Diwali - what does it mean to you?

All of us celebrate Diwali each year but how many of us truly incorporate the significance of the festival in our day to day life?

This year, my kids and I decided to learn more about Diwali (beyond the various parties we attended and the firecrackers and Rangolis) and so we poured over the Internet trying to find out why we truly celebrate Diwali. And in the process, even I, born and brought up in India (CDBA), learned something new about Diwali.

The following were the five most commonly cited reasons for the celebration of Diwali:

1. Ram, Laxman, Sita return from 14 years of exile after vanquishing Ravana and people celebrated their return by decorating the whole city with lamps
2. The Pandavas return home after 12 years of exile and people celebrated by lighting lamps to show their happiness
3. Lord Mahavir (Jain religion) attained Nirvana on this day known as Diwali
4. Lord Krishna killed the demon Narakaasura and freed 16000 women who were held in captivity by him. This led to a two day celebration including the Diwali day
5. Lord Vishnu (in his fifth incarnation) rescued Laxmi Devi from King Bali’s prison

I explained to my kids the fundamental theme which is also underlying in four out of the five above versions: that good prevails over bad.

Now you can laugh but I think that the significance can be adapted to fit our day to day lives. I mean, none of us are in exile nor do we have the powers that Ram, Vishnu, and Lord Krishna had.

But, by vanquishing our own fears, asserting ourselves in the face of aggression, standing up for the truth regardless of the consequences, doing the “right” thing even though the temptation (or the reward) to veer off the path is great, are all ways in which we can incorporate the significance of Diwali in our day to day life.

So for those who believe in and celebrated Diwali this year, how do you plan to incorporate the significance of Diwali in your life, ongoing, and not just during the Diwali season? How will you ensure that “good prevails over bad” in and around your life?