We all know Deepawali celebrates Ram’s homecoming after 14 years of Vanavasa. How do we celebrate Deepawali today? By spending hours on the road. Spending money in the markets on sweets, chocolates, crackers, and expensive gifts. By having parties and get-togethers. What does it all have to do with the story of the Ramayana? Rama went to the forest for 14 years to honour his father’s words. He fought against the mighty Ravan to bring Sita back. In his absence, Bharat cared for the kingdom of Ayodhya and lived as an ascetic. Even after returning from Vanavasa, when Rama became king of Ayodhya and the subjects doubted Sita’s purity, Sita went to the forest. Rama and Sita never lived a comfortable life.

I don’t know whether the homecoming of Rama is an occasion to have parties, drink liquor, burn crackers, create noise pollution, pollute the entire atmosphere with chemical fumes, jam the roads, show off wealth, spend time and energy on socialisation and show off, spend money wastefully, and do vulgar demonstrations of wealth to make the poor feel inferior. I feel that if anybody reads the Ramayana carefully, they can’t do any of these. What we do in our lives. Whether that’s anywhere near the teachings we get from the lives of Rama and Sita.

Rama was a prince, and he could have had anything he desired. Yet he developed vairagya very early. He saw that everything is temporary, lost interest in those things, and that’s when his father, Dasharatha, called upon Sage Vashistha and Vishvamitra to answer his question; their entire conversation is recorded in the Yog Vashistha. Ram asked questions on almost everything, and Vashistha and Vishvamitra answered very patiently. Shouldn’t Diwali be an occasion to read a few verses from the Yog Vashistha and discuss them with our kids?

बहिः कृत्रिमसंरम्भो हृदि संरम्भवर्जितः ।

कर्ता बहिरकर्तान्तर्लोके विहर राघव ॥

“O Raghava (Rama), play your part in this world with outward enthusiasm, but remain entirely free of excitement or agitation in your heart. Be an active doer on the outside, but a non-doer within.”

Are we free of excitement in our heart? Are we not looking at these festivities to have fun and pleasure? Each couplet of Yog Vashistha is a pearl of wisdom. Should we not discuss the lives of Rama and Sita on this auspicious occasion? If we don’t, how will these values get carried to the next generation? How will their lives be centred on love and compassion? How will they distinguish between a life centred on love and compassion and another centred on greed, ambition, and fear?

I wish that the parents of our generation realise what a difficult world they have handed over to the next generation. How difficult it is becoming for people to breathe in polluted air. How difficult it has become to tolerate the noise. How difficult it is for the poor to withstand that pomp and show. How difficult it is for children to make sacrifice and hard work the centre of their lives. I wish that on this pious occasion, we all gather the courage to examine our lives. Ram and Krishna are profound characters, and by listening to the stories of their lives, we understand how beautiful a life can be. The most wonderful thing in both their stories is that they faced great adversity from childhood, yet their lives were always guided by love and compassion. They never settled for anything less than the truth. That’s why the purpose of Deepawali isn’t just to celebrate and have sweets; it’s to reset the centre of our lives.

Wish everybody a Happy Deepawali, where the light of wisdom truly illuminates our hearts.