JKP

Light up your heart – this Diwali

Jagadguru Kripalu Parishat
30 October 2024
0 Comments
Light up your heart - this Diwali by Jagadguru Shri Kripalu Ji Maharaj | Jagadguru Kripalu Parishat

(Speech by Jagadguru Shri Kripalu Ji Maharaj on occasion of Diwali)

‘Hari Surya Maya Tam’

God is like the sun and maya represents darkness.  

When God enters the heart, the darkness of maya is destroyed.

In the world, people celebrate Diwali but they do not know its significance.  Gaurang Mahaprabhu has said,  “Shri Krishna is like the sun and maya is like darkness.” Ved Vyas has further said in the Bhagwat, “This Maya cannot stand in front of God.” 

Just like darkness cannot remain where there is sun, let alone  challenge the sun.  Darkness simply can’t come in front of the sun. Darkness is the enemy of light, just as sorrow is the enemy of happiness. Maya stands as the enemy of God, ignorance is the enemy of knowledge and Death is the  adversary of life. 

Although it is God’s enemy, Maya can’t even face God. Vedas declare that God is beyond ignorance, God is beyond maya; yet maya is a power of God. You can perceive darkness only because of light.  Your eyes discern darkness and light; it is the eyes that perceive the absence or presence of light. The eyes represent light.

Maya is indeed powerful, being a manifestation of God’s energy. However, no one has fully understood maya; everyone falls under its spell—except for God. That is why God asserts, “I remove maya by my grace for those who surrender to me alone.”

Why? “Because you have been controlling your mind so far, but now I will take control.” Wherever the sun shines, darkness vanishes. Darkness does not need to be told to leave; it simply dissipates.

In the dark, when you turn on a switch, light immediately fills the space. Light travels at the speed of 186,000 miles per second, while God can traverse infinite distances in an instant. Maya cannot compete with Him.

The essence of celebrating Diwali is to invite God into your heart through your mind so that maya may depart from you. In other words, bring light into your heart so that the darkