Diipavali: meaning & celebration + 3 more

Baba

Diipavali: meaning & celebration

Note: The great festival of Diipavali will soon be upon us, Monday, 20 Oct 2025.

Namaskar,

In the coming weeks and days as we prepare for the wonderful occasion of Diivali or Diipávalii, may we all rejoice and celebrate both the social and spiritual aspects of this highly significant and grand occasion. This is one of our recognised Ananda Marga festivals which is designed to bring a renewal and rejuvenation throughout one's entire existence.
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Baba's special description of Diipávalii

In Caryacarya part 1, Baba neatly outlines all our Ananda Marga festivals. Plus, in various other discourses Baba also talks extensively about certain festivals like Shravanii Purnima etc. And that is the case with Diipa'vali also.

In His June 1990 DMC discourse, 'The Cult of Spirituality-- The Cult of Pinnacled Order', Baba makes special mention of this event. In this discourse Baba explains how this festival known as Diipa'vali is linked with the enlightenment of the soul. That is the great significance of this day.

• The darkness of the mind should be removed. 'In each and every house there is a festival of light, yet my home is dark', one should not say like this. Instead, there should be diivali (festival of light) in the home, and it is the diivali of the atma' (festival of soul) .

And if you wish to see Baba present that idea in the original Hindi, here is the link to the video

• https://www.facebook.com/share/r/15HGfwR4Ay/

Hence Diipávalii is related with spiritual refulgence, sentient thought, and all psycho-spiritual ideas that are linked with light: Igniting the lamp of love for Parama Purusa.
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Our A'nanda Ma'rga Baba places great emphasis on the celebration of our various festivals. They are a time of rejoicing in all the spheres of life.

According to Baba's above DMC discourse, Diipa'vali is the idea of cultivating an inner spiritual yearning for Parama Purusa, thereby illuminating one's entire existence with the sweet flow of spirituality. That is, infusing one's soul with the great love of Parama Purusa.

How we should celebrate

Per abiding by The Supreme Command, each and every Ananda Margii does sadhana twice a day, at minimum. So it is our regular habit and practice to illumine our minds and hearts with that deeply spiritual flow. This is Baba's grace and His great gift to all Ananda Margiis.

So when the day of Diipávalii arrives then what are we to do? We are to dedicate even more time to our spiritual  practices of sadhana and kiirtan - enabling our existence to better reflect and capture the infinite love of Parama Purusa. By Baba's divine grace, may we all pass this occasion in this splendid and deeply meaningful way. And, of course, we may join any festival programs organised in our local units, as outlined in Caryacarya.
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Ananda Marga Caryacarya states, "Diipávalii: Once collective Iishvara Pran'idha'na and Varn'a'rghyada'na, illumination, collective merry celebrations, entertaining visitors at one's residence, and procession with ta'n'd'ava dance." (1)

Firecrackers are dangerous

Here is a story from the 1960's as recounted by a senior margii. That is why this story is told in the first-person using "I". Here begins the story....


My visit with Baba during Diipávalii

During the 1960's I was a student and I would go and visit Baba often; He was always very gracious and would give guidelines and speak on various topics. As Guru, it was His grace that He allowed me to sit close to His feet and have His proximity.

On this particular occasion, in late October, during the time of Diipavali / Deepawali, all kinds of festivities were going on, including fireworks / firecrackers. In celebration of this festival, many in our local neighborhood were also shooting off firecrackers.

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Money spent on firecrackers should be used to serve suffering humanity

At the time, I was sitting with Baba, attending to Him, in His quarters. Baba was speaking on various subjects, but He was interrupted again and again by the loud and disturbing noise of those firecrackers. Finally, He stopped talking entirely.

After a few moments, I said: Baba, people spend crores of rupees on firecrackers."

 Baba replied: Yes. People misuse crores of rupees (tens of millions) on fireworks and erecting huge, multi-story paper temples on the road for this festival, and these temples only last 3 - 5 days. All the while, the common masses and poor people are suffering; they do not have proper food, shelter, clothing, medical care, nor education. They lack the basic requirements. It would be far better if the funds spent on fireworks were used to serve those impoverished people with that money - instead of wasting it on firecrackers and other dogma. That would be great social service.

Baba continued: Not only are these firecrackers a drastic misuse and abuse of funds; they also create lots of noise and air pollution.

