What is Diwali? And why Diwali is so important?

Everyday Zen

What is Diwali? And why Diwali is so important?

To the Indian business community, it’s a new year. it’s a new auspicious beginning.

Anand Mahindra, Chairman of the Mahindra Group, who has 9.9 million followers on Twitter, says that Diwali is not only for gold and silver but also for peace of mind. He says peace of mind is also very important. He says that both peace and prosperity are important.


But we have always seen prosperity coming with conflict. The world has become prosperous but there is also conflict all over. Why?

See, goddess Lakshmi is very strange. When she comes it is Diwali and when she goes it is Diwala.

ध्यान है तो धन आता है, और यदि ध्यान न हो तो धन ज्याता है| तो ध्यान ही बड़ा धन है| 

In mindfulness, money can come and in unmindfulness money can go. So mindfulness is key. Stillness is key.

As long as goddess Lakshmi is sitting on the lotus it’s okay and you are lucky. And the moment she sits on the owl destruction is imminent. But only Lakshmi alone will not help. It’s a lopsided vision. It’s not a total vision. You have to also embrace the goddess Saraswati, the goddess of knowledge. With her comes peace and the music of life. Look at her. She is with her musical instrument Veena. We hear sound and listen to music. So the peaceful mind hankers for music in life and not noise in life. The ear is such an instrument that it can recognize both music and noise. And as long as goddess Saraswati is sitting on the lotus it’s okay and you are lucky. And the moment she comes on the peacock arrogance starts covering your being. Then delusion and destruction are imminent. The best example is the destruction of Ravana. He had immense wealth and also knowledge of the scriptures. If the knowledge is only bookish then it is not going to help much. It may make you a scholar and you may get a good job. So, Ravana was filled with pride and arrogance. On the other hand, Shri Rama had nothing and he became victorious because he embraced the goddess Lakshmi (goddess of wealth), goddess Saraswati (goddess of knowledge), and goddess Durga (goddess of Power).

So there are three kinds of Capital, money as capital, the second is knowledge as capital, and third skill as capital. And when it comes to knowledge it has to be experiential and existential knowledge, and not bookish. The Vedas and Upanishads talk about Para Knowledge and Apara Knowledge. Science is an Apara Knowledge and spirituality is a Para Knowledge. It is Param and transcendental. Science is within space and time and spirituality is beyond space and time. Science has inherent limitations. No matter you do what it can never go beyond space and time.

All three goddesses are feminine. Why? It’s a metaphor for receptivity. It’s an inner quality to embrace. So we have to be receptive to having them in our lives.

Diwali is a metaphor for the victory of light over darkness, good over evil, and knowledge over ignorance.

And nobody knows what is light. If you think science knows what is light then you have mistaken.

In 1951, Albert Einstein has said, “All these 50 years of conscious brooding have brought me no nearer to the answer to the question, “What are light quanta?” Nowadays every Tom, Dick, and Harry thinks he knows it, but he is mistaken.”

So we have no idea what light in the true sense is. The Vedas and Upanishads talk of inner light. So the outer light gives us prosperity and the inner light gives us peace. 

Buddha is leaving the mortal world. All are crying and weeping. Even Ananda his elder cousin and also the closest disciple is also crying. He is saying to Buddha, “You are our chief mentor, our inspiration, you are the beacon of spirituality. You are our guide and our coach. You are a catalyst and a change agent for us. In your presence, we feel at ease. We feel we are growing. And now you say you are leaving. What will happen to us? Who will guide us after you have gone?”

Buddha takes Ananda closer to his heart and says, “Appo Deepo Bhava, Be a light unto yourself.”

And that is why the Upanishads say, “Tamasoma Jyotirgamaya. Oh God, move us from ignorance to 🪔 knowledge.” 

HAPPY DIWALI!! 💙❤️

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