Diwali is around the corner and for many Hindus, the biggest celebration of the year is coming.
In this video, we look at why so many celebrate the festival of lights.
First of all let me start this video by wishing everyone watching a very Happy Diwali.
Here, I want to focus on the meaning behind Diwali and why this celebration is so important
for so many people around the world.
Actually, this video naturally acts as a prelude for what's to come in the future of this channel,
as I've been working on my biggest and most ambitious project to date, where I go into
Hindu ideas and philosophy and the life lessons we need to take from it, for which I've created
a 10 part series.
If that sounds of interest to you, please do make sure to subscribe to see it when it
comes out.
Not only is Diwali a joyous occasion where people will greet friends and family, presents
are exchanged and lots of incredible food is eaten, but rather the celebration itself
is deeply rooted with an important meaning, notably being called the festival of lights
and encourages to people to vanquish the darkness in the soul to allow the light to shine through,
something we'll delve deeper into later in the video.
For those new to the celebrations, Diwali comes from the root word Deepavali, which
means a row of lights, symbolised most prominently by diwas that are lit in all Hindu homes to
dispel the darkness with the light.
However, to really understand Diwali, it's impossible to ignore the...
Ramayana The Ramayana is one of the great epics in
Indian history alongside the Mahabharata, and remains one of the most important texts
in Hindu households, telling the story of Lord Rama, the seventh avatar of Lord Vishnu
in Hinduism.
Now, I can't really go in depth into the story of the Ramayana as the 24,000 verses of the
text is simply too big and too deep to cover in the space of a few minutes.
However, to try and give a quick summary, the story is of Lord Rama who is the rightful
heir to be the next king of Ayodhya, but is forced into exile to a forest with his wife,
Sita, and brother Lakshman, due to political issues.
During their time there Sita garners the attention of Ravana, the King of Lanka, who kidnaps
her while Rama is out trying to capture a deer for her.
On finding out about Sita's capture, Rama along with Lakshman pursues Ravana to save
her, meeting various individuals and groups to help them along the way, not least the
monkey God, Hanuman, who becomes the most devout follower of Rama.
As a great battle ensues, Rama finally defeats Ravana and saves Sita, after which they return
to Ayodhya where in the darkness of the night rows of diwas, small lanterns, light the path
to their rightful place in the Kingdom.
Now, obviously this is an extremely short summary of a story that has such depth that
people have been trying to analyse it for millenia and for many, is considered a part
of real history.
But, the key points I want to give here is that when it comes to the Ramayana, Rama's
act of patience and virtue lead him from a place of extreme misery and darkness, much
of it forced upon him, to ultimately letting the light of his actions see him return to
his rightful place.
And before we move on, let's not ignore others in the story, including Sita's purity and
strength throughout her ordeal, the strength and unquestionable support of Lakshman and
the devotion and faith of Hanuman, arguably the one with the greatest show of strength
in the whole epic.
Each character in the Ramayana is layered, deep and a complex and fully realised individual
from which we can learn invaluable lessons on life.
However, the key lesson here that I want to really share with you is that from...
Darkness Comes Light In both Eastern and Western philosophy and
culture, the concept of dispelling darkness with light is common practice when talking
about the depths of overcoming our challenges in life.
The Ramayana tells of this in a way which can be easily understood, as through patience,
perserverence and acting virtuously, Rama came across all he needed to help him fulfil
his duty to overcome Ravana and save Sita.
However, equally prevelant in Diwali celebrations is the thematic nature of light in the midst
of darkness.
In the story of the Ramayana, when Rama, Sita and Lakshman retured to Ayodhya, they were
met with rows of lanterns to light their path following their ordeal.
During the Diwali festivities, Hindus will light diwas in their homes and set off fireworks
into the darkness of the night sky, bringing a resplendent and joyful night in amidst the
darkness.
You see, in life we're all faced with moments or periods of darkness and suffering, but
the key here is that we can dispel that darkness with the light of wisdom, to overcome ignoranace
with knowledge, and to truly appreciate the light, you must first encounter the darkness.
This idea and concept of knowledge is something I'll be delving deeper into the series I release
on Hinduism, but here, I'd like to focus on the...
Key Lessons ...of Diwali.
The importance of Diwali is that it's a reminder that regardless of all that we've faced in
the past year, it's critical to move forward in life with confidence and optimism.
For many Hindus, it's a time where they'll purchase new clothes, which has the metaphorical
meaning of starting anew with renewed drive and purpose.
This fresh start prepares them for the year ahead, ready for what battles may come and
with the knowledge that ultimately, their actions will see them dispel their suffering
through perseverance.
So the first lesson is never lose sight of the meaning of life, let Diwali be a reminder
of what you work towards and start afresh in your pursuit towards your goals.
This leads us to the next lesson, that optimism and positivity need to triumph over our perceived
negativity in life.
This is quite a simple concept really, if you wallow in the depths of negativity then
you'll naturally bring misery into your life, perhaps allowing a nihilistic outlook dictate
your actions which leads to destructive behaviour rather than something productive and progressive.
So the next lesson to take away is that regardless of what happens, don't lose sight of what
can be.
After all, the greatest creator in your life...is you.
And look, that which is meaningful and of great importance won't come easily, so you
need to have great patience in what you pursue, as some things take a great deal of time,
perhaps a lifetime, to achieve.
For many Hindus, the ultimate goal is Moksha, the liberation from all material desires,
which can take multiple lifetimes to achieve.
So, work as though your actions today cannot be delayed even by a second, but have the
patience to pursue a goal that may not bear fruit for generations.
After all, these are often the most meaningful goals in life.
And the way you live shouldn't be for the self, because we can't fulfil our purpose
alone.
Rama didn't save Sita alone, he needed the support of Lakshman, Hanuman and so many others.
In business, success cannot be achieved if you're not offering value to others, most
notably your consumers.
So, learn to live in a way where you bring joy to others with no expectation and you
will naturally find that people will support you in your pursuits.
Finally, it's important to dispel the darkness within you to bring light to your life.
We all suffer, we all struggle and we all have to deal with hardships.
However, by learning to bear the burden and have the ability to move forward regardless
with optimism and hope is to accept the fruits that life has to offer, as without darkness,
we cannot truly appreciate light.
So, if you take nothing else away from this video at least take this, don't let the darkness
consume you, instead always remember that the light will shine brightest in that darkness.
Do you celebrate Diwali?
Let me know in the comments.
If you enjoyed this, please be sure to subscribe with the bell on to make sure you get notified
of the future series on Hindu philosophy.
Thanks for watching.