HAPPY DIWALI:

Diwali is one of the most popular festivals celebrated in the Indian calendar. The five days festivities comprise of firecrackers, feasting, prayers, family & friends get-togethers & lighting of earthen lamps. Audio: https://www.dropbox.com/s/rkpax8thr9tiu0t/HAPPY%20DIWALI.m4a?dl=0

Historically, the import of Diwali is not about lighting of lamps, but the return of Lord Rama to Ayodhya after His exile for 14 years. The Ramayana describes, how the town of Ayodhya went into a great sorrow when Lord Rama was exiled due to the misdirected or twisted plot of Queen Kaikayi. Citizens of Ayodhya were feeling a loneliness, emptiness & agonies due to separation from Lord Rama. Similarly in age of darkness we are suffering from anxiety, agitation, anger ness, quarrel, hatred, envy, greed & possessiveness due to exile of Lord from our hearts. 

So celebration of Diwali will remain incomplete if we focus ourselves only for light­ing lamps, feasting & fun but not thinking about Lord Rama. How can we welcome the supremely pleasant, divine & loving personality Lord Rama back into our hearts & home and experience the essence of Diwali?... By cultivating the knowledge from the sacred scriptures about the Lord and His love for us and reviving our dormant love for Him & His creation by practicing Spiritual Yoga ( Bhakti Yoga ). So while lighting the earthen lamps during Diwali Days, let us also enlighten our heart with divine wisdoms and love.

Bg 9.22 -- But those who always worship Me with exclusive devotion, meditating on My transcendental form – to them I carry what they lack, and I preserve what they have.

Bg 9.29 -- I envy no one, nor am I partial to anyone. I am equal to all. But whoever renders service unto Me in devotion is a friend, is in Me, and I am also a friend to him.  

What is Historical Significance of Diwali? 

The First Day of Diwali:

The first day of Diwali is called Dhanvantari Trayodasi or Dhan Theras. On this day, Lord Dhanvantari appeared, delivering Ayurvedic medicine for mankind. On this day people also offer prayer to Yamaraja (the Lord of Death) for protection from untimely death.

The Second Day of Diwali:

The second day of Diwali is called Naraka Chaturdasi. On this day, Lord Krishna destroyed the demon Narakasura and liberated the 16,000 princesses which the demon held captive.

The Third Day of Diwali:

This is the actual day of Diwali on which Lord Rama returned to Ayodhya, after successfully rescued Sita and defeated the demon, Ravana. On this day people also worship the divine Goddess Lakshmi, the consort of Lord Vishnu, to achieve the blessings of wealth and prosperity, and triumph of good over evil and light over darkness.

The Fourth Day of Diwali:

On this day, Govardhana Puja is performed. Many thousands of years ago, Lord Krishna convinced the people of Vraja Dham to worship this sacred hill which provides the basic necessities for survival. Furthermore, Bali Maharaja was defeated on this day by Lord Krishna’s dwarf brahmana incarnation, Vamanadeva.

The Fifth Day of Diwali:

The fifth day of the Diwali is called Bhratri or Bhai Dooj. It is a day dedicated to sisters. We have heard about brothers’s day (Raksha Bandhan), well this is sisters’ day.

Happy Diwali & Happy New-Year to You & Your Family.

Pankaj & Dipika and Family.

See the link below for detailed.

http://www.bhaktivedantamanor.co.uk/home/?page_id=625

Thank You.

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MY SPIRITUAL INSPIRATION , SOURCE & THE GURUS:

I am inspired to hear & read the Vedic Scriptures by regularly listening to Sri Pandurang Shashtri Athvale, also known as Dadaji ( speaks on Srimad Bhagavad Gita, Veda based discourses & western philosophy ) and the association of Swadhyay Parivar every Sunday in Swadhya Kendra. 

I also hear and read the discourses & literature on Vedic thoughts from Srila Prabhupada, his disciples & grand disciples ( HH Bhakti Rasamitra Swami, HH Chaitanya Charandas Prabhu, Shubha Vilas Prabhu, Sutapa Das, Amarnath Dasa, HH Bhakticharu Swami, HH Urmila Devi Dasi, HH Sivarama Swami, HH Radhanath Swami, HH Romapada Swami, Lal Govind Prabhu ( Gujarati & Hindi) Prahalad Maharaj in Surat (Gujarati) .......and many more from ISKCON......). 

FYI: A good source of Vedic literature: Vedabase.com . Srimad Bhagavad Gita is the essence & Srimad Bhagavatam (SB) is the nectar of all Vedic scriptures. Repeatedly hearing/reading & meditating the Scriptures, Eating Sanctified Pure Food and Chanting Vedic Mantras are nourishing to our heart (Soul), transcendental to our consciousness, purifying to our senses and thus helps us to overcome our weaknesses or deficiencies. Yes, we do have good qualities within us but there is always a room for improvement. 

It is always a good idea to share our good thoughts & knowledge with others. Thanks to the Facebook & Social media for providing me the platform. Of course I use Smartphone & Google search to collect some data. 

Besides my parents, wife, teachers, family & friends GREATFUL to EVERYONE WHO HAVE CONTRIBUTED in MY LIFE. Hopefully my enthusiasm will continue by Grace of the Guru & God (Krishna , Absolute Truth).

NOTE:

Many times a word Hearing is used instead of Listening when it comes to the Scriptures. Because Scriptures are so potent that simply by Hearing them even if you don’t try to interpret or analyze or understand them still there will be passive positive effects on our mind & senses.

We can follow either the Quran, Bible,Torah, Tripitaka-Buddhism, Agama-Jainism, Guru Granth Sahib-Sikhism, Gita or any other Philosophy which makes sense to us, purifies us, elevates our consciousness and qualifies us to understand God and instill the love of God & his creation. (whichever way we can understand God -- either Personal with many names or Impersonal as an universal consciousness & energy).

Don’t try to understand God by Name, Religion or Depiction (means image, picture...etc) but try to understand him by the Definition through Scriptures. The Transcendental subject of God & his creation cannot be understood by mental speculation. Some times people ask why God is Supreme? It is just like asking why is the circle circular? Just by definition, the circle is circular. Similarly by definition, God is unborn, complete, unlimited, infinite, eternal, the Absolute Truth the source of everything, cause of all causes. 

I see God, besides the above mentioned qualities, as an eternal living person (not a abstract or some kind of light) known by the name KRISHNA meaning one who attracts everyone has also MANY other NAMES, forms, abodes, incarnations, activities, qualities, associates, is full of wisdom, bliss, and the cause of all causes.

Bg 9.17 -- I am the father of this universe, the mother, the support and the grandsire. I am the object of knowledge, the purifier and the syllable oṁ. I am also the Ṛg, the Sāma and the Yajur Vedas.

Bg:13-12:-- Accepting the importance of self-realization; and philosophical search for the Absolute Truth ( God ) – all these I declare to be knowledge, and besides this whatever there may be is ignorance. ( Vedabase.com ).