The five day festival usually falls in October-November, commencing with ‘Dhan-Teras’ and ending on ‘Bhaiduj’. The main day of celebration varies regionally which involves fireworks, lights, flowers, sharing sweets, and worship to symbolize hope and restoration. Some use this occasion to strengthen family and social relationships.
Origin of Deepavali
• Deepavali was the day when Sri Rama's coronation took place after his victorious return to Ayodhya from Lanka vanquishing Ravana and his brood. In the absence of the effulgent Rama, Ayodhya was a city of darkness. The return of Rama was hailed by the people of Ayodhya as the return of divine effulgence and hence they celebrated the event by the lighting of lamps everywhere.
• Thousands of years ago there was a planet called Naraka which appeared to be approaching close to the earth. People were filled with dread of the approaching catastrophe, hence prayed to Lord Krishna for averting the imminent disaster and to save them. Krishna used His Prajna (extraordinary knowledge) to destroy Naraka. This extraordinary knowledge of Krishna was termed Sathya. i.e., Krishna destroyed Naraka in association with Sathya. The residents of the world started celebrating that day with lighting of lamps and adoring the Lord who saved them. That day of the Lord's triumph was celebrated as a festive occasion as Deepavali too.
• Narakasura imprisoned thousands of princesses and tortured innumerable women. Unable to bear these indignities, the women appealed to Krishna for help. As Narakasura had inflicted sufferings on women, he had to be punished by a woman. For this reason, Krishna took Sathyabhama with Him and destroyed him in battle. Vijayadasami celebrates the victory of Krishna over Narakasura. It is also known as Naraka Chaturdasi. The following day is Amavasya (New Moon Day). Krishna freed from prison 16,000 women and asked them to go back to their respective homes.
• Deepavali was the day when Lord Vamana sent the Emperor Bali to the Nether World after getting the promise of three feet of ground (measured by the Lord's foot) from Bali
• Deepavali was the day on which Emperor Vikramaditya ascended the throne.
Inner Meaning of Deepavali
The Vedic Prayer, “Tamasomaa Jyotir Gamaya"; Lead me from Darkness to Light. This means light is needed where there is darkness. What is this darkness? Sorrow is one form of darkness. Loss of Peace is another. Disappointment is the form of darkness. Misery is yet another. Lack of enthusiasm is another. All these are different forms of darkness. To get rid of the darkness of sorrow, you have to Light the Lamp of happiness. To dispel the darkness of disease, you have to install the light of health. To get over the darkness of losses and failures, you have to usher in the light of prosperity.
Lead me from the blindness of ignorance into the vision of the Truth. Cleanse the mind and the Truth will be reflected therein. There is something beyond the physical body and mind which is pure, infinite, and eternal, called the Atma. Just as we celebrate the birth of our physical being, Deepavali is the celebration of this Inner Light, the knowing of which outshines all darkness (removes all obstacles and dispels all ignorance), awakening the individual to one's true nature, not as the body, but as the unchanging, infinite, immanent and transcendent reality. With the realization of the Atma, come universal compassion, love, and the awareness of the oneness of all things (higher knowledge) that brings Ananda (Bliss).
Deepavali is a festival which is designed to celebrate the suppression of the Ego by the Higher Self. Man is plunged in the darkness of ignorance and has lost the power of discrimination between the permanent and the evanescent. When the darkness of ignorance caused by Ahamkara (the ego-feeling) is dispelled by the light of Divine knowledge, the effulgence of the Divine is experienced.
How to observe Deepavali?
Deepavali has to be observed as a day for getting rid of all the bad qualities in us. As long as the demonic qualities remain in man, he will be immersed in darkness. Bad qualities and thoughts have to be got rid of altogether.
Many Deepavali festivals have come and gone. The house is lit with lamps, but the heart is full of the darkness of ignorance. The lamp is not merely the symbol of the knowledge to Truth. It is also the symbol of the One, the Atma that shines in and through all this multiplicity. Just as with one lamp, a thousand lamps can be lit and the One is as bright as ever in spite of the thousands deriving light from it, so too, the Atma illumines the Jiva (individual) and shines in and through them, without undergoing any diminution in its splendor. The Atma is the Cause; all else are effects. Wake up from the slumber of ignorance. Realize the constant and eternal light of the Atma. May you all attain full inner illumination! May the supreme Light of Lights enlighten your understanding! May you all attain the inexhaustible spiritual wealth of the Self! May you all prosper gloriously on the material as well as spiritual planes!