With just one more day to October 29, 2016 and the joyous, religious and spiritual observance of Divali, there is tremendous excitement and anticipation. All families in the Hindu community would have already made elaborate preparations for this day.
Divali expresses the divinity that is inherent in all humanity. People must make the effort to seek the blessings of the Divine Lakshmi Mata who confers infinite blessings. For the farmers, blessings come in the form of bountiful crops. For the merchants and all workers, blessings come in the form of wealth and material prosperity. For the householder, blessings come in the form of family joy, co-operation including peace and happiness.
For the student, wealth comes in the form of secular and sacred knowledge. For performers and composers, Lakshmi Devi blesses in the form of Sangeet Lakshmi. For the spiritual aspirant, blessings are received through divine awakening.
For the realised souls, God is easily understood. These are only few of the blessings a person receives through communication and contemplation on the Divine Mother, Lakshmi Mata. Divali reminds us of the contrasting opposites that exist in this world of duality. The mind can never find complete rest and ease until the grace of Lakshmi Mata is received and the divine light of illumination and enlightenment is realised. In the daily duality of events and activities that pull the mind hither and thither, a person is often tugged along through various emotions and experiences that result in emotional dsyfunctionism.
The mind, pulled through these peaks and troughs, is unable to have the kind of restfulness that allows it to become finely attuned to the divine reality. For such to happen, it is necessary to have the darkness of material existence, unrefined consciousness, undue attachment to worldly prosperity and relationships eradicated by the light of divine knowledge.
No amount of material possessions or popularity is of any value, benefit or merit in the pursuit of spiritual realisation. Only the dedicated practice of devotion will be of value in the pursuit of understanding the pathway to realisation. As humans begin to internalise, practice and develop higher consciousness, the darkness of lower qualities in the form of base tendencies and utterances will surely be eliminated. Generally, people consider enemies as only physical beings who have the capacity to inflict pain and injury. Seldom do people consider that the base qualities that they possess inflict greater pain and suffering than the physical pain. While injury by someone can inflict physical pain and be felt or endured at the physical level, it is difficult for most people to conceive of the pain suffered by the soul.
Often the person's karma punishes the soul by forcing it through continuous birth after birth cycles, to suffer the repeated vagaries of earthly life. While it is true that an earthly life affords a person opportunity to glorify Lakshmi Mata, earthly life is also very finite. The soul's greatest search is to return to infinity. Earthly life makes most sense for the sages and saints who are karma free, but take birth, karmaless to assist aspiring souls to move towards divinity.
Divali is one of the most renowned and celebrated religious observances associated with the aphorism, from the mantra, "Tamaso Maa Jyotir Gamaya." This encapsulates the soul's journey from darkness to light. Divali is also an occasion that is most visible through the millions of lit deeyas as well as other forms of commercial lights that constantly remind us of the need to banish external and internal darkness from our lives. The greatest wealth one can possess is the wealth of virtue and noble conduct.
When the light of Lakshmi Mata shines on the occasion of Divali, numerous problems automatically disappear. This is why the spirit of Divali is never confined to a single day. It is a spirit that must be deeply embedded in the psyche of all people. The lights of Divali remind everyone that each person must become a beacon of light as a person, as a member of a family, community or society. The more divine qualities find expression in behaviour, the more everyone in society will develop.
The wealth of knowledge will ultimately translate into a new thinking. Generally most people believe in the acquisition of wealth as a means of satisfying only the creature interests. They do not perceive of wealth for any higher purpose or use. Consequently, wealth is hoarded and used only for selfish or personal purposes. This gives rise to what the scriptures describe as "Kripanta" or miserliness with respect to generosity towards noble works.
Many very wealthy people do not possess the spirit of generosity with respect to mandirs, schools, orphanages, hospitals etc. This defeats the noble purpose for which wealth is distributed by Lakshmi Mata. Ultimately the greatest message for Divali 2016 is for everyone to remember that the human body can be considered a deeya. If we fill every pore with devotion, then the light of divinity will burn bright in our consciousness and our journey to God Realisation will be rapidly achieved.
Shubh Divali 2016 to the nation.