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Diwali: Festival of Light
Sunday, November 12, 2023 @ 5:30 PM – 7:30 PM UTC+0
IN PERSON OR ONLINE
Online registrants will be sent a Zoom link on the day of the celebration.
5:30pm – Lakshmi Puja
We conclude with samosas, chai and sparklers!
This is one of the most auspicious celebrations of the year. Diwali means “a row of lights”. Light your own ghee lamps or tea lights at home and join us!
There are various alleged origins attributed to this festival. Some hold that they celebrate the marriage of Lakshmi with Lord Vishnu. It also commemorates the day when the triumphant Lord Rama returned to Ayodhya after defeating Ravana. On this day also Sri Krishna and His wife Satya Bama killed the demon Narakasura.
People forget and forgive on this day. There is an air of charity, festivity and friendliness everywhere—a genuine sense of joy and oneness.
Suggested donation: $25 (This event is supported 100% by donations.)
More about Diwali
In a happy mood of great rejoicing, village folk move about freely, mixing with one another without any reserve, all enmity being forgotten. People embrace one another with love. Diwali is a great unifying force. Those with keen inner spiritual ears will clearly hear the voice of the sages, “O Children of God! Unite, and love all”. The vibrations produced by the greetings of love which fill the atmosphere are powerful enough to bring about a change of heart in every man and woman in the world. Alas! That heart has considerably hardened, and only a continuous celebration of Diwali in our homes can rekindle in us the urgent need of turning away from the ruinous path of hatred.
O Ram! The light of lights, the self-luminous inner light of the Self is ever shining steadily in the chamber of your heart. Sit quietly. Close your eyes. Withdraw the senses. Fix the mind on this supreme light and enjoy the real Diwali, by attaining illumination of the soul.
He who Himself sees all but whom no one beholds, who illumines the intellect, the sun, the moon and the stars and the whole universe but whom they cannot illumine, He indeed is Brahman, He is the inner Self. Celebrate the real Diwali by living in Brahman, and enjoy the eternal bliss of the soul.
