Light in the dark

As I see the lit lamps and hear the firecrackers outside, I reflect on how a festival I never used to celebrate has come to mean a lot to me. Being a Malayali, Diwali or Deepavali as we call it, was never something that was on our celebratory calendars. I grew up not ever having burst firecrackers or lit diyas on that day. It was someone else’s festival – just like Holi or Christmas. Not once in school or college did we ever treat Diwali as a day of significance.

The last nine years that we have lived here in Bangalore, we have celebrated Diwali in our own little ways. No pujas or too many sweets (the kids and I are not sweet-toothed ;-)) – but plenty of little hand-painted diyas and noiseless firecrackers so that the kids enjoyed themselves as they watched the neighbours celebrate. They always had plenty of holidays during this time of the year and therefore the entire atmosphere during Diwali was one of festive joy.

These days I feel that the festival has a deeper meaning for me. I usually observe and don’t take part in the raucous festivity I see around me. But the essence of Diwali for me is light. Not the light of the diyas that keep away the night although that is a beautiful sight indeed, but rather the light that each of us carries within which helps us cope against the encroaching darkness of pain and disquiet.

For each of us is a being of light. We thrive in sunshine. We bloom in the presence of happiness. And yet each of us always carries some pain too. For a lucky few it is not much and can be ignored by means of distracting entertainments or self-induced delusions up until the time hard-hitting reality comes in a form that can no longer be ignored. For the unlucky majority, the problems having to be dealt with and the burdens having to be borne are much harder and for these beings, it is so very easy to forget that they have that inner light. That light truly never fades – yes it is eclipsed now and then by worries and fears but light always wins. The important thing is to remember that nothing can extinguish it and Diwali with its eternal theme of victory of light over darkness, of good over evil, of happiness over despair is the perfect time to remind ourselves of the power we hold within us to win over any setback at all.

So when the diyas shed their steady light all around, the words that flow as a prayer from my heart are simple – “May each and every one of us never lose sight of our inner light. May we always have the strength to tackle whatever comes our way. May the beauty of life be forever reflected in the light of love that radiates from our hearts.”