Namasthe- Spiritual significance of Deepaavali

October 16, 2009

Dear all,

Happy Deepavali to everybody!

Along with celebrating Deepavali with relatives and friends, let us look inwards to find the presence of the ever glowing eternal lamp within us. Let us explore the spiritual significane of Deepaavali.

As everybody knows, literal meaning of the word Deepaavali is " row of lights " or " festival of lights " . What is the spiritual meaning of the word? " Realizing the presence of the inner light with in all living beings " is the spiritual meaning. This chiathanyam is beyond the body and mind and this is the power that helps us to celebrate Deepaavali the way we are celebrating now. So today we are celebrating Deepaavali also to recognize and remember the light of lights within us which removes all darkness or ignorance from our mind. Let this awareness of the eternal soul within all living beings help us to light all the other lamps of universal compassion, affection, love, tolerance and patience and brighten our lives as well as the lives of every living being we come across in our journey of life. Let us do " aarathi " to the Paramaathma with the row of lights within our bosom and seek His blessings to guide us every moment of our life!

Regards and prayers

Savitri

October 19, 2009

Dear Savitriji,Hari Om.Thanks so much for explaining the spiritual significance in a way we can follow it on a day to day basis. This reminds me of a beautiful story: There was once a king who was reaching old age. He

had three sons and he was trying to decide which of his sons would be

the heir to the throne. In order to test his sons and to determine

which was the most worthy, he gave them each one palace and 100 rupees.

He told them, In the next month I want you each to fill a palace using

the 100 rupees. I will return in one month, on the day of Diwali, and

see how well you have filled your palaces, and then I will decide who

will be my heir.

The first son thought, One hundred

rupees is too small of a sum to fill a palace with anything. Therefore,

I will take the hundred rupees to the casino and turn it into one

million rupees. Then my father will be very happy when I fill the

palace with gold and silver. So, he took the money to a casino, and in

the beginning he kept winning more and more money. However, rather than

saving the money he thought, I still have so much time left until my

father returns. I will enjoy myself with this money and keep making

more. Unfortunately, after spending his winnings on enjoyments, his

luck turned and he lost even the original 100 rupees.

The second son thought, My father

must be joking. One hundred rupees is nothing. There is nothing I can

buy to fill the palace. I could not even fill it with rice for 100

rupees! Therefore he must be tricking us somehow or joking with us. I

will fill the palace with garbage, up to the ceiling. Then he will see

that I understood his joke and he will be happy. So the son paid 50

rupees to the garbage collector to bring all of the garbage to the

palace, and he filled the entire palace with rotting garbage.

The third son thought, Diwali is

coming. My father will be here for Diwali. I cannot buy him any

expensive gifts with this 100 rupees but at least I can decorate the

palace and fill it with light. So the third son bought incense, candles

and oil lamps. He decorated the palace beautifully with candles and oil

lamps.

On Diwali day when the King

returned to each of his sons, he asked the first son, My son, tell me.

What have you filled the palace with? "

His first son replied, My father, I

am ashamed to tell you that I gambled the money. In the end I lost even

the hundred rupees you gave us. I have filled the palace with nothing

but loss.

When the King went to his second

sons palace, the son replied, My father, you will see that I have

filled every inch of this palace and I still have 50 rupees left over.

He smugly handed his father the remaining money and opened the doors.

As soon as the doors opened, the stench from the garbage came wafting

out, and the King immediately ordered, close those doors. He scolded

his second son for having made a mockery of the test and also for

having ruined the palace by filling it with rotting garbage.

Finally, the King went to the third

sons palace. As the doors opened, the King saw the Palace filled with

light. The son explained, My father. There was nothing material I could

purchase with 100 rupees to fill the house, but as it is the time of

Diwali I thought you would be happy to see a palace filled with light.

The King was pleased and he explained to his sons as follows, I wanted

to see not so much what you each would do with the money but rather

what your tendencies are for life. I wanted to test how you each will

live your life in order to determine who will be best suited to rule

the kingdom.

