Away from burst & bang
These are times when the festival of Diwali brings in its wake much pollution and conspicuous consumption. For many urban Indians, it is an excuse for all kinds of indulgence. I do hope some of us at least will put the crackers away for a while this Diwali and try and remember the spirit of the festival, which usually becomes buried under loud bangs and a pall of smoke.
Most of us know the popular background story of the festival — where Rama returns home with wife Sita and brother Lakshman after 14 years in exile. The trio is greeted with rows of diyas that not only signified joy at their homecoming, but also at the vanquishing of evil that they had accomplished in their time away from home.
As in most ancient rituals and festivals, there is an underlying subtext that encourages people to look within. For, both good and evil are aspects of every human being’s psyche. When afflictive emotions like anger, jealousy, hatred and greed dominate, we are driven to actions and words that might be termed “evil”. This is borne out in the Ramayana story by the fact that “evil” Ravana was a learned man. The fact that he allowed his negative traits to overpower him led to his moral downfall and eventual death. In the slaying of Ravana, the spiritual message is to “kill” those traits that cause a negative imbalance within us.
The way to do this, as most wisdom traditions teach us, is to strengthen the forces of good, which are as much a part of us as the forces of evil. Each situation in life can be a battleground for sharpening and sustaining our compassion, our humility, our inner equilibrium. In the face of provocation, can I remain calm? Can I see the other’s point of view? Can I act from a place of warmth and positivity, rather than react with judgmental anger? Am I able to introspect on my behaviour, rather than justify all my actions?
When I refer to “right” and “wrong”, I do not mean socially acceptable norms of behaviour, for these change according to culture, place and country. Rather, the truest compass for rightness and goodness is inbuilt within each of us. It is oriented towards certain ethics and values that are universally held to be good or correct, and form the perennial core of all philosophies.
This Diwali, let us spare a moment to reflect on what goodness might mean for us individually. Whether it is being more mindful of others, experiencing gratitude for what we have instead of hankering after what we don’t, sharing our many gifts with those who have none, or simply sitting in meditative silence, I hope we will use this opportunity to reorient ourselves towards our inner compass, and resolve to do more to bring beauty, truth and goodness into our everyday lives.
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