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Reflection: why no fireworks

This above story gives a very good and meaningful guideline to us all. Unfortunately, nowadays in our AMPS there is also a competition of shooting off fireworks. Tragically, that negative trend has been adopted by some during Diipávalii / deepawali, as well as Ananda Purnima, and on select other festival days.

There are a variety of reasons why we do not support the lighting of fireworks during our Ananda Marga festivals or anytime:

1. Fireworks / Firecrackers are dangerous and can bring bodily harm such as moderate to severe burns, loss of limbs, loss of life, hundreds of deaths;

2. Fireworks / Firecrackers are costly and a waste of money;

3. Fireworks / Firecrackers create a huge amount of pollution

As Ananda Margiis, we should all be more conscious about this. We should not fall into trends of the general society. Those who purchase fireworks for these types of festivals should refrain from using them and safely recycle / dispose of them. That is the best thing to do; that will be in keeping with Baba's stated guideline.
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It is just like if someone purchased a lethal dose of poison for their own personal consumption and later realised that life itself is very important, then they will not ingest it. Rather they will throw it away. Similarly, those who made the mistake of purchasing fireworks should not use those firecrackers, but rather safely dispose of them.

Conclusion

I also used to shoot off fireworks but after hearing this story I stopped immediately. This is a very practical and meaningful guideline. After all, money should not be used and abused but rather spent in a proper way, i.e. for the service of those in need.

The brief summary of the above story is: Baba points out how fireworks are a waste of money - better those funds should be used for the well-being of the people. Baba also guides us that fireworks create noise and air pollution.

On this wonderful festival of Diipa'vali, let us once again recall Baba's great boon upon all Ananda Margiis and illumine the light within.

Ananda Marga philosophy says, "You should remember why You have been born. Following the path of devotion, you will have to ultimately reach Parama Purusa." (2)

Namaskar,
In Him,
Pratibha’

~ In-depth study ~

Many Diipavali celebrations around the world

Diipa'vali is not just a day celebrated in Ananda Marga Pracaraka Samgha. Throughout the gamut of communities based on tantric traditions, Diipa'vali is recognised as a highly meaningful occasion. Estimates are that upwards of 900 million to 1.4 billion people celebrate Diivali. Whether one is a vidya tantric or an avidya tantric, whether one is an idol worshiper or one engages in prayer, whatever type of sadhana one does, Diipa'vali is the day when all are involved.
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At the same time, many materialistic and dogmatic people display fireworks in the external arena; that is also one aspect of this event. In Ananda Marga, as noted above we do not support the use of fireworks. Instead we might use safe, eco-friendly, electric lamps - if one has the desire to celebrate in this manner. After all, the term 'diip' means 'light' or 'lamp' and Diipa'vali is that occasion which is a festival of lights. And many come forward in various ways to celebrate this widely recognised occasion. In our Ananda Marga we have our own special, dharmic understanding of this great festival, as outlined above.

Social functions & festivals: "a great unifying force"

Ananda Marga Caryacarya says, "You should make arrangements for different types of festivity on the occasions of the ceremonial functions of the Marga. Ensure that those who enjoy the celebrations also get thereby healthy opportunities for their physical growth, mental development and spiritual progress." (3)

Ananda Marga philosophy states, "Many of the ills of society develop because people do not care to know other members of society. This ignorance of the condition and difficulties of others leads to intolerance and a lack of interest in the affairs of the other members of society. Common social functions bring different members of society together and are, therefore, a great unifying force. By performing certain functions collectively all the participants are engaged for some time in doing the same thing and brings about a feeling of unity and interest in others. In A'nanda Ma'rga such common social functions are specially encouraged. Milita Sna'na or collective bathing and dharmacakra or collective meditation are the basis for common social functions in the physical, psychic and spiritual fields. Common participation in such functions is a very unifying force and the participants of such functions will have no intolerance for each other; instead they will become more united. Such functions are therefore a great unifying force." (4)

Our Ananda Marga festivals bring charm in the life

Ananda Marga philosophy states, "When people become tired and uninspired, when they can no longer look towards the future with hope, when their colourful dreams are shattered, at that time the sweetness of a festival brings new joy and vigour in life. Thus in individual and collective life, the importance of festivals is tremendous. One should always remember that festivals should be such that all can take part in them without any ostentatious display of wealth, and with an upsurge of their life force. And these festivals should be conducted in such a way that people take part in them from a spontaneous inner urge. I hope that you will make such arrangements so that all are attracted towards your festivals which will be more and more charming-- and this will bring about your collective welfare." (5)