The palace in this story represents our lives, and the 100 rupees

represents our time and energy. According to the scriptures, we are

given 100 years to spend on this Earth. However, in modern times we

live even fewer years. The question is how we each will spend those

years and how we will fill our lives. Some will spend their lives as

the first son has done. They will squander much of their time and

energy in the futile pursuit of enjoyment and pleasures. They end up

with nothing.

Then there are those who fill their

lives with garbage. They may save money but their lives are not

livable; their time and energy go to waste.

Then, there are those who use their

time, their resources and their energy to bring light to others. They

fill their lives and the lives of others with light, joy and peace.

Theirs are the lives which are truly worth living. Theirs are the

hearts filled with light, signifying the welcome of Bhagawan Rama to Ayodhya.

With Love & Pranams,Lakshmy

On Fri, Oct 16, 2009 at 7:47 AM, Savitri Puram <savitriopuram wrote:

Dear all,

Happy Deepavali to everybody!

Along with celebrating Deepavali with relatives and friends, let us look inwards to find the presence of the ever glowing eternal lamp within us. Let us explore the spiritual significane of Deepaavali.

As everybody knows, literal meaning of the word Deepaavali is " row of lights " or " festival of lights " . What is the spiritual meaning of the word? " Realizing the presence of the inner light with in all living beings " is the spiritual meaning. This chiathanyam is beyond the body and mind and this is the power that helps us to celebrate Deepaavali the way we are celebrating now. So today we are celebrating Deepaavali also to recognize and remember the light of lights within us which removes all darkness or ignorance from our mind. Let this awareness of the eternal soul within all living beings help us to light all the other lamps of universal compassion, affection, love, tolerance and patience and brighten our lives as well as the lives of every living being we come across in our journey of life. Let us do " aarathi " to the Paramaathma with the row of lights within our bosom and seek His blessings to guide us every moment of our life!

Regards and prayers

Savitri

October 19, 2009

Very nice story indeed. Thank you very much. We appreciate Savitriji's advice as always.

Thank you very much. May we all light up the whole world in a unique way.

regards,

Sreedevi

Om Namo Narayanaya--- On Mon, 10/19/09, Lakshmy Prakash <lakshmygprakash wrote:

Lakshmy Prakash <lakshmygprakashRe: [Guruvayur] Namasthe- Spiritual significance of Deepaavaliguruvayur Date: Monday, October 19, 2009, 10:28 AM

Dear Savitriji,Hari Om.Thanks so much for explaining the spiritual significance in a way we can follow it on a day to day basis. This reminds me of a beautiful story:There was once a king who was reaching old age. He had three sons and he was trying to decide which of his sons would be the heir to the throne. In order to test his sons and to determine which was the most worthy, he gave them each one palace and 100 rupees. He told them, In the next month I want you each to fill a palace using the 100 rupees. I will return in one month, on the day of Diwali, and see how well you have filled your palaces, and then I will decide who will be my heir. The first son thought, One hundred rupees is too small of a sum to fill a palace with anything. Therefore, I will take the hundred rupees to the casino and turn it into one million rupees. Then my father will be very happy when I fill the palace with gold

and silver. So, he took the money to a casino, and in the beginning he kept winning more and more money. However, rather than saving the money he thought, I still have so much time left until my father returns. I will enjoy myself with this money and keep making more. Unfortunately, after spending his winnings on enjoyments, his luck turned and he lost even the original 100 rupees. The second son thought, My father must be joking. One hundred rupees is nothing. There is nothing I can buy to fill the palace. I could not even fill it with rice for 100 rupees! Therefore he must be tricking us somehow or joking with us. I will fill the palace with garbage, up to the ceiling. Then he will see that I understood his joke and he will be happy. So the son paid 50 rupees to the garbage collector to bring all of the garbage to the palace, and he filled the entire palace with rotting garbage. The third son thought, Diwali is coming. My father will

