“Good and bad, which are part of the illusion created by Hari, cannot be removed without worshiping Hari. Keeping this in mind, worship Rama and renounce all desires.” (Dohavali, 127)

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हरि माया कृत दोष गुन बिनु हरि भजन न जाहिं
भजिअ राम सब काम तजि अस बिचारि मन माहिं

hari māyā kṛta doṣa guna binu hari bhajana na jāhiṃ
bhajia rāma saba kāma taji asa bicāri mana māhiṃ

On the occasion of Diwali, which more and more of the world is coming to know, we make a humble attempt at defining the tradition, which dates back to at least the time of Maharishi Valmiki and his putting pen to paper to immortalize the transcendental pastimes of Shri Rama. The output to that effort was the Ramayana, and there is ample information provided within explaining why there would be a Diwali festival to begin with.

1. The festival of lights

This is the easiest way to describe a tradition that might not necessarily fit into the way celebrations occur in the local area. People dress nicely. Using rice flour, they draw wonderful symbols on the marble floor. They make lights the centerpiece of the festivities. As many lights as possible. As Goswami Tulsidas took poetic couplets and aligned them in a row to publish a work known as the Dohavali, so the array of lamps carefully arranged together creates something known as a deepavali. Another way to say deepa, or lamp, is diya, and so we get the name Diwali.

2. The triumph of good over evil

The lights mean something. An evil person once rose to such prominence that the entire world feared them. They were evil in both the typical sense and the extraordinary. They were known to interfere in the lives of innocent people. Disrupt the sacrifices of the sages. Ruin the otherwise peaceful setting of the forests conducive to austerity and penance, tapo-vana.

This evil person was of the Rakshasa species. To take birth in that form is the result of impious deeds. If you really wanted to curse someone, you would force them to become a Rakshasa in a future life. The tendency from there is towards sinful behavior, and the more demerits accumulate, the further the punishment extends. It is like someone going to prison and then being a repeat offender after they gain release.

This Rakshasa was so powerful that he walked around absent any fear. He had boons protecting him against all kinds of species. Even the gods could not touch him. In his fever tied to the ascension to prominence, this Rakshasa forgot to request immunity from human beings. That later turned out to be his downfall. Diwali celebrates the victory of the forces of good over the formidable evil that was concentrated in the city of Lanka.

3. A welcome home party for the ages

Diwali is like a party to welcome home the person who triumphed over the evil. That person arrived back home after many years. He was previously banished from that kingdom. The treatment was harsh and unfair. In the midst of the upheaval, the women of the town chastised their husbands for being too attached to home and not giving enough attention to the injustice forced upon the blameless eldest son of the king.

किं नु तेषां गृहैः कार्यं किं दारै: किं धनेन वा
पुत्रैर्वा किं सुखैर्वापि ये न पश्यन्ति राघवम्

kiṃ nu teṣāṃ gṛhaiḥ kāryaṃ kiṃ dārai: kiṃ dhanena vā
putrairvā kiṃ sukhairvāpi ye na paśyanti rāghavam

“Of what use are wealth, comforts and pleasures, home, wives, and sons if one is not able to see Shri Rama?” (Valmiki Ramayana, Ayodhya Kand, 48.7)

4. Vishnu triumphing as a man

The man who triumphed over evil was actually Vishnu, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. It would make sense that an extraordinary man was required in order to conquer a demon that even the devas feared. Vishnu as a man is still Vishnu. The Supreme Lord is never bound by gunas, which are material qualities. When we say that He is saguna as Shri Rama, it means that there are distinguishable features facilitating identification. The features are transcendental in nature, as evidenced by the triumph related to Diwali. That same man once also extraordinarily triumphed over fourteen-thousand of the same Rakshasa group from Lanka.

चतुर्दश सहस्राणि रक्षसां भीमकर्मणाम्
हतान्येकेन रामेण मानुषेण पदातिना

caturdaśa sahasrāṇi rakṣasāṃ bhīmakarmaṇām
hatānyekena rāmeṇa mānuṣeṇa padātinā

“Those fourteen thousand Rakshasas of frightening deeds were eliminated by that one man, a foot-soldier, who was Rama.” (Valmiki Ramayana, Aranya Kand, 26.35)

5. Wishing you only good

All the other ways to describe Diwali are kind of surface explanations. To get down to the root, to really understand the mood of the people in Ayodhya at that first celebration, we must understand the nature of the world itself. We are pure spirit soul, known as jiva. For some reason or another, at some previous time, there was a cause that led to the result of our association with the material energy, which is known as prakriti.

पुरुषः प्रकृति-स्थो हि
भुङ्क्ते प्रकृति-जान् गुणान्
कारणं गुण-सङ्गो ऽस्य
सद्-असद्-योनि-जन्मसु

puruṣaḥ prakṛti-stho hi
bhuṅkte prakṛti-jān guṇān
kāraṇaṁ guṇa-saṅgo ‘sya
sad-asad-yoni-janmasu

“The living entity in material nature thus follows the ways of life, enjoying the three modes of nature. This is due to his association with that material nature. Thus he meets with good and evil amongst various species.” (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-gita, 13.22)

Because of that association, we fluctuate between up and down, favorable and unfavorable, and high and low. Good and bad, which are the basis for all of our movements, for all of our decisions, for all of our choices tied to intelligence, are within that material energy. The association with prakriti can also be known as maya, which is illusion.

Goswami Tulsidas explains that this illusion is created by Hari, which is another name for Vishnu. Only through the grace of Hari can this illusion be removed. The people in Ayodhya were in the transcendental state. They were above the illusion of good and bad. This is because they had the favor of Hari in the direct association of Shri Rama.

This means that the transcendentalist is not interested in good or bad. They are not after temporary progress in association with prakriti. This does not prevent them from wishing well for Rama, though. The welcoming home in the array of lamps lighting up the city of Ayodhya was the outward expression of the deeply cherished desire to see only good for Rama and those associated with Him, like Sita and Lakshmana.

Those people will always wish only the best for Rama. Whether they know He is Hari or not, whether He is a fixed resident in their beautiful city or away on business, whether He benefits them personally or not, they will continue to wish Him well. In this way, the occasion of Diwali is like an infinitely extending celebration that goes on throughout the cosmic manifestation.

In Closing:

Identity of Hari to tell,
But still wishing Him well.

That Supreme Lord of all,
But still our dearest to call.

That slayer of Ravana the great,
But patiently to wait.

That triumphant return to see.
Our most beloved is He.

Categories: diwali, fourteen thousand, holiday

Tags: dailyprompt, deepavali, diwali, poem, poems, poetry