Festivals are to life what punctuations are to a long & verbose passage of write-up. Festivals make you pause, ponder, progress & promote in life. They renew your chances to correct the wrongs within & without you. Acting as excuse/escape for/from many things; festivals entice & enlighten. “Everything is a symbol (of something)”. If this is true then festivals are the epitome of culture.

Deepawali is the undisputed empress of rich & myriad Indian culture. It is a festival of Diya (light) & Laxmi-the goddess of wealth (luxury). Right from the childhood, I had two very distinct symbols of Diwali, one is the Diya (Diwali Lamp) & the other is Firecrackers. Diya is an assembly of a small clay lamp, wick & oil. To me, this symbolizes the ideal way of living a life. It burns out itself to churn out light. Let us consider that the clay lamp is the symbol of all our responsibilities & relationships. The oil in it is what we have done (work/effort) in life. And, the wick is our ego/self. This symbolic assembly of ingredients of life, if understood, conveys a very strong message. The message about how one should lead an ideal holistic life. It says, let the ego (wick) burn in your work (oil) within the bondage of your responsibilities & relationships. To light the clay lamp you need a spark, a matchstick. So, who or which is the matchstick of your life? This spark/matchstick is your dream in life. Your purpose in life. Purpose is the reason of your being. Until you find your dream, purpose or spark in life, you will not be able to see the flame of knowledge. This synchronization will create the light (flame) of knowledge & enlightenment. You need this light of knowledge on your way to luxury that Laxmi brings.

Now, on to my second very distinct childhood symbol of Diwali. Firecrackers. One word is all what Diwali means to the kids, at least to me, then (even now, I might say). It is the ultimate symbol of celebration.

Just imagine that glimpse of the firecracker going off like a blitzkrieg, as if you just own that part of the sky. Seems, even the heavens have joined in. The ear-tearing sound that announces its presence to all present not quite present. The deafening silence follows. For the one who lit the firecracker, it is the pleasure of the heroism & for the spectators the pleasure of being treated to the glory. That, feeling of high & joy, momentary yet memorable. The lesson: If we fire ourselves properly, we give the ultimate celebrations to the world, while liberating ourselves. Celebration & Liberation are siblings. We become the reason of celebration & give ourselves a reason of liberation. Way to liberation is only through celebration. The zenith of celebration leads us to liberation. So, this Diwali as you fire that firecracker, observe, absorb & experience it. Fire Yourself.

Wishing you a happening Diwali.