Deepavali reminds us of our true essence. ‘I am a light, pure and peaceful soul, master of this material body.’
Consider a diya, a traditional oil lamp during Deepavali. The clay that forms on a diya represents the physical body, while the flame symbolizes the soul within. The word ‘diya’ comes from Hindi meaning, ‘in glow, and this concept of selfless giving lies in the core of Deepavali. The festival urges us to change our focus from ‘What’s in it for me? to ‘What can I give?’
A diya for home:
The ritual cleaning of our homes for Deepavali is a metaphor for purifying the body, our first home. Our thoughts and emotions continuously radiate to the body, as vibrations and inspect it. To cleanse emotional toxins, we must shift our focus from anger to empathy, and fear to faith. We must move from abusing the body to radiating pure emotional vibrations by nourishing it with a sattvic diet, good health, and high vibrational energy.
Being a diya in relationships:
Relationships are often maintained with a mindset of “give and take” and an underlying desire: ‘What am I getting from them?’ This usually leads to disappointment and discord. Our responsibility is to shift from reacting and resisting to responding and weeping/giving with love, compassion, and forgiveness. As we share Deepavali sweets, let us also offer emotional gifts of blessings, understanding, and unconditional acceptance. The practice of closing financial accounts during Deepavali is a regular reminder for us to accept and settle our karmic accounts by letting go, of past hurts, negative perspectives, and starting afresh.
Being a diya at work:
In the professional world, the emphasis frequently is on personal gain. But Deepavali entails gifting, and our work is our gift to everyone who is a part of it. Whether we are creating products or providing services, our goal should be to give something valuable to society. Each morning, let us be at the workplace to empower colleagues, serve clients with integrity, and balance commercial success with responsibility.
Being a diya to nature:
Nature has always given us abundantly. Deepavali reminds us to shift from exploiting nature to nurturing it. With such emotional resilience, we raise the collective vibrational energy of the planet. The air, water, and plants around us are always influenced by our emotional state. Let us embrace a new way of eco-friendly living – a simplistic lifestyle. This year, we can also consider giving gifts without any wasteful or plastic packaging that invariably ends up adversely affecting our ecosystem.
A common concern is, ‘If we keep giving, who will give to me?’ When we meditate to connect to a higher power, we get energized and radiate virtues. Then, giving becomes natural and effortless. This meditational process of connecting and radiating is beautifully symbolized on Deepavali when one large diya, symbolic of God, lights a smaller one, symbolic of the soul, and that diya lights another.
As we light diyas and invoke Lakshmi, deity of purity and prosperity, we invite the essence of the Golden Age into our lives.