be here for Diwali. I cannot buy him any expensive gifts with this 100 rupees but at least I can decorate the palace and fill it with light. So the third son bought incense, candles and oil lamps. He decorated the palace beautifully with candles and oil lamps. On Diwali day when the King returned to each of his sons, he asked the first son, My son, tell me. What have you filled the palace with?" His first son replied, My father, I am ashamed to tell you that I gambled the money. In the end I lost even the hundred rupees you gave us. I have filled the palace with nothing but loss. When the King went to his second sons palace, the son replied, My father, you will see that I have filled every inch of this palace and I still have 50 rupees left over. He smugly handed his father the remaining money and opened the doors. As soon as the doors opened, the stench from the garbage came wafting out, and the King immediately ordered, close

those doors. He scolded his second son for having made a mockery of the test and also for having ruined the palace by filling it with rotting garbage. Finally, the King went to the third sons palace. As the doors opened, the King saw the Palace filled with light. The son explained, My father. There was nothing material I could purchase with 100 rupees to fill the house, but as it is the time of Diwali I thought you would be happy to see a palace filled with light. The King was pleased and he explained to his sons as follows, I wanted to see not so much what you each would do with the money but rather what your tendencies are for life. I wanted to test how you each will live your life in order to determine who will be best suited to rule the kingdom. The palace in this story represents our lives, and the 100 rupees represents our time and energy. According to the scriptures, we are given 100 years to spend on this Earth.

However, in modern times we live even fewer years. The question is how we each will spend those years and how we will fill our lives. Some will spend their lives as the first son has done. They will squander much of their time and energy in the futile pursuit of enjoyment and pleasures. They end up with nothing. Then there are those who fill their lives with garbage. They may save money but their lives are not livable; their time and energy go to waste. Then, there are those who use their time, their resources and their energy to bring light to others. They fill their lives and the lives of others with light, joy and peace. Theirs are the lives which are truly worth living. Theirs are the hearts filled with light, signifying the welcome of Bhagawan Rama to Ayodhya.With Love & Pranams,Lakshmy

On Fri, Oct 16, 2009 at 7:47 AM, Savitri Puram <savitriopuram@ gmail.com> wrote:

Dear all,

Happy Deepavali to everybody!

Along with celebrating Deepavali with relatives and friends, let us look inwards to find the presence of the ever glowing eternal lamp within us. Let us explore the spiritual significane of Deepaavali.

As everybody knows, literal meaning of the word Deepaavali is "row of lights" or "festival of lights". What is the spiritual meaning of the word? "Realizing the presence of the inner light with in all living beings" is the spiritual meaning. This chiathanyam is beyond the body and mind and this is the power that helps us to celebrate Deepaavali the way we are celebrating now. So today we are celebrating Deepaavali also to recognize and remember the light of lights within us which removes all darkness or ignorance from our mind. Let this awareness of the eternal soul within all living beings help us to light all the other lamps of universal compassion, affection, love, tolerance and patience and brighten our lives as well as the lives of every living being we come across in our journey of life. Let us do "aarathi" to the Paramaathma with the row of lights within our bosom and seek His blessings to guide us every moment of our

life!

Regards and prayers

Savitri

October 19, 2009

Dear Lakshmiji,

Â

Wonderful, wonderful story. Thank you so much for sharing. May God blessÂ us to keep our inner light burning. May He bless us to celebrate Deppavali in our mind everyday.

Â

Â

Regards an dprayers

Â

Savitri

On Mon, Oct 19, 2009 at 12:28 PM, Lakshmy Prakash <lakshmygprakash wrote:

Â

Dear Savitriji,Hari Om.Thanks so much for explaining the spiritual significance in a way we can follow it on a day to day basis. This reminds me of a beautiful story:There was once a king who was reaching old age. He had three sons and he was trying to decide which of his sons would be the heir to the throne. In order to test his sons and to determine which was the most worthy, he gave them each one palace and 100 rupees. He told them, In the next month I want you each to fill a palace using the 100 rupees. I will return in one month, on the day of Diwali, and see how well you have filled your palaces, and then I will decide who will be my heir.

