating sweets and wearing new clothes. We have just got lost in ‘celebrio externali’ meaning externality of celebration. We always seem to miss the inner meanings of everything and so let us look at Dipawali in that sense and try to understand the more profound ethos.
Dipawali, a celebration with lights is a symbolic celebration of the victory of good over evil. Diwali is celebrated by Hindus, Sikhs, Jains, Buddhists, Vaishnavas and other sub-sects for their own reasons. The particular reasons/significance for the celebration by various sects find mention at the end. It not only symbolizes the victory of good over evil but also of light over darkness, and knowledge over ignorance. Though people, in general, have taken to external symbolism marked by worship, rituals and traditions, the real significance of Diwali is intrinsic and hidden. The metaphysics of this outward celebration is to discover what underlies the symbol of ‘light’.
Light outside has no meaning if the inner self is not enlightened. To illuminate inner self with the light of truth, some walk on the path of spiritualism and others walk on the path of science. However, both are not mutually exclusive, and the path of science helps in treading the ultimate path of spiritualism. The path of science relieves us from the clutches of hypothetical superstitions, providing us freedom of thought. And this, in turn, helps us to tread the path of spiritualism and pursue the Supreme Truth.
The word Dipawali consists of two parts; ‘dipa’ meaning light and ‘avali’ meaning array or carrier. Life has many facets and stages. We must throw light on all of them, for if one aspect of our life is in darkness, we cannot express life in its totality. If the meaning of ‘avali’ stands for carrier, the carrier is represented by the awakened knowledge of the soul that enables it to reconnect with the Supreme Lord. The rows of lamps lit on Diwali remind us that every aspect of life needs our attention. In another sense, the array of light also means transcending the hierarchal higher orders of light by the soul to reach that Supreme Lord, the light of all lights.
Lamps that we light on Diwali symbolizes the awakening of the ten qualities of dħarma:
Awakening the qualities of Dħarma (righteousness)
Some may have one or more of these qualities, but then we need to lit or awaken all the qualities and so lighting many lamps means awakening all the qualities of righteousness. So, on Diwali day, light the lamp of wisdom within yourself and acquire self-awareness. And awaken all facets of your being, all ten qualities of dħarma.
Explode all pent-ups
Each one of us is a bag full of pent up feelings and emotions. We all have within us bottled emotions of frustration, anger, jealousy, greed and others. Keeping all such emotions suppressed within us is like a pregnant volcano which erupts with a pew of molten lava and heat. Suppressed feelings, therefore, may at some point of time explode, and the symbolism of bursting crackers on Diwali is a psychological exercise of releasing pent-up emotions. Just as the explosion of a cracker throws up much light, so does enlightening light of knowledge dawn when one lets go of the suppressed emotions.
Looking ahead
Giving of sweets and exchange of gifts on Diwali day essentially symbolize forgetting the bickering and negativities of the past. It marks the renewal of friendship for the times to come. Essentially Diwali beckons us to forget the regrets of the past and remain nonplussed about the possible worries of the future and stay happy, contented and peaceful in the knowledge of self-awareness and the glory of the Supreme Lord. This quiet happiness and knowledge have to spread in society, and that becomes possible when all come together in celebration and have a spiritual debate/discussion. We cannot remain happy if even one member of the family remains shrouded in darkness. So, Supreme Wisdom needs to be kindled amongst every member of the family, every member of the society and every person on the planet.
Service of humanity
True celebration is all about the spirit of service. Whatever spiritual wisdom we have gained from the Divine Lord should be shared with others as it is in giving that we receive. Make the occasion of Diwali a day of new beginning to others by enlightening them about the True Wisdom that you have gained during your spiritual pursuit. The inner celebration marks the dawning of wisdom within. Diwali comes every year for those who are ignorant but, for the enlightened, every day and every moment is Diwali. So on a Diwali take an informed vow to serve humanity and spread the message of love, abundance and compassion and light the lamp of knowledge to dispel the darkness of ignorance and initiate humankind on the path towards receipt of the abundant divine love of the Supreme Lord.
Alas! To this end, our minds need to be taken to the cleaners to wash them free of all accumulated flaws of anger, depression, hurt, greed, jealousy, passion and others and be painted with colours of calm, happiness, contentment and compassion. Then and then alone shall it be a virtuous celebration.
I want to quote here the expanded meaning of each alphabet of ‘DIWALI’ as a modified version from what had been given by Shri Shri Vidya Rajagopalan.
D – Divinity supreme is the Ultimate (Akshrateet)
I – I consciousness of self-existence (The soul)
W – Waves of Supreme Bliss (Permeating Paramdham)
A – An inspiration to attain the Supreme Lord (Spiritual endeavour)
L – Love – pure and sublime – is the nature of the Supreme Lord (Aksharateet, the ocean of love)
I – Identify self with the Eternal Lord (Spiritual connectivity)
There is an apt Sanskrit verse that brings out the essence of Dipawali.
