Guest guest Posted October 25, 2000 Report Share Posted October 25, 2000 Dear list members Wish you all a very happy Diwali - the festival that reprsents the triumph of good over evil. In South India Deepavali (or Diwali) is celebrated on Naraka Chaturdasi (14th day of the lunar cycle), the occasion of Narayana slaying the demon Narakasura (literally, " the Asura of Hell " ). Here is a very beautiful interpretation of this event by Sri Ramana Maharshi, punning on the fact Naraka means hell and equating hell to " the state of not realising our true nature " . I have taken this from " Letters from Sri Ramanasramam " by Suri Nagamma. It is a translation of two Tamil poems in the Venba metre written by Bhagavan He is the king of hell who says that he is the body, which is hell itself. He is Narayana, who ascertains who Naraka is and destroys him with his vision of wisdom, jnana drishti. This is the auspicious dayof Naraka Chaturdasi. The false belief that the hell-like house called body is me, is Naraka himself. To destroy that false belief and let the self shine as self, is Deepavali. Swami _______________________ Get Your Private, Free E-mail from MSN Hotmail at http://www.hotmail.com. Share information about yourself, create your own public profile at http://profiles.msn.com. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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