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DEEPAVALI
DEEPAVALI or Diwali
means
"a row of lights".
It falls on the last two days of the dark half of Kartik
(October-November).
For some it is a three-day festival.
It commences with the Dhan-Teras,
on the 13th day of the dark half of Kartik,
followed the next day by the Narak Chaudas, the 14th day,
and by Deepavali proper on the 15th day.
There are various alleged origins
attributed to this festival.
Some hold that they celebrate the marriage of
Lakshmi with Lord Vishnu.
In Bengal
the festival is dedicated to the worship of Kali.
It also commemorates that blessed day
on which the triumphant
Lord Rama
returned to Ayodhya after defeating Ravana.
On this day
also Sri Krishna killed
the demon Narakasura.
In South India
people take an oil bath
in the morning and wear new clothes.
They partake of sweetmeats.
They light fireworks
which are regarded as the effigies of Narakasura
who was killed on this day.
They greet one another, asking,
"Have you had your Ganges bath?"
which actually refers to the oil bath
that morning as it is regarded
as purifying as a bath in the holy Ganges.
Everyone forgets and forgives the wrongs done by others.
There is an air of freedom,
festivity and friendliness everywhere.
This festival brings about unity.
It instils charity in the hearts of people.
Everyone buys new clothes for the family.
Employers, too,
purchase new clothes for their employees.
Waking up during the
Brahmamuhurta (at 4.00 a.m.)
is a great blessing from the standpoint of health,
ethical discipline, efficiency in work
and spiritual advancement.
It is on Deepavali that everyone wakes up early in the morning.
The sages
who instituted this custom must
have cherished the hope that their descendents would
realise its benefits and make it a regular habit in their lives.
In a happy mood of great rejoicing
village folk move about freely,
mixing with one another without any reserve,
all enmity being forgotten.
People embrace one another with love.
Deepavali is a great unifying force.
Those with keen inner spiritual ears
will clearly hear the voice of the sages,
"O Children of God! unite, and love all".
The vibrations produced by the greetings of love
which fill the atmosphere are powerful enough
to bring about a change of heart
in every man and woman in the world.
Alas!
That heart has considerably hardened,
and only a continuous celebration of Deepavali
in our homes can rekindle in us the urgent need
of turning away from the ruinous path of hatred.
On this day Hindu merchants in North India
open their new account books and pray for success
and prosperity during the coming year.
The homes are cleaned and decorated by day
and illuminated by night with earthern oil-lamps.
The best and finest illuminations are to be seen in
Mumbai and Amritsar.
The famous Golden Temple at Amritsar
is lit in the evening with thousands of lamps placed
all over the steps of the big tank.
Vaishnavites
celebrate the Govardhan Puja
and feed the poor on a large scale.
O Ram!
The light of lights,
the self-luminous inner light
of the Self is ever shining steadily in the chamber
of your heart.
Sit quietly.
Close your eyes.
Withdraw the senses.
Fix the mind on this supreme light and enjoy
the real Deepavali,
by attaining illumination of the soul.
He who Himself sees all but whom no one beholds,
who illumines the intellect, the sun,
the moon and the stars and the whole universe
but whom they cannot illumine,
He indeed is Brahman,
He is the inner Self.
Celebrate the real Deepavali by living in Brahman,
and enjoy the eternal bliss of the soul.
The sun does not shine there,
nor do the moon and the stars,
nor do lightnings shine and much less fire.
All the lights of the world cannot be compared
even to a ray of the inner light of the Self.
Merge yourself in this light of lights
and enjoy the supreme Deepavali.
Many Deepavali festivals have come and gone.
Yet the hearts of the vast majority
are as dark as the night of the new moon.
The house is lit with lamps,
but the heart is full of the darkness of ignorance.
O man!
wake up from the slumber of ignorance.
Realise the constant and eternal light
of the Soul which neither rises nor sets,
through meditation and deep enquiry.
May you all attain full inner illumination!
May the supreme light of lights enlighten your understanding!
May you all attain the inexhaustible
spiritual wealth of the Self!
May you all prosper gloriously on the material
as well as spiritual planes!
Wish you & your family a Happy Deepavali 
--
Have a Nice Day!
Thanks & Regards,
Prathamesh.S.Divekar 
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