“दीपाना दिपितम इति पा अल्नेना पलितम,
आयुर्दायाकम, वाल्नना अर्जितम
लययोगेना ईप्सितम इति दीपावली
दीपावली प्रकाश्येता खलु सर्वं
दीपावली शुभाशयाः“
“Deepānādipithamithipāalnenāpalitham,
āyurdāyākam, vālnanāarjitham
layayogenāīpsithamithideepāvalī
deepāvalīprakāshyethākhulusarvam
deepāvalīshubħāshayāha”.
Meaning:
May Deepawali (Diwali) take humanity towards Eternal Light! This light is a physical light created by the earthen lamp, for seeing around, where I do exist. May it lead me to Eternal flame and to provide me with meaningful Long life, the higher Yoga of Supreme realization and grant me the boon of Spiritual illumination! All the phonemes of the word Deepawali stand explained in the above Sanskrit Sloka. The three lines are the sound structures of the term Deepawali, signifying the quintessence of the brightness of the clay lamps, the fourth line of the Shloka is a prayer for all.
Ref: https://preetispaceraga.blogspot.com/2013/10/
The spiritual significance at the metaphysical level lies in getting to know or, kindling awareness of our inherent inner potential and dispelling the veil of ignorance. So, on the Diwali day, a spiritual seeker should sit quietly after lighting a lamp, withdraw oneself from all external pursuit of senses, and try to invoke the divine light of our soul. The brightness of the soul would not only help illuminate everything but also help connect with the Supreme Lord. This awareness brings a feeling of joy, happiness and peace, a feeling that cannot be felt by any other means.
Once a person through his or her awakened soul realizes oneself to be part of an unchanging, infinite, universal, pure, transcendental Truth, a sense of compassion and love can be felt from the awareness that everything connected through this soul is a part of the Supreme Principle. This makes us more spiritual, and this feeling should overpower us for all time. So Diwali should not be celebrated as a mere festival and then forgotten till next year. Therefore, Dipawali celebration should be a reminder of our true self and the ways of life that we need to practice not only year after year but even month after month and day after day.
The perennial wisdom of Vedanta embodies the symbolism of lighting lamps on Diwali in the verse which says “fill the heart with the oil of love and place in it a single-minded wick. Light it with the knowledge of truth and remove the darkness of ignorance around you. Just as one lamp can light many lamps, let each of us kindle this light of the knowledge of truth in many hearts”.
In this material world, humans are in a state of utter darkness. All that a human does like walking, eating, drinking, seeing, singing and playing are all in a deep sleep. Why is a human in a sleep state? It is so because even in the wakeful state, a human exists in the darkness of ignorance and so, in the awakened state, one is not aware of one’s true nature. And in the process, a human is given to both happiness and unhappiness. He/she commits mistakes and then tries to correct those mistakes; also undergoes pain and suffering but wants to be free of them. If he/she remains interested in self and not open to a sense of oneness, one continues to remain in a state of ignorance.
It is this ignorance that becomes an impregnable veil of darkness. Just as one can’t see anything in darkness despite the eyes being open, a human also cannot see the truth and know who he /she is as long as the darkness of ignorance remains. It is spelt out clearly in scriptures that one has to know what one’s goal is. So, the celebration should be of that day or moment whence, the darkness of ignorance gets lifted and the knowledge of the essence of Oneness dawns.
For the spiritual pursuer, Diwali is a day of a reminder to know the ultimate purpose of human life. It is to reach that Supreme Goal of human life, the scriptures propose the dawn of knowledge through the inner light – the enlightened soul. The soul, a spiritual entity, is pure and eternal and an awakened soul has the power to outshine all inner and outer darkness like obstacles, ignorance etc. and helps reconnect to one’s own true spiritual nature and free us from the cycles of birth and death. The Ultimate Truth – the Supreme Lord ever resides in His Supreme Abode or the Supreme Heaven (Paramdham or Arse Ajeem). “Neither does the sun shine there, nor the moon nor the stars, neither there is the bright flash of lightning nor the light of a fire”: This contention found in scriptures like the Katha Upanishad bespeaks about the Supreme Abode only. In His unfathomable incandescence or effulgence, everything shines forth, and everything gets lighted – the entire cosmos. The light of our soul is thus minuscule of a part of the light of His creative aspect, and so the light festival of Diwali urges us to transcend the array of the glow of lights and attain that Supreme Incandescence. “Tamaso ma jyotirgamaya” meaning, lead me from darkness to light, a hymn from Brahadaranyaka Upanishad (1 iii 28) is apt in this context as it urges the Supreme Lord to lead us from ignorance to spiritual awareness.
