Today begins the real Diwali as it is the Narak Chaturdashi today. Yes, Aai used to wake up at 4.30 sharp. The very first item on her ageda used to be playing the LP record of Bismilla Khan's shehnai. Believe me, the morning thus used to sound divine.
The Narak Chaturdashi special bath used to be heavenly, too. The slightly cold morning, the warm water, the game of the light and shadow that the wicks of the panati's would play, and Aai's kind gentle eyes while applying the fragrant oil, the utne/the special scrub and batheing us, it truly used to appear as if all could only be well with, and in, the world.
I suppose that is the real meaning of Diwali, this feel of goodness encompassing the whole world. Is not that the meaning of Narak Chaturdashi? Does not the death of Narakasura signify the end of evil, and the victory of the good?
In my opinion, all of us love Diwali because year after year, the festival makes us re-live this feel central to our philosophy. What is the Vaidic prayer? From darkness, lead us to light, from falsehood to truth, and from death to immortality. This triune prayer shows us the path to a better world each year during Diwali, and, I suppose, we therefore love the festival.
Pratima @Diwali literally means a row, an 'awali', of diya's. The gentle light of the small little panati illuminates and thus diminishes darkness. That is the power of goodness, and thus ends the evil, which is the real meaning of Diwali!
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