Various spellings of this festival day

Here it is also important to note that there are various different spellings of this occasion, depending on the language and area: 'Diipavali', 'Diivali', 'Diipa'vali', 'Diwali', and 'Deewali' etc; all refer to the same wonderful festival.
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According to the sadhaka, Baba added: The money misused on dogma should be used for social service. Those who love humanity will not misuse their hard earned wealth in this way. (Story recounted by Dr. Singh, a margii from Ranchi)

References
1. Caryacarya - 1, Social Functions and Festivals
2. Yoga Psychology, '91 Edn, p.140, The Cult of Spirituality – the Cult of Pinnacled Order
3. Caryacarya - 1, Social Functions and Festivals
4. A Few Problems Solved - 7, Social Psychology
5. A Few Problems Solved - 5, On Festivals

== Section 2: Prabhat Samgiita ==

My very close

Intro: In this song, Sadguru loves and punishes also to exhaust the bhakta’s samskaras and make them better. 

“Tumi ámár kata ápana, bhuleo kabhu bhávini…” (Prabhat Samgiita #4528)

Purport: 

Baba, even by mistake I never ever thought before that You are so close, You are mine.  I did not know that like my shadow You were always remaining attached with me. Wherever I go, You remain with me. In the past, I did not realise this eternal truth. 

My Supreme Entity, You discipline those who You feel are very close to You for their welfare. In my day to day life and in my happiness and sorrow, You are always with me as my very close and most intimate one. In the pitch dark night, You are the jewel that provides the pathway and effulgence that makes my path and destination clear. But even then I do not look towards You. Your degree of discipline does not exceed the quantum of love. You love so much and discipline just a little. Parama Purusa, You are very kind and merciful...

== Section: Important Teaching ==

Who stained the rivers with blood

Ananda Marga ideology states, “Religion and intolerance have created enormous harm in the world, have caused torrents of blood to stain the rivers red. In the present twentieth century, religions have assumed the form of “isms”. The people of medieval times fought among the clans and communities, and the people of today are fighting over their “isms”...To emancipate the masses from the unhealthy influence of “isms” there is no other way than universalism. Only universalism is free from the defects of any narrow isms because every thing of this entire universe comes within its vast periphery.” (1)

Reference

1. Ananda Marga Ideology and Way of Life - part 7, The Five Kinds of Conscience (Viveka)

== Section 3: Links ==

Postings to Read

Guilt complex: thief nabbed

• https://anandamargauniversal.blogspot.com/2023/07/thief-caught-2-more.html

Bhakta's choice: stay with Him or...

• https://anandamargauniversal.blogspot.com/2013/06/baba-story-from-my-diary-so-much-love.html

What brave margiis do

• https://anandamargauniversal.blogspot.com/2015/01/passive-onlooker-3-more.html

When a sadhaka becomes iishvara

• https://anandamargauniversal.blogspot.com/2014/04/how-human-becomes-iishvara-2-more.html

Key point about "see the bright side"

• https://anandamargauniversal.blogspot.com/2015/03/where-to-use-see-bright-side-where-not.html

Workings of this cosmos

• https://anandamargauniversal.blogspot.com/2016/09/difficult-question-easy-answer.html

Guilt complex: thief nabbed + 2 more

Baba

Guilt complex: thief nabbed

Namaskar,

This following story holds great importance in the life of every sadhaka.


Queen’s jewels stolen

In the royal court of King Akbar, the minister, Birbal, was given one special duty: Find out who stole the Queen's jewels. Birbal was very intelligent, yet his task was formidable. There were thousands of men in the kingdom, and Birbal had to devise a way to find out who was the thief - and catch him.
  
