Well, guess what? My (well, almost all Indians’) most favourite time of the year is here. It’s DIWALI- the most joyful, loud, colourful day of the year. Diwali is made up of many things- from cleaning your houses to buying clothes and sweets, exchanging gifts, hugs, and whatnot. It is a whole family affair, and everybody’s here for it. Diwali truly represents the Indian values of the family to its core, but it also has a mental health side to it. Interesting right? Let me walk you through it.
Relevance of Diwali
According to the Indian scriptures, Diwali is the homecoming of Lord Rama from his exile after fourteen years- symbolising the gathering of families, relatives, and friends in a year. It also symbolises comfort, warmth, celebration and peace of our minds, bodies and in our lives. Hence, it is necessary for everybody’s lives to feel loved, be grateful for what they have, and celebrate and cherish it.
Diwali for everyone is spending time with their families, keeping aside their differences and growing together as a unit. The entire process of getting ready for Diwali is an exercise for personal growth. It begins when you take a break from your daily life. The most important aspect here is an acknowledgement of taking time off. This step is followed by cleaning your houses, taking old things, and replacing them with new ones. It also symbolises forgetting past memories, grudges and making space for new ones (memories not grudges, lol), in fact, better ones. As the old Diwali saying goes, Lakshmi only enters clean houses. The same thing applies to our minds as well. Good things do take time, but when you make space for them, they eventually come around. You forget you manifest, and ultimately you get. That’s the mantra, my friend.
The most crucial part of Diwali is the lights. The festival of lights, when every corner of the house and the streets are lit with diyas, a sense of calm and optimism runs through everybody’s mind. When everybody is lost under the beauty of the lights flickering in the dark, everybody feels safe and hopeful that good things will come. All you need to do is hold on. Everybody is in the same boat as you, looking at the lights and feeling content and optimistic for the next step. As Coldplay says, “lights will guide you home”, trust them.
Fun and Fam
Diwali is also about FUN; making rangolis, eating sweets, dressing up, playing cards, dancing all night and taking gorgeous photos. It is about celebrating life. When you sit together with your loved ones and have a good time, you naturally feel comforted. Reminiscing about our childhood and laughing at the old times does feel like a warm hug.
Diwali is about family and memories. It’s an annual reminder to be content, grateful and appreciative of all the little things you have. Regularly, we are so caught up in our to-do lists, wish lists and work goals that we often tend to forget what we already have and how lucky we are to have them. Therefore, this Diwali just be. Forget about your deadlines and scores, relax and have fun. Focus more on the light, both for your photos and within. Be kind, spread love and make memories lasting for a lifetime.
Not necessarily a Joyous time
For the ones who lost their loved ones, are away from home or just don’t/ can’t celebrate, just know that every diya we light, with every sweet we share, we keep you in our hearts and wish warmth and acceptance your way. It can be a dark time for some. For some, it can also be an insignificant event. Just remember that it is okay to feel that way, and in doing so, you are neither alone nor wrong. Take your time, space and happiness in the way your heart demands!
So be you, be unapologetic.
Have a happy and safe Diwali! Live, love and prosper!
Written by: Mariya
