The festival of lamps!

Every year on the new moon night of Kartika, a great festival known as Divali is celebrated. It is a day great importance for those who follow dharma as It welcomes the light of the lord back into the heart, after our great sojourn into ignorance.


There are numerous stories associated with Divali but primarily it is a celebration of the day Lord Rama returned from the forest with Sita and Laksmana after their exile and defeating the great demon Ravana. The triumph of good over evil and Sri Ramachandra's reinstatement on the throne of the heart. This beautiful story known as the Ramayana is a very deep and mystical epic which can when read in the proper spirit destroy many of our personal negative tendencies.
On this sacred night, we light lamps and set them on windows or rooftops to remind everyone; "Journey through the darkness with the torchlight of knowledge."

This day is also known as Kali puja as she is the goddess who removes the darkness of ignorance to allow space for the light of knowledge to reign supreme. She is honored and worshiped on this day as the external energy of Sri Krsna. She performs the duty of concealing and revealing the lord from the individual soul. She killed the demons Canda and Munda who represent the tendencies of Self-deceit and self-deprecation as well as the demons Sumbha and Nisumbha who represent the tendencies of too much and too little. Finally, she was the only one who could destroy the demon Raktabjia who is the seed of desire which plagues the individual soul and keeps him tied to the world of materiality. This story is the subject matter of the Devi Mahatmya which also carries therapeutic effects when recited and read in the correct manner.

The day before Divali is a festival called Naraka Chaturdasi, which marks the day that Sri Krsna killed the demon Narakasura and freed the imprisoned 16100 girls who became his wives. Symbolically defeating the internal selfish desire to enjoy the possessions of the lord which manifest when we think ourselves to be equal to him.

These festivals are powerful days to enter into deep meditation on Sri Rama and relinquish and false beliefs about the self, the world, and the supreme. It is highly beneficial to light lamps and participate in the various festivities but most importantly, refocus the mind on the light within the heart and allow that light to carry hope, devotion, and wisdom into your life and actions.

Jaya Sri Ramachandra!