10 Practices to Celebrate Diwali

10/22/2024

LIGHT • LAKSHMĪ • ABUNDANCE

Author: R.R. Shakti, PhD.

Amāvāsyā is the Sanskrit word for the new moon. At Soul Artist we make the new moon a time for renewal–a time to empty out all the excess to make space for something fresh and, maybe, unexpected. The new moon is a monthly opportunity to embrace creative transformation.

The next new moon is one of the most celebrated all year, because it initiates one of the biggest annual Indian holidays: Diwali. More than a billion people celebrate Diwali worldwide.

Diwali is called the "Festival of Lights" because it is a celebration of illumination. It honors the light of your awakened consciousness; the radiant kindle of your creative heart fire. It invokes beauty, prosperity, and love–the archetypal attributes of the Indian Goddess, Lakshmī. This lively mystic tradition invites you to realize these attributes as qualities of your own mind. Rituals serve to remind you of your inner power and transform your awareness toward abundance. And, in case you have forgotten, your most powerful expression of abundance is a grateful heart.

Diwali festivities begin two days before amāvāsyā and conclude two days after, for a five day party that wakes you up to more joy and more gratitude for a more meaningful life.

10 Practices for Diwali

Clean your home. The first day of Diwali, Dhanteras, begins the celebration of Goddess Lakshmi, the archetype of beauty, abundance, and material wealth. Make house cleaning a sacred ritual of decluttering your life, detoxifying your environment...and creating space for absolute abundance.
Build a Lakshmi altar. Place an image of Lakshmi on a small altar. Surround it with flowers, candles, stones, and incense. This is done to remember the archetypal attributes of the Goddess–to embrace her beauty, love and abundance as qualities of your own heart/mind.
Adorn your hands with mehndi. Mehndi art on your hands is symbol of good fortune, health, beauty, and prosperity–all characteristics of Goddess Lakshmi.
Create rangoli. On Narak Chaturdashi, the second day of Diwali, it is traditional to create bright, colorful rangoli designs to decorate your home. Rangoli is temporary artwork that depicts beautiful designs–typically floral or geometric patterns. Draw or paint your design on paper, then embellish the artwork with colored sand, dyed rice, stones, mirrors, shells, flowers, and/or beads.
Light diyas and candles. Diyas are small oil lamps, generally placed in a doorway or entry, They symbolize welcoming Lakshmi (and the divine light of awakened awareness) into your home. Place diyas and candles in every room and use them to illuminate your rangoli art. You can also hang stringed lights or use floating lanterns to decorate the outside of your home.
Make a Feast. On the third day of Diwali is the Lakshmi Pūjā (invocation ritual). Invite family and friends for what is considered the most significant day of the festival. Enjoy a meal and share words of gratitude, invoking abundance through the power of your appreciation. You can also chant mantras to Ganesha and Lakshmi to invoke the energies of success, abundance, and joy.
(If it is safe and legal) Light sparklers. This is a popular way to celebrate in India.
Exchange gifts. Padwa is the fourth day of Diwali, and in some regions it marks the first day of the new year. On this day, it’s traditional to exchange small gifts and greetings–messages of gratitude for your loved ones.
Honor your loved-ones. The fifth of Diwali is called Bahu-dooj. This final day of celebration honors the love of siblings and friends. Mark each other's forehead with a tilak made from vermillion. The tilak symbolizes the presence of Goddess within. When you mark your brother/sister, lover, or friend at their third-eye center; you are honoring the divine light that dwells within them.
Celebrate with SoulArtist.life! Find live rituals and mind/body practices for holy day celebrations in the Soul Artist Treasury. Check the Soul Artist Event Calendar for upcoming live, in-person and virtual events.

Access the Diwali Satsang

In Celebration of Light with Sreedevi Bringi.

Diwali is the most celebrated festival of lights in India. It is a celebration of new beginnings; a time to honor the victory of light over darkness.

Also called Dipavali, which translates from Sanskrit to mean "row of lamps," Diwali is celebrated with rows of small clay lamps of lighted oil wicks. Goddess Lakshmi is honored for abundance and joy. The full 5-day celebration begins on the 13th night of the waning moon cycle in the Autumn month of Kartika. Discover more...

Celebrate with Sreedevi

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