So Birbal announced that a gathering would be held at the palace, and all the men of the kingdom had to attend. Essentially, this was a mandatory meeting, and a tally would be taken to ensure everyone was in attendance. Birbal himself planned to go in disguise as a magician. So on the day of the historic gathering, the King's minister Birbal was introduced as a grand magician who knew all sorts of “mantras” and “tantras”.
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Birbal’s special mantra

Then Birbal said to everyone: "Alright -- there is a thief among us seated right here in this very gathering, and, with my magic, a piece of straw will suddenly appear in that thief's beard. But, first, everybody must close their eyes while I recite this special mantra." Then Birbal announced: "Now I am chanting the first round of the mantra. When I have finished the third round, then I will check everybody and see who has the straw in their beard."

Then he chanted something which sounded very mysterious and mystical. Hearing Birbal's special chant, many simple people were just sitting there in awe with their eyes closed, whereas others who were of a more cunning nature were wondering what Birbal was doing and half opened their eyes to watch him. Those at the gathering who were innocent were naturally unconcerned. They thought, "I am safe because I have not stolen anything, and so the straw is not going to appear in my beard. As I am not a thief, there is no problem for me and I have nothing to worry about."
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Caught: the thief’s mindset
 
But the thief was worried. He was thinking, "Oh, this will be a terrible problem. Then he reasoned, "Anyway, if the straw appears in my beard, that is not a big problem. I will just shake or brush it away and it will fall to the ground." Thinking in this way, he began to prepare mentally for the straw to appear.

So when Birbal finished the three rounds of his so-called mantra, he saw one person in the hall shaking his beard. Birbal thought he must be doing this in an attempt to get rid of the imaginary straw from his beard. Birbal quickly concluded that this person must be the thief, otherwise why was he shaking his beard while everyone else in the hall was still and calm. Birbal then ordered the guards to bring that person to him. Standing before all, Birbal formally announced that the magic display was over, and the endeavour had been successful.

Birbal ordered the thief to return the Queen’s jewel. Surrounded by the guards, the thief left the hall and soon returned with the Queen’s jewel. 

Epilogue: Birbal understood that the guilt-ridden thief would be paranoid that the straw would be in his beard. So, when the thief was shaking his head to prevent anything from getting stuck in his beard, he exposed himself. Across the entire audience, only the guilt-ridden thief made unusual and strange movements; and, in that way, he was caught.
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Moral conduct a key for spiritual life

The above story is instructive on many levels. Here are a few key takeaways:

(A) When plagued by the guilt of their own bad and immoral actions, a person’s mind becomes paranoid and disturbed. They lose their mental balance (samatabhava) and rob themselves of their own mental peace. 

(B) In the above story, the thief was apprehended by the authorities and put in jail. But even if one is not caught, the fact that they are worried about getting caught is itself a form of bondage. So in either scenario, verily, they are caught. 

(C) In our Ananda Marga, Sadguru Baba has given the special formula: 

“Morality is the base, sádhaná is the means, and life divine is the goal.” (1)

So the foundation is leading a moral life, i.e. strictly adhering to the code of yama and niyama. 

(D) Thus strict moral conduct is an absolute necessity in the life of a sadhaka. Without that, they will be unable to progress on the path of spirituality. Because the mind will be riddled with all kinds of worries, anxieties, phobias, debased thoughts, and / or paranoia. One will not have a sense of santosa or samatabhava, i.e. mental contentment or mental equipoise, in which case the mind will not be in any shape to proceed on the path of sadhana. 
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Sadguru Baba says, “Without yama and niyama sadhana is an impossibility, hence the Lord’s command is also to follow yama and niyama.” (2)


How materialism ruins sadhana

If anyone is greedy for money, lustful towards the opposite sex, hungry for prestige, or indulgent in any worldly manner, then they are essentially ruining their mental equilibrium. And they will not have any mental peace. For them, sadhana will be a far off dream. 

Ananda Marga philosophy states, “Santośa: Tośa means the state of mental ease. Santośa, therefore, means a state of proper ease. Contentment is not at all possible if the individual is running after carnal pleasures like a beast. As a result of extroversial analysis, the objects of enjoyments go on increasing both in number and abstraction and that is why oneʼs mental flow never gets any rest. Under such circumstances how can one attain perfect peace of mind? Achieving the desired objects may give one pleasure for an hour or so, but that will not last long. The mind will again run in pursuit of new objects, leaving behind the objects already tasted – the long-cherished objects will lose their importance. This is the rule; this is the law of nature.” (3)


