Removing darkness and filling with light

Monday, November 6, 2023

The significance of Diwali is the removal of all darkness and ignorance from the mind and filling it with light..
From a very young age, I used to wonder why, during a week somewhere between October and November, houses were filled with beautifully handcrafted diyas with their bright light radiating throughout my neighbourhood. I certainly did go on further about questioning why this commemoration took place. I proceeded to ask my parents, “Appa,Amma, why are the houses filled with these brightly lit oil lamps?" and, surprisingly enough, their murmurs of answers never seemed to satisfy my vast mind, although at a very young age.
Later on, as an NRI and moreover a person in the Middle East, I saw way more than just lamps of oil and bright lights filling the great ambience of my homely neighbourhood; it was a festival to be cherished and, moreover, to admire its splendour. Being in the best part of Kuwait, where all Indians join together in their unity and diversity, combining this varied nature into our strength, we were sure to embrace all festivities with a spirit of joy and acceptance over the stereotypical and religious barriers that all of us certainly had.
I still remember the first time I celebrated Diwali. It was when a new family shifted to our floor and invited us over to celebrate Diwali. Absolutely nobody in my family knew anything about this festival, despite having heard a lot of it. We were nothing but a bunch of confused folks, not knowing what to do at an important festival. We quickly took our Onam costumes, bought the family a gift, and rushed there quite on time. Although we were unaware of celebrations or customs, our hosts were calm and taught us everything we ever had to know, and I vividly remember that despite being anxious about being left out, I never did, and I to this day proudly admit that I’ve never felt more wanted at a grand function or, moreover, a festival, even at my own religious places, despite having a Hindu host. That day, I learned a valuable moral that nobody taught me—the first lesson I’ve taught myself. Religion is just a name we put on people who, after all, are all devotees of the same God.

From that day on, I began to notice that the closeness and affection we feel towards any person is not at all dependent on any religious, cultural, or economic divisions. We all unite in one love, one nation, and one union, and that is more important than anything that divides us. Our unity lies in our diversity. Our biggest wealth is the name of India.

This is especially noticed outside our motherland. When we stay away from our nation, our memories, our favourite things, and our important memoirs and adventures flash before our very eyes. When we see anyone and anything that reminds us of our nation, especially in these foreign countries, we find this immense love, care, and a beautiful attraction for anyone that is a camarade and becomes our family.

Diwali, despite being an orthodox festival in India, sees NRIs join together hand in hand without any difference or dispute and later on celebrate it wholeheartedly together in order to remove all negativity from our minds and fill it with the light of the beautiful festival marking the victorious return of Rama and Sita after their plight, and just like that, after every festival, I too mark another day of beautiful unity for our nation.