Diwali, the Festival of Light

Loving and Divine Ones,

Let the choicest blessings of God and the masters be upon all of you. I take this opportunity to pray for
you, and I send my best wishes on the occasion of Deepavali (Diwali, the Festival of Light). It is
celebrated on the new moon day in the month of OctoberNovember, which falls on 19 October this year.

Light is the source of life and activity; darkness is for rest and relaxation. During the day the sun provides
light; the night is lit by the moon. For our own purposes, we also use lamps. Today is the new moon day.
Sometimes, out of humor I have asked why is it called the new moon, when no moon is visible in the
sky? Have you ever thought about it?

The new moon day has beautiful meanings. The moon represents the mind, and our minds are filled with
restlessness, impurities, emotion, and many other vices represented by the dark spots on the moon. Mark
Twain said that we always show our bright sides and hide our dark sides. Human perfection, however, is
freedom from all darkness of the mind. To reach human perfection and ultimate illumination, our minds
should glow in light. The new moon represents the effort to eliminate human imperfections. The new
moons function is to renew and cleanse our minds, bringing new life.

Although the new moon is a sign of darkness for most, spiritual seekers consider this darkness nothing
but ignorance, and they show the way to illumination through effort and endeavor. The new moon arrives
after Vijaya, the Day of Victory. Sometimes success or victory can lead to ego and arrogance or
slackness, contentment, and laziness. These qualities open the door to downfall and dependence. The
Festival of Light should bring more love and light into our lives that we can share with others. Light is not
for itself; it is for others. All our accomplishments should be for our own emancipation and for serving
others with love.

Although we are children of light, out of ignorance we still walk in darkness. In darkness we experience
fear, and it is possible to stumble or fall. All the fears, downfalls, or troubles we face are the result of the
darkness of ignorance and our mistakes.

We must ask ourselves a simple question: Are we walking on the path of love, light, knowledge, and
illumination, or are we walking with hatred, jealousy, ignorance, and darkness? Are we lonely and afraid?
Do we have a good friend? It is nice to quote Helen Keller, Walking with a friend in the dark is better
than walking alone in the light. A good friend can be a real support, but finding a good friend is not easy.
Sometimes, we have a good friend whom we neglect and even humiliate. Thus, we lose our way and
grope in darkness.

A person who seeks power and possessions in this temporary world lacks the power of vision and cannot
see the world as it is. A person blind with passion cannot see the value of compassion, dispassion, and
discrimination. Egotistical people cannot see the greatness in those around them. Selfish people cannot
see anything but their own interests. All these are signs of darkness. They lead to immeasurable misery
and misfortune. We must invite light love, knowledge, and illumination into our lives so we will be
enlightened and can selflessly shed light on others. Knowledge is light. Let us walk on the path of
knowledge and light with helping hands, loving hearts, and reflective and contemplative heads. Let our
lives be dedicated to serving all with love and light.

Again, I send my love and best wishes to all of you.

With Love,

Prajnanananda