Conclusion

As Ananda Margiis, the aim is life divine, i.e. the immersion of the unit mind with Cosmic Mind, Parama Purusa. To achieve this, a firm moral foundation is an absolute necessity. Only when the mind is free from complexes and external desires can it then be directed and goaded on the path of sadhana and, ultimately, supreme fulfillment. Those who are unable to maintain a basic standard according to the dictates of yama and niyama will never experience mental peace and the bliss of spiritual attainment. 
https://anandamargauniversal.blogspot.com/

In Him, 
Ram ashrya

~ In-depth study ~

Ananda Marga ideology guides us, “A sádhaka [spiritual aspirant] should maintain his or her samatabháva – what in English is called a “balanced mind”. Equanimity of mind should be maintained. Mental balance is natural, while a complex is unnatural.” (4)

Ananda Marga philosophy states, “The ideological component of the unit mind which provides the initial inspiration for the individual to attain that Cosmic state, is called “morality”. Every aspect of morality sings the song of the Infinite, even in the midst of the finite. In other words, or put more simply, I wish to say that those magnanimous propensities which help to establish one in the Cosmic state are the virtuous principles of morality.” (5)

Ananda Marga philosophy says, “The derivative meaning of the word niiti [“morality”] is “that which contains the principle of leading”. It is the starting point on the path of spiritual practices. But this is not the only significance of morality. If morality fails to provide human beings with adequate guidance about how to move towards perfection, it does not deserve to be called morality. As morality is distinguished by its capacity to lead and inspire human beings, it cannot afford to lose its dynamic nature by limiting itself to a specific time, place and person. Morality is a living force, the practice of which makes the mind increasingly contemplative, thereby establishing it in supreme subtlety, in supreme cognition. There is a state from which human beings cannot be led to some other state – the question does not arise. Morality is only worthy of the name if it can inspire human beings to reach that state.” (6) 

References
1. Neohumanism in a Nutshell Part 1, The Neohumanism of Sadvipras
2. The Supreme Command
3. A Guide to Human Conduct, Santośa
4. Discourses on Krśńa and the Giitá, Mucyate Bhavabandhanát
5. Human Society Part 1, Moralism
6. Human Society Part 1, Moralism

*        *        *

The below section is an entirely different topic, unrelated to the above material.
It stands on its own merit as a point of interest and ideological awareness.

*        *        *

== Section 2: Important Teaching ==

All languages valued

Prout philosophy states, “”For the all-round welfare and development of human beings, society needs to follow some fundamental socio-political principles. Without the firm foundation of such principles, disunity, injustice and exploitation will flourish. To avoid this and to safeguard the interests of all people, the leaders of society must ensure that cardinal socio-political principles are strictly followed. Otherwise, individual and collective progress can never be achieved.”

"There are three cardinal socio-political principles which should never be violated…..Thirdly, no mother tongue should be suppressed."

“Thirdly, no mother tongue should be suppressed. If a mother tongue is suppressed, the consequences are most dangerous. Take the example of Pakistan. When Pakistan was formed, Urdu was declared the national language. But the actual language position of undivided Pakistan – that is, East Pakistan and West Pakistan – was that 60% of the population spoke Bengali and 40% spoke Hindi, Baluchi, Punjabi or Urdu. When Urdu was declared the national language, East Pakistan revolted and this led to the division of Pakistan. There was a famous song at the time.” (1) 

Note: In this above teaching only the third socio-political principle has been addressed - the first two are: Not retrenched from their jobs and not forcibly converted to another religion. 

Here it should be understood that the term retrenchment means losing one's job. The worker has been dismissed, fired, or let go whereby they no longer have a job. The term retrenchment is commonly used in Australia and South Africa. People from other regions may not be familiar with this usage of the term. 

Reference
1. Prout in a Nutshell - 16, Three Cardinal Socio-Political Principles

== Section 3: Links ==

Postings to Read

What brave margiis do

• https://anandamargauniversal.blogspot.com/2015/01/passive-onlooker-3-more.html

When a sadhaka becomes iishvara

• https://anandamargauniversal.blogspot.com/2014/04/how-human-becomes-iishvara-2-more.html

Key point about "see the bright side"

• https://anandamargauniversal.blogspot.com/2015/03/where-to-use-see-bright-side-where-not.html

Workings of this cosmos

• https://anandamargauniversal.blogspot.com/2016/09/difficult-question-easy-answer.html