1. The Meaning Of Diwali
Once a yearmillionsof people acrossthe worldcelebrate one of the mostsacredholidaysof the Hindu
religion—Diwali.InIndia,the festivitiesare incredible—everywhere yougotthere are lightsbeing
displayed.Thereare floatinglanternsonthe water,flyinglanternsinthe skyandclassical lamps
throughoutthe land.Evenhere inthe Westthere isno shortage of Diwali festivals.
There are people thatcleanup,getdressedup,cookfancyfoodsand lighttheirclaylampsto
celebrate—whichiswonderful.Butoverthe years,Ifindthat the meaningof Diwali hasgrownto
become dilutedandnoteventalkedaboutanymore—forinstance,askarandomHinduwhythey
celebrate Diwali andchancesare theywill notbe able togive youa straightanswer. The same can be
saidabout Christmas—manyof uslightupa tree and share giftswithone another,butnot manyof us
reallyunderstandwhy.
For example,Irecentlywenttoa “Diwali”show lastweekandnotonce was the essence of Diwali even
talkedabout!Insteaditconsistedof abeautypageant,dancing,foodanddrinks.There wasevenmeat
and alcohol availableforpurchase.ThisisnotwhatDiwali isabout,but unfortunatelymanythinkitis—
especiallythe youngergeneration.Thiswasmyincentive towritingthisarticle.
If we refertoour holyscriptures,there are manymeaningsbehindwhywe celebrate Diwali,buttheyall
prettymuch representthe same thing.One of the mainstoriesbehindthe holidayincludesthe one
aboutLord Rama—an incarnation ormanifestationof God.He was exiledfromhisbelovedcityof
Ayodhyabyhisownmotherfor 14 years.Everyone missedhimdearly,evenhismotherrealizedthe
mistake she made ashe wasconsideredone of the treasuredjewelsof the city.The people of hi scity
were thrownintoa depressedstate andthe kingdom’senergyleveldroppedtoan all time low.
After14 longyears,Lord Rama wasscheduledtoreturnandthe townspeople alongwithhisfamilyknew
this.Theylitthousandsandthousandsof these small claypotscalleddiyasandplacedthemall around
the city andwaitedfortheirprince’sarrival.Once LordRama, hisbrotherLakshmana,andhis wife Sita
reachedthe border,the epiccelebrationcommenced.
So whatmeaningcan be pulledfromthisandall of the other examples?Itsimplyrepresentsthe coming
of the Lord intoour lives.Afterwe banishthe Lordfromour livesinexchange forsillysense pleasures
and material gains(hisownmotherexiledhim),we sufferendlessly.Butonce we welcomeHim back
intoour hearts,he will surelycome.
So whydo we lightthese ‘diyas’?Whatdotheysymbolize?Diwali isknownasthe festivalof lights,but
whatis so significantaboutlight?DivineLightisthe metaphysical formof God.That is whylightis
cherishedinall religions,because itrepresentsGodHimself.Where thereislight,darknesscannever
reign.Try bringingahandful of darknessoutside intoasunnyday,the poordarknesswill neverstanda
chance.Thisis the reasonwhywe lightdiyasall aroundour home.Butthispractice initself servesno
actual purpose if we forgettolightourinternal diyawhichisthe one that can ultimatelyconnectusto
that source of Divine Lightsothatwe can meditate uponitandbathe init. If thisisnot our experience,
thenwhatis the use of the outwardcelebration?We musthave both.
All of the mainreligionsspeakof the Divine Light,yethow manyof usask where thislightis?We
assume it’ssomewhereinheaven.Onthe contrary,itis righthere withinourphysical frames—we are

2. technicallymade of it!ExperiencingthisDivineLightthroughmeditationiswhere the true meaningof
Diwali isbornand thiscan onlybe achievedwiththe blessingandguidance of atrue Spiritual Master.He
will fuse the ida,pingala,andshushumnanadissothatour Divine Eye will openandthe Divine Lightwill
be ours to meditate upon.
For the betterpart of thisyear I have beenbusilyworkingonmylatestbook“The Divine LightWithin”so
that itwouldbe readyto release onthissacredoccasion.It isbasedon the teachingsof myGuru and is a
perfectbookonspiritualityforthe beginner,intermediate oradvancedreader.Idive deepintothe
heartand source of religionandphilosophytogatherthe informationpresentedinthisbook.Isorted
throughthe four mainscripturesof the worldincludingThe Bible,The Qur’an,The BhagavadGita,and
the BuddhistSutrasinorder to showthe unityof all religion.Thisisamustread for anyspiritual
aspirant.I will place the linktowhere itcanbe purchasedfromAmazonbelow.Iwishyouall a
wonderful Diwali!
Visithttp://www.anandoham.org/ formore informationabout The MeaningOf Diwali
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