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Happy Diwali 2014!
Happy Diwali or Deepavali to all those of you who are celebrating it around the world. Diwali is the Hindu Festival of Lights. But not only Hindus celebrate this festival. Jains and Sikhs are among other faiths that dive into the celebrations with great fervor.
The festival falls between mid-October and mid-December. It is a time of the year when Hindus renovate, clean and paint their home. Families buy new clothes for everyone to get dressed up in on the day, lavish meals and sweets are prepared and fireworks are set off to celebrate what is probably the biggest festival in the faith.
When you read about Diwali you quite often come across it being described as a Festival of Lights representing the triumph of light over darkness and good over evil. All true but I do want to pick at one of the words in that phrase – “good over evil”. In Hinduism we believe that God permeates everything. God is in me, in you, in the trees, the stones and everything and everyone. Based on this philosophy Hindus do not believe then that there is an entity that is purely evil. God is in all and therefore everything in its essence is God. There is no evil but only temporary states of confusion and hellish states of mind.
Amidst all the celebration of Diwali, it is good to take some time in silent reflection on what this festival is all about. Diwali is very much about bringing light into the darker areas of the mind to gain a greater clarity on the meaning and purpose of life. This is symbolically represented outwardly by the lighting of lamps. On this day around the world millions of lamps are lit to signify this.
So, Diwali is light shining forth into darker areas bringing clarity thus understanding which gives birth to empathy, compassion and love.
Happy Diwali one and all!
Cuisine of Rajasthan – The land and its (limited!) bounty
This is the first of a series of posts over the next few months where Markley Boyer, friend and foodie, will explore the desert cuisine of Rajasthan. The food of Rajasthan is dictated in large part by its geography. It is by far the driest state of India. The northern half of the state has no...
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The Art of Charm: Monk with a Macbook
I recently did an interesting interview with Jordan Harbinger of “The Art of Charm.” I spoke a bit about my journey to becoming a monk, life in the monastery and then we had a great discussion about relationships, energy and the importance of knowing your path in life. I explained my belief in th...
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A Perfect Day in Kolkata
Rich in history, colorful and vibrant, Kolkata conjures up more mixed feelings than a 7-year relationship gone bad. You’ve never truly experienced urban life in India until you’ve trudged your way through this enigmatic city. Kolkata is a kaleidoscope of emotions, stirring all of your...
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Developing a company’s greatest asset
G’day from Perth, Western Australia. I was invited here by the JWH Group to conduct a workshop with their senior management team. Yesterday I had the wonderful pleasure of speaking to the founder of the company, Julian Walter, and the company’s general managers and executives. About 1...
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Celebrating Diwali “the Festival of Lights”
This year, on October 23rd, tens of thousands of Sikhs and Hindus will be celebrating one of India’s grandest festivals, Diwali – the Festival of Lights. Diwali is an ancient Hindu festival that signifies the victory of light over darkness, good over evil, and knowledge over ignorance...
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Part 2: The World of Indian Spices
Today we continue with Part 2 (read Part 1) of my friend, foodie and, fantastic Indian chef: Markley Boyer’s article discussing the signature spices of India: An unusual spice used in many foods in South India is asafetida, the dried resin from a member of the family of plants that includes carro...
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