THE SPEAKING TREE (The Times of India)
Lighting The Lamp Of Love
Discourse: Sri Sri Ravi Shankar
Every human being has some good qualities . Every lamp that you light is symbolic of this. By lighting the lamp of wisdom in you, you light up latent values and by acquiring knowledge; you awaken all the facets of your being. When they are lit and awakened , it is Deepawali. Dont be satisfied with lighting just one lamp; light a thousand, for you need to light many lights to dispel the darkness of ignorance.
Another profound symbolism is in the firecrackers. In life, you often become like a firecracker, waiting to explode with your pent-up emotions, frustration and anger. When you suppress your emotions, cravings, aversions, hatred, you reach a bursting point. Bursting crackers is a psychological exercise to release bottled-up emotions. When you see an explosion outside, you feel similar sensations within you as well. Along with the explosion, there is so much light. Let go of these emotions, so serenity dawns. You can experience newness when you discard these pent-up emotions. Deepawali means to be in the present, so drop the regrets of the past and the worries of the future and live in the moment.
Sweets and gifts symbolise the dispelling of the bitterness and renewal of friendship. Deepawali is a time to throw light on the wisdom you have gained and welcome a new beginning. When true wisdom dawns, it gives rise to celebration. But dont let celebration make you lose your focus and awareness. To maintain awareness in the midst of celebrations, the ancients created rituals: puja brings sacredness. For the same reason, Deepawali is also the time for pujas that add depth to the festivities by infusing the spiritual aspect. Celebration includes the spirit of seva or service. Share. In giving, we receive. Celebration also means dissolving all differences and basking in the glory of the atman. Happiness and wisdom have to be spread and that can happen when all come together and celebrate in knowledge. Deepawali is the celebration of the wisdom thus born. For the one who is not in knowledge, Deepawali comes only once a year, but for the wise, Deepawali is every moment and every day. This Deepawali, celebrate with knowledge and take a sankalpa (intention) to serve humanity.
Light the lamp of love in your heart; the lamp of abundance in your home; the lamp of compassion to serve others; the lamp of knowledge to dispel the darkness of ignorance and the lamp of gratitude for the abundance that the Divine has bestowed on us. Light dispels darkness and when the darkness of ignorance within you is dispelled through the light of wisdom, goodness prevails.
Navratri: A journey to the source
Sri Sri
Sunday, September 20, 2009 9:32 IST
The festival of Navratri is celebrated with prayers and gaiety in the beginning of Ashwin (autumn) and the beginning of Chatra (spring). This period is a time for self-referral and getting back to the source. During this time of transformation, nature sheds the old and gets rejuvenated; animals hibernate and life emerges back afresh in the spring.
According to Vedic science, matter reverts back to its original form to recreate itself again and again. Navratri is a festival for one to take the mind back to its source. The seeker goes back to the true source through fasting, prayer, silence and meditation. It gives us relief at the three levels of existence -- physical, subtle and causal. While fasting detoxifies the body, silence purifies the speech and brings rest to the chattering mind, and meditation takes one deep into one's own being.
Navaratri is a celebration of the spirit or prana, which alone can destroy mahsihsasura (inertia), shumbha-nishumbha (pride and shame) and madhu-kaitabh (extreme forms of craving and aversion).
They are complete opposites, yet complementary. Inertia, deeply ingrained negativities and obsessions (raktabeejasura), unreasonable logics (chanda-munda) and blurred vision (dhoomralochan) can be overcome only by raising the level of prana and shakti, the life-force energy.
The nine days of Navratri are also an opportunity to rejoice in the three primordial qualities that make up the universe. Though our life is governed by the three gunas. The first three days of Navaratri are attributed to tamo guna, the second three to rajo guna and the last three to sattva guna.
Our consciousness sails through the tamo and rajo gunas and blossoms in the satva guna of the last three days. The three primordial gunas are considered as the feminine force of our magnificent universe. By worshiping the Mother Divine during Navaratri, we harmonise the three gunas and elevate sattva in the atmosphere. Whenever sattva dominates in life, victory follows. The essence of this knowledge is honoured by celebrating the tenth day as Vijayadashami.
The Mother Divine is recognised not just as the brilliance of intellect (buddhi), but also the confusion (bhranti); she is not just abundance (lakshmi), she is also hunger (shudha) and thirst (trishna). Realising this aspect of the Mother Divine in the entire creation leads one to a deep state of Samadhi.
Through wisdom, devotion and nishkama karma, one can attain advaita siddhi or perfection in the non-dual consciousness. Recognising the one divinity in every form and every name is the celebration of Navratri. Hence, special pujas honouring all aspects of life and nature are performed during the last three days.
Kali is the most horrific manifestation of nature. Nature symbolises beauty, yet it has a horrific form. Acknowledging the duality brings a total acceptance in the mind and puts the mind at ease.
