“My nature is Light
Nothing but Light
When the world arises
I alone am shining.”
~ Ashtavakra Gita
The spiritual traditions of Bharat function on many levels – from gross to subtle, outer to inner. The outer manifestations exist to function as reminders and also to celebrate and elevate life in its manifested aspect. Diwali, the most prominent festival in Bharat, is a great example, rich with meanings, both gross and subtle. Let’s explore some of these.
Importance of Kartika month
Kartika maas which begins on Sharad Purnima (17 Oct 2024 this year) is deeply spiritually significant among all seekers. For the yogis, it signals the start of the transition from the period of sadhana, Dakshinayana (which begins at the summer solstice) to the period of samadhi pada or kaivalya pada, Uttarayana (beginning on Makar Sankranti, mid-January). So the month of Kartika is when we are called to honour the Light within, in preparation for Kaivalya or samadhi.
The Kartika month is most important to Vaishnavas as Sri Krishna mentions it as the month most dear to Him in the Padma Purana. It is also called Damodar maas because it was in this month that Krishna manifested His Damodar leela in which He allowed Himself to be tied up by mother Yashodha. This leela of the Lord signifies His willingness to give in to the desires of His loving devotees.
For the Shaivas too, the month is considered important for appeasing Lord Shiva. Shiva’s son Kartikeya (after whom the month is named) defeated the demon Tarakasura during this month and the last few days of the month, leading up to Kartika Purnima are considered especially important with people in south India making it a point to light more diyas during this time. On Kartika Purnima, Karthigai Deepam is celebrated as the day that Shiva had appeared as an infinite pillar of Light. A huge fire is lit at the holy Arunachala hill, among other prominent places in south India, to celebrate this.
Diwali falls on the Amavasya in Kartika maas. What better time to emphasize light than on the darkest night of the month. Sadhana on this night is considered especially powerful (Amavasya is anyway always conducive to the realisation of Emptiness).
So in many ways, the Karthika month is considered extremely auspicious and one in which the results of sadhana are multiplied manifold.
Cycles of Time
Modern day traditions in India can often leave one confused because so much of the knowledge that underpinned them has been lost and people often blindly follow conventions and often assign their own limited understandings to them or even make up some of their own. For instance, one may wonder why both Lakshmi and Ganesha are worshipped on Diwali and at the same time, so are Sri Rama and Ma Sita. The Diwali period is also associated with Dhanvantari on Dhanteras and with Krishna on Naraka Chaturdashi.
To unravel all of this, we need to understand that we have here a mix of stories from different yugas. So the confusion we may experience may actually be a testament to how ancient the culture really is! The stories of Goddess Lakshmi and Lord Dhanvantari (avatar of Vishnu and the source of Ayurveda) pertain to the Samudra manthan or churning of the ocean of milk which happened in the Sat Yuga. It was as a result of the churning that Ma Lakshmi and Dhanvantari emerged from the ocean.
The story of Ganesha accompanying Lakshmi is also interesting. It is said that initially, Kuber, the god of wealth was appointed as the distributor of wealth under Goddess Lakshmi’s supervision. However, he proved to be miserly in distributing the wealth and seemed to want to horde most of it. Ma Lakshmi became concerned that she was not able to reach all her devotees and consulted Lord Vishnu who advised her to appoint wise Ganesha instead. Ganesha accepted the task on the condition that Ma Lakshmi must bless whoever he mentions to which Lakshmi agreed. Blessings and wealth began flowing much more freely. Ganesha thus remained the trusted distributor of Her wealth while Kuber remained as a treasurer.
The story of Lord Rama’s return to Ayodhya after a 14 year exile, is from the Treta Yuga. Suryavanshi Rama’s presence in this month exalts the significance of the sun at this time – both the external and internal, as the Light of consciousness.
Krishna’s affiliation through the Damodar leela and Naraka Chaturdashi (when the demon Narakasura was killed by Krishna), belongs to the Dvapar Yuga. With a significance spanning all the yugas, it is no wonder Diwali is so important – it is literally Timeless!
Transcending through Stories
The spiritual traditions in Bharat include thousands of stories relating to events that happened over tens of thousands of years. However, these stories don’t intend to bind us or keep us stuck in history. They intend to show us how things happened (iti-h-aas), as is relevant for us presently. The beauty of Sanatana Dharma is that while the stories do relate to actual events, they also relate to subtle understandings and often metaphorically explain to us certain truths about our human condition and how to transcend ignorance.
For instance, the Ramayana symbolically explains the process of the soul or jiva (Sita) being captured by the Maya-bound senses (Ravana) and being rescued by the Grace of God (Rama) with the aid of the Guru (Hanuman) and the devoted buddhi or intellect (Lakshmana). In this way, the story becomes timeless, transcending cycles of time and reminding us of the highest purpose of our human birth. While we all have our personal stories that keep us bound to our individuality, these are stories that elevate our consciousness and help to liberate us.
May this day of Diwali, auspicious on so many levels and in so many ways, awaken us to the Light within.
