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Blessings On ‘Karthigai Deepam’ – the festival of lights

His Holiness Paramahamsa Nithyananda
17th November 2013

This morning, we had a beautiful celebration of ‘Karthigai Bharani Deepam’, the festival of lights. This auspicious occasion is one of the oldest festivals of Mother India.

Today is the day Mahadeva (Lord Shiva, the Rejuvenator) appeared in the form of a pillar of a flame of light, to bring to completion the incompletions between Lord Brahma and Lord Vishnu. Lord Brahma (the Creator) and Lord Vishnu (the Sustainer) once had an argument on who was the greater of the two.  Mahadeva happened as an infinite column of light, and the darkness and ignorance that they were in were dispelled.

During Karthigai Deepam, thousands of ghee lamps are lit by lighting one lamp from the flame of the other, signifying the ultimate cosmic truth that ONE becomes MANY and MANY become ONE. Of the five elements – earth, fire, water, air and ether, it is only the fire element through which this ultimate truth of ‘ONE becomes MANY and MANY become ONE,’ can be demonstrated! Karthigai Deepam is the festival that carries this truth to humanity, by lighting millions of lamps across the world in this way.

It is beautiful to have all these traditions. Once in a while, it is nice to wake up at 2 o’clock in the morning, take a head bath, walk to the temple and go around the temple bare-foot in the cold, do arathi (worship through camphor) and light the lamps. Ramakrishna beautifully says, ‘A person who cannot celebrate deities and temples will live a dry spiritual life!’ I tell you, such people will only have stomach pain and headache! For people who can’t celebrate deities and temples, their whole spiritual practice is like logic grinding logic. Sometimes, you may see that when dogs have a wound, they will start eating their own legs. It is like that – as if they are eating themselves!

It is the temples and deities that bring the joy of Hinduism into our lives! 

As a legitimate, clear and apolitical voice of integrated Sanatana Hindu Dharma, I tell you – festivals and celebrations are as important as Completion and the creation of space in our lives!

KALPATARU MEDITATION:

Please sit straight. Take up one desire which you want to make into reality.  Cognize it is reality now.  Complete with all the impossibilities and incompletions.  Take responsibility to make that into reality now. 

I bless you all! Whatever space you created, let it become reality with auspiciousness!

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From Nithya Satsang, morning talk on 17th November 2013. For the full transcript, visit http://www.nithyananda.org/video/blessings-kartika-deepam-festival

For the YouTube video, visit http://www.youtube.com/lifeblissfoundation

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