Some mythical/historical reasons for celebrating Dipawali in a worldly way
1.The Victory of Rama: By and large most Hindus celebrate Dipawali because, according to the epic Ramayana, it was the new moon day of Kartik when Divinities Ram, Sita and Lakshman returned to Ayodhya after defeating Ravana and conquering Lanka. The citizens of Ayodhya decorated the entire city with earthen lamps and illuminated it like never before and also burst crackers.
2.Goddess Lakshmi’s Birthday: The Goddess of wealth, Lakshmi incarnated on the new moon day (amaavasyaa) of the Kartik month during the churning of the ocean (Samudra-Manthan), hence the association of Diwali with Lakshmi
3. Vishnu Rescued Lakshmi: On this very day (Diwali day), Lord Vishnu in his fifth incarnation as Vāmana rescued Lakshmi from the prison of King Bali and this is another reason of worshipping Lakshmi on Diwali.
4. Krishna Killed Narakaasur: On the day preceding Diwali, Lord Krishna killed the demon king Narakāsur and rescued 16,000 women from his captivity. The celebration of this freedom went on for two days, including the Diwali day as a victory festival.
5. The Return of the Pandavas: According to the great epic Mahabharata, the Pandavas returned from their 12 years of exile [due to their defeat at the hands of the Kauravas in a game of dice (gambling)] on Kartik Amavasya. The subjects who loved the Pandavas celebrated the day by lighting the earthen lamps.
6. Coronation of Vikramaditya: One of the greatest Hindu Kings, Vikramaditya was coronated on the Diwali day; hence, Diwali became a historical event as well.
7. Special Day for the Arya Samaj: It was the new moon day of Kartik (Diwali day) when Maharshi Dayananda, one of the greatest reformers of Hinduism and the founder of Arya Samaj attained his nirvana.
8. Special Day for the Jains: Mahavir Tirthankar, considered to be the founder of modern Jainism also attained his nirvana on Diwali day.
9. Special Day for the Sikhs: The third Sikh Guru Amar Das institutionalized Diwali as a Red-Letter Day when all Sikhs would gather to receive the Guru’s blessings. In 1577, the foundation stone of the Golden Temple at Amritsar was laid on Diwali. In 1619, the sixth Sikh Guru Hargobind, who was held by the Mughal Emperor Jahangir, was released from the Gwalior fort along with 52 kings.
10. The Pope’s Diwali Speech: In 1999, Pope John Paul II performed a special Eucharist in an Indian church where the altar was decorated with Diwali lamps, the Pope had a tilak marked on his forehead and his speech was bristled with references to the festival of light. Apart from all these Diwali can be traced back to ancient India, when it was probably an important harvest festival. However, various legends are pointing to the origin of Diwali or ‘Deepawali.’ Some believe it to be the celebration of the marriage of Lakshmi with Lord Vishnu.
Whereas, in Bengal, the festival is dedicated to the worship of Mother Kali, the dark goddess of strength. Lord Ganesha, the elephant-headed god, the symbol of auspiciousness and wisdom, is also worshipped in most Hindu homes on this day. Another reason is the appearance of Dhanvantari, who gave Ayurveda to the world, a gift of health and thus enlightenment.
Other beliefs/observances associated with this day are:
- Observance of Kartika in Vrindāvan for a whole month in remembrance of Krishna’s pastimes of Damodarleela.
- Duryodhana was killed on this day, and the people of Braj celebrated with earthen lamps along with the return of Pandavas after exile for one year.
- Kubera (treasurer of the early community of created humans in the Hindukush area) was appointed at his post on this day.
- There is also a mythological belief that Yama took up his duties as the god of death. (It is to be noted that this is only a mythical belief and there is no god of death. All initial human forms were volitional creation and hence truly divinities. Some of these divinities were given the task of guarding all directions and, Yam was such a guard of the southern direction. The first human form who dies is also known as Yama).
- One of the greatest Indian kings, Vikramaditya was ordained on this day, and therefore the Vedic calendar starts from then. That is why the Indian calendar is called Vikram Samvat and begins from the next day.
- Surabhi cow had appeared from the churning of the ocean, and hence cows are worshipped and honoured.
- Lord Krishna’s lifting of the mountain of Govardhan for seven days also happened during this time to protect the residents from the devastating rain caused by Indra.
- The appearance of the incarnation of Parashu Rama is also accredited to this day.
- This was the day when Goddess Kali realized her true self when Godhead Shiv lay prostrate at her feet during her dance of destruction. So, the worship of Kali became common on this day.
