The childhood meaning of Deepawali was holidays, sweets, crackers and sometimes new clothes.
Later on as life matured (not me, but life) this meaning was replaced by a customary (read ritualistic) Laxmi-Puja. The Puja included decoration of the home temple with some precious (read expensive) belongings, reading aloud of mantras and hymns and praying to Laxmiji, that we should always have a comfortable life and should have no lack of resources (read money). And pretty much many of us do that everyday.
For the last few years, I got introduced to reading and learning from some of our great scriptures such as Bhagwad Gita, Upanishads, Drig Drishya Vivek and others. I am also under tutelage to understand the vision of such timeless scriptures. I have strong reason to believe that this also started to mature me along with life. It gradually dawned upon me that if the creation/manifestation (this universe) is so intelligently put together, then there is obviously the Creator who is omniscient, omnipotent, omnipresent, and if he is so, am I not being foolish in asking for miserly things from someone who knows it all. Have I been wasting my Deepawalis so far?
In this process, I also learnt that before a few generations, Deepawali used to be a festival in which the God of Death, Yama, was prayed upon. This was done to just realise that whatever we have is not permanent, and if it is not permanent, should we be so crazy and attached, always clinging to impermanent things and beings, making that the sole pursuit of all what we do in life. Lord Yama was worshipped to know what is the permanent, what is it that cannot die, what is eternal. There is a beautiful story about Nachiketa and Lord Yama in Kathopanishad, where in Nachiketa does not accept the mightiest of material boons granted by Lord Yama, but only wants to seek the knowledge of The Eternal. And here was I and probably many like me, just seeking what is material. As life for so many has become centered on material well-being as the sole focus, the only criteria for gauging success is money and therefore Deepawali is dominated by only such pursuits to be sought from Lakshmi. A learned Vedanta expert told me, that if all your objective in life is to be after Lakshmi, just imagine what her consort, Vishnu ji, would do to you.
The most common and frequent sentence about Deepawali times is that the festival denotes the victory of good over evil, personified by the victory of Lord Ram over Ravan. But what is good and what is evil. This has been beautifully demonstrated by two dohas in RamCharit Manas, scripted by Tulsidas ji.
सौरज धीरज तेहि रथ चाका। सत्य सील दृढ़ ध्वजा पताका॥
बल बिबेक दम परहित घोरे। छमा कृपा समता रजु जोरे॥
The wheels of your life’s chariot should be Courage and Patience, for one without the other is detrimental or of no use. Your life’s chariot should uphold the flag of virtue and truth for without those, no courage and patience is worthy. Will power, the ability to choose between
right and wrong, keeping check on your outward passions and always working for the good of all, such should be the horses that pull your life’s chariot. Forgiveness, kindness and equanimity should be the reins which drive the horses of your life’s chariot.
These eleven attributes in are the victory of good over evil. These are the 11 diyas to eliminate the evil. And what is evil? This has also been very well put in RamCharit Manas.
काम कोह मद मान न मोहा। लोभ न छोभ न राग न द्रोहा॥ जिन्ह कें कपट दंभ नहिं माया। तिन्ह कें हृदय बसहु रघुराया॥
The wheels of your life’s chariot should never be lust, anger, greed, attachment, pride, envy, likes, dislikes and deceit. Likes & dislikes are the reason for attachment and stress. They don’t let us be equanimous. When the goodness of diyas is lighted, the darkness of evil is just driven away. No more effort is required than lighting the diyas. And when that happens, such a heart is known to be that in which Ram is there or Deepawali is there.
Don’t forget to light the 11 diyas of goodness this Deepwali with all your awareness!!!
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