On the Diwali night, as I
was watching the colorful sky a few random thoughts came to my mind which I
thought would be worth sharing. Let me start with the mythical facts about the
very concept Diwali.
Spiritual
significance of Diwali
While Diwali is popularly known as the "festival of
lights", the most significant spiritual meaning behind it is "the
awareness of the inner light". Central to Hindu philosophy (primarily the
Yoga, Vedanta, and Samkhya schools of Hindu philosophy) is the belief that
there is something beyond the physical body and mind which is pure, infinite,
and eternal, called the Atman. The
celebration of Diwali as the "victory of good over evil", refers to
the light of higher knowledge dispelling all ignorance, the ignorance that
masks one's true nature, not as the body, but as the unchanging, infinite,
immanent and transcendent reality. With this awakening comes compassion and the
awareness of the oneness of all things (higher knowledge). This brings ananda
(joy or peace). Just as we celebrate the birth of our physical being, Diwali is
the celebration of this Inner Light.
While the story behind Diwali and the manner of celebration
varies from region to region (festive fireworks, worship, lights, sharing of sweets),
the essence is the same – to rejoice in the Inner Light (Atman) or the underlying Reality of all things (Brahman) (Wikipedia ref.).
Power
of Negative and Positive
Life is a tussle between
the negative and positive. Negative energy is much powerful than positive
energy. Greed always pulls everything towards it. Similarly negative energy
too. Poverty and suffering always pulls
everything around into it. It is full of negative energy that even if you go
near it with all your positive energy it will start pulling you towards it.
When you see a poor beggar
in the street, you heart is moved with sympathy instantaneously whether you
give something or not. What exactly happens to you? Let me remind you that it
is not your positive energy that brings a feeling of sympathy in you. Instead,
it is the power of the negative energy that pulls you towards it. Though you
personally, do not like to be associated with it or do not like to see beggar
in your life, you are automatically drawn to it. You have no escape unless you
shell out a few coins/currency notes in the begging bowl. In short, you pay a
price for the negative energy that drew your attention and peace of mind.
In some cases, you may not
be ready to shell out a few coins. As a consequence of being frugal about shelling
out a few coins, the punishment that you get would be a mental haunt/torture of
that stinking wretched picture of that beggar in your mind. It can last not for
a few minutes but it lasts even for a few days or months, depending on the
power of the negative energy and the gravity of the conditions of the beggar.
It would even some time compel you to revisit the beggar to shell out a few
coins and regain your peace of mind. Thus, the power of negative is enormously
stronger than the power of positive. It is not easy to win the power of
negative the way you think you could.
Diwali
is victory of light over darkness
Have you ever thought that why sun is so hot that no one can
touch it or go even the distant neighborhood?
We all are aware that sun is a burning star at the center of
solar system. Sunlight is Earth’s primary source of energy to dispel darkness
and sustain the echo-system.
Imagine, if the power of negative is so powerful, how much
more powerful the positive should be to dispel the negativity?
To penetrate into the darkness and dispel it, the sun needs
enormous power. So it has to burn eternally to keep the light, energy and substance
in the earth. Similarly, to have victory over the power of darkness or negative
energy you need to have so much power and positive energy.
Diwali is all about bringing more and more happiness and
prosperity in the world. As human beings how can we support the nature’s endeavor
to support the cause? I am sure, one of the ways is to uproot misery and
suffering from the phase of existence the way we can. It is not uproot-able
totally, but to the extent that we can, we should.
CSR as a working model in the 21st
century to spread happiness around
CSR is one of the means to put an end to the suffering and spread
happiness and prosperity around. The CSR
mantra is loka samastha sukhino bhavantu
– (may all beings everywhere be happy and free, may my thoughts, words and
actions some way contribute to that happiness and freedom of all).
Let us understand, if there is atrocious amount of poverty,
suffering and negative energy around, it is going to pull all of us into it
like a whirlwind. But if we want to reduce the power of negativity, the best
way is to get involved in CSR. Rather than being selfish and greedy in the
midst of suffering and misery open your eyes and start dispelling the darkness
with the mite you can. Let us not forget the little drop makes the mighty
ocean. Your small contribution would add up to that ocean for the people who
are needy. Remember, it is not going to save them at the end of the day, it is
saving you to have happy and prosperous life here on earth. You are not doing
it for the charity sake, instead you are doing it to keep your positive energy
intact.
So the more people around you are prosperous and happy, it is
going to enhance your happiness and prosperity. Thereby, reducing the
extraction of your positive energy and retaining your vitality and potentials
for the higher goals. Let this Diwali trigger the seeds of goodness or CSR in
your heart to have a happy and wonderful life here on earth.
Wishing you all blessings of life
Joji Valli