Have you ever wondered why do people in India, mostly Hindus indulge in mass lighting of earthen lamps and bursting of crackers in the same season i.e.in the months of October/November every year! Is Diwali merely a day to spread noise and sound pollution due to busting of crackers? There is undoubtedly some added significance behind the festival. Notwithstanding the spiritual reasons to celebrate the festival of lights, there is also scientific facts behind.
The season is marked by the abundance of an insect pest which feeds on plant sap and can transmit plant infecting viruses and bacteria. These insect pests are of sporadic occurrence in rice-growing areas. They constitute a serious threat to rice cultivation as they can transmit virus disease of rice. Nymphs and adults both can damage the crop. Krishi Parashar‘, “Rice is vitality, rice is vigour too, and rice is indeed the fulfilment of all ends of life. Gods, demons and human beings all subsist on rice.”
Since rice is the principal crop of the subcontinent, the wise sages to protect civilization from starvation devised a method. Now, if scientific facts are explained to ignorant people, they may not understand, and so, the wise sages had to find a means.
So, they found religion as a weapon to execute their motive. The wise sages conveyed the message for every house to light earthen lamps to honour the return of King Rama and the establishment of his rule. People approved of it as King Rama had his influence on people at large due to his just and morally proved policies.
Every year, the same event came to be celebrated as remembrance of his arrival, his victory and establishment of justice. The sages wise as they were, succeeded, in eradicating the insects from the environment, as they got killed on being attracted to the fire. So, this event is marked by the mass eradication of insects- tiny leaf-hoppers and mosquitoes chiefly that are abundant during the same season every year, and pose a challenge to crop cultivation and thereby on meeting human food need.
Ref: https://www.theecotrends.com/true-essence-of-diwali-festival/
The present-day concern is that people have stopped lighting earthen lamps and have taken to electric bulbs and lamps as a statement of modern lifestyle. Do these electric lights and illumination serve the purpose? Certainly not, and people must realize that there is something more than light. It owes more to the flame than to the light that provides illumination. Still another possible reason has a more scientific basis: the fumes produced by the crackers kill a lot of insects and mosquitoes found in plenty after the rains.
Ref: https://gulfnews.com/uae/video-how-firecrackers-are-being-sold-illegally-in-dubais-meena-bazaar-1.1572158210339
It is essential to realize that the essence of Diwali reflects the ideals of pluralism and symbolizes hope and positive energy, the victory of good over evil and a new beginning. It is indeed the seeing of light at the end of the tunnel.
Whenever adharma (unrighteousness) becomes predominant in a society, where no one cares about the other, and lying, stealing and dishonesty become rampant, Lord Krishna says,
“I will emerge among you and restore righteousness and trust in the society to function smoothly.” Zarathustra, Moses, Jesus, Buddha, Muhammad, Krishna, Nanak, Mahavira, Confucius, Tao and others served the same purpose. It is almost like the laws of physics; water finds its own level, and righteousness finds its own existence. Rama was one such incarnation who re-established the moral code for social conduct and the proper relation of humanity to divinity. He was truthful and a just king.
Ref: https://pluralismcenter.blogspot.com/search/label/Satish%20Gupta?m=0
Finally, I would like to quote a rendering by Mike Ghouse to highlight inter-religious bonding.
ये मेरी दिवाली है, ये मेरी ईद है
दोनों में खुशी ही खुशी है
ye meri diwali hai, ye meri eid hai
donon m’e khushi hi khushi hai It is my Dewali, and it is my eid; both are full of joy and joy only
दिवाली से नया साल शुरू होता है
रमज़ान एक नया इंसान बनाता है
Diwali se naya saal shuru hota hai
Ramzan ek naya insaan banata hai A new year starts with Diwali Ramzan makes a new human
दिवाली में एक एक बात का हिसाब होता है
रमज़ान में हर बात का रिव्यू होता है
Diwali m’e aek aek baat ka hisab hota hai
Ramzan m’e har baat ka sameeksha hota hai–
There is an accounting of every single thing on Diwali There is a review of every single thing on Ramzan
दिवाली नए साल के लिए क्लीन स्लेट देता है
रमज़ान पिछले साल का स्लेट क्लीन करता है
Diwali naye sālke liye clean slate deta hai
Ramzan pichle sālki slate clean karta hai–Diwali gives a new slate for the new year Ramzan cleans the slate of the previous year
बात ही बात में मैंने एक नयी नज़्म लिख दी साहिर
दिवाली और रमज़ान से सबका अच्छा ही होता है
Baat hi baat m’e, mei ne aek naya inazma likh di Sāhir
Diwali aur Ramzan se sabka acha hi hota hai
While in casual talk only I wrote a poem, dear friend With Diwali and Ramzan only good happens to all
दोनों में खुशी ही खुशी है
Both are full of happiness only happy Diwali to you my friends, may this Diwali bring joy, serenity and peace to you. Pranamji!