The first son thought, One hundred rupees is too small of a sum to fill a palace with anything. Therefore, I will take the hundred rupees to the casino and turn it into one million rupees. Then my father will be very happy when I fill the palace with gold and silver. So, he took the money to a casino, and in the beginning he kept winning more and more money. However, rather than saving the money he thought, I still have so much time left until my father returns. I will enjoy myself with this money and keep making more. Unfortunately, after spending his winnings on enjoyments, his luck turned and he lost even the original 100 rupees.

The second son thought, My father must be joking. One hundred rupees is nothing. There is nothing I can buy to fill the palace. I could not even fill it with rice for 100 rupees! Therefore he must be tricking us somehow or joking with us. I will fill the palace with garbage, up to the ceiling. Then he will see that I understood his joke and he will be happy. So the son paid 50 rupees to the garbage collector to bring all of the garbage to the palace, and he filled the entire palace with rotting garbage.

The third son thought, Diwali is coming. My father will be here for Diwali. I cannot buy him any expensive gifts with this 100 rupees but at least I can decorate the palace and fill it with light. So the third son bought incense, candles and oil lamps. He decorated the palace beautifully with candles and oil lamps.

On Diwali day when the King returned to each of his sons, he asked the first son, My son, tell me. What have you filled the palace with? " His first son replied, My father, I am ashamed to tell you that I gambled the money. In the end I lost even the hundred rupees you gave us. I have filled the palace with nothing but loss.

When the King went to his second sons palace, the son replied, My father, you will see that I have filled every inch of this palace and I still have 50 rupees left over. He smugly handed his father the remaining money and opened the doors. As soon as the doors opened, the stench from the garbage came wafting out, and the King immediately ordered, close those doors. He scolded his second son for having made a mockery of the test and also for having ruined the palace by filling it with rotting garbage.

Finally, the King went to the third sons palace. As the doors opened, the King saw the Palace filled with light. The son explained, My father. There was nothing material I could purchase with 100 rupees to fill the house, but as it is the time of Diwali I thought you would be happy to see a palace filled with light. The King was pleased and he explained to his sons as follows, I wanted to see not so much what you each would do with the money but rather what your tendencies are for life. I wanted to test how you each will live your life in order to determine who will be best suited to rule the kingdom.

The palace in this story represents our lives, and the 100 rupees represents our time and energy. According to the scriptures, we are given 100 years to spend on this Earth. However, in modern times we live even fewer years. The question is how we each will spend those years and how we will fill our lives. Some will spend their lives as the first son has done. They will squander much of their time and energy in the futile pursuit of enjoyment and pleasures. They end up with nothing.

Then there are those who fill their lives with garbage. They may save money but their lives are not livable; their time and energy go to waste. Then, there are those who use their time, their resources and their energy to bring light to others. They fill their lives and the lives of others with light, joy and peace. Theirs are the lives which are truly worth living. Theirs are the hearts filled with light, signifying the welcome of Bhagawan Rama to Ayodhya.

With Love & Pranams,Lakshmy

On Fri, Oct 16, 2009 at 7:47 AM, Savitri Puram <savitriopuram wrote:

Â

Dear all,

Â

Happy Deepavali to everybody!

Â

Along with celebrating Deepavali with relatives and friends, let us look inwards to find the presence of the ever glowing eternal lamp within us. Let us explore the spiritual significane of Deepaavali.

Â

As everybody knows, literal meaning of the word Deepaavali is " row of lights " or " festival of lights " . What is the spiritual meaning of the word? " Realizing the presence of the inner light with in all living beings " is the spiritual meaning. This chiathanyam is beyond the body and mind and this is the power that helps us to celebrateÂ Deepaavali the way we are celebrating now. So today we areÂ celebrating DeepaavaliÂ also to recognize and remember the light of lights within us which removes all darkness or ignoranceÂ from our mind. Let this awareness of the eternal soul within all living beings help us to light allÂ the other lamps of universal compassion, affection, love, tolerance and patience and brighten our lives as well as the lives of every living being we come across in our journey of life. Let us do " aarathi " to the Paramaathma with the row of lights within our bosom and seek His blessings to guide us every moment of our life!

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Regards and prayers

Â

Savitri

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