The Ramayana's Lessons For Diwali

The festival of lights teaches many lessons that continue to hold true today through the descriptive narrations of its legends.

- Shubha Villas

The wisdom of my grandmother struck me very hard when something drastically odd happened to me at age 31. Every night during my childhood, she would recite the story of the Ramayana to put me to sleep. These bedtime stories became my lifeline.

This initial seed got nourished as I delved into an intense study of the epic, and grew into a huge tree by the time I turned 30. I had studied the Ramayana thoroughly and had developed a desire to write it in an authentic, yet a modern way.

This prompted me on a journey to write a six-volume series called Ramayana, The Game Of Life. Along with a gripping narrative of the story, I have tried to pen down hundreds of life lessons that can be profitably inculcated in life.

From here, several lessons related to the grand festival of Diwali can be learnt from the story. Different people perceive life’s jubilations differently. An upcoming festival is a joy to most and a relief to many. Those who focus on new clothes, sweets, fun and frolic perceive it as a joy. Those who focus on the freedom it gives you from the burden of work – since a festival also means a holiday – look at it as relief. What does a festival herald for you?

Most people choose to float on the ritual of the festival rather than delve into its essence. They celebrate festivals with mechanical enthusiasm rather than essence-based awareness. The question shouldn’t be ‘Have we enjoyed the festival’, rather it should be ‘Have we been upgraded by the festival’. Rather than thinking how we have celebrated the festival, we should be asking whether we have contemplated during the festival.

Interestingly, almost every festival in the world is born to commemorate the sacrifice of some divine personality. Janmashtami is as much a festival to celebrate the sacrifice of Vasudev and Devaki as it is to celebrate the birth of Krsna.