By VS Krishnan
November
13, 2020
Diwali
marks the beginning of a season that delights and brings warmth and cheer to
all. Children and elders dress in their best, the house is illuminated with
lights, and there is a lot of meeting and greeting. This year Diwali has a very
different flavour because while wearing new clothes, we will also wear a mask
and maintain social distance. Our prayers will have a special appeal, that is,
to deliver us from the pandemic.
Diwali,
also known as Deepavali, celebrates light that removes darkness and enlightens
and enriches mind and intellect. When the light of knowledge is shared, it
brightens the prospects of the whole region, bringing prosperity to all. The
path of truth is revealed. “Lead us from darkness to light,” says the
Brihadaranyaka Upanishad. Diwali is an occasion when we emerge from darkness to
light, from unreal to real and from suffering to infinite happiness.
Arut
Prakasa Vallalar, the 19th-century Tamil saint, is noted for his universal
vision. He went beyond the confines of religion and visualised a world of peace
and happiness based on universal brotherhood and Jyoti worship. Jyoti means
effulgent form of light. He said worshipping Jyoti, which has no form and yet
is visible, is ideal and universal.
The lamp
that is lit during Diwali is also Jyoti that manifests throughout the universe
and also shines within. When the light within is kindled, it elevates one to
the supreme state of jnana, ultimate knowledge. It is the light within, better
known as Atma Jyoti, that makes one conscious of existence. The universe
operates on its own inherent energy. Similarly, there is self-sustaining energy
in every human cell. It is this energy which causes all movements. The origin
of this energy is Jyoti. Though the divine energy within is invisible, it is
pulsating within as Atma Jyoti. When one becomes conscious of Atma Jyoti, he
becomes free from fear and free from death.
Hindus
believe that Shiva manifested as Jyotir Linga in temples like Somnath at
Saurashtra and Mallikarjuna at Srisailam. Jyoti constitutes an important part
of invocation among other faiths also. Traditionally, woman is viewed as being
sacred jyoti. When she makes a new home, she symbolically lights the lamp which
brings happiness and prosperity. When
she lights the lamp, she recites the Deepa Jyoti Mantra: “I prostrate to the
twilight lamp whose light is Supreme Knowledge, which removes the darkness of
ignorance and liberates us from all our sins.”
The city of
Ayodhya was lit up with thousands of clay lamps to welcome Prince Rama who was
returning home after 14 years of exile and his victory over Ravana. Since his
arrival marked the triumph of good over evil, the victory of knowledge over
ignorance and the brilliance of light over darkness, it became an event for
celebration, and this is what Diwali signifies.
There is
also a belief in the southern parts of India that Diwali is celebrated to mark
the victory of Krishna, personifying Truth, who overcame demon Narakasura, who
symbolised evil. Narakasura was the embodiment of ego and though the demon was
eliminated, the ego that he represented still parades itself among us. When the
individual bursts firecrackers (now banned due to pollution), it is a symbolic
act of destroying the ego. The lighting of the lamp symbolises the emergence of
knowledge, “I am the Self.”
Original Headline: Burst’ the ego and remove ignorance with
Jyoti
Source: The Times of India
URL: https://newageislam.com/spiritual-meditations/deepavali-light-that-manifests-throughout/d/123469
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