GAME CHANGER SERIES
‘ Why do we burn Ravana every year, Does it mean that Ravana is not dead yet? Many of us have never thought about it , right ? We often do things for which our mind cannot find a reason. As a child , having grown up in north India , I have learnt that ‘Diwali is a festival of light’ and I used to think that it is all about candles and Diyas . We are made to gulp the tale of Lord Rama returning to Ayodhya with wife, Sita and brother Lakshmana after killing Ravana .
This tale made our understanding simpler and we started owing our diwali celebration to Lord Ram' s victory . The victory of good over evil became the tagline of every Diwali.
However it was not until recently when the entire concept of Ramayana made a somersault in front of my eyes. It appeared to me as if for the very first time I understood Diwali in its true essence. We only understood the allegory but now it’s time for us to probe beneath its surface meaning. Sri Ravi Shankar says that ‘Ram' means ‘soul, ‘Sita' stands for ‘wisdom ‘ , ‘Ravana ‘ for ‘ego’ and ‘hanuman ‘ for ‘life force’. It means when Sita moves away from Ram ,It is wisdom captured by Ravana which is pride and ego. It is only through help of hanuman which is life force one can reunite Sita with Ram or wisdom with soul. Their return to Ayodhya which means an indestructible place.
Thus it becomes simple that the purpose of diwali is to light candle of wisdom , reuniting it with our inner self ,slaying ego and entering an arena of indestructible peace. Same goes the implication for Lord Krishna destroying demon Naraksur which represents lust overpowered by wisdom , the tale which children of South India have grown up listening to. This concept has made me look at diwali with new glasses.
So let’s make a move towards Ayodhya by 1. Slaying ego and reaching out to those who need us. 2. Leaving situations which are not serving our purpose of life. 3. Welcoming new people in our lives. 4. Overcoming past hurt and toxic people. 5. Making diwali special for at least 1 person in our vicinity. 6. Contacting those whom we have not talked to for more than 5 years. 7. Being around people who truly love us. 8. Giving a warm hug to our grandparents and parents. 9. Doing at least one thing different from what we did last diwali. 10. Contacting our school and college friends 11. Celebrating diwali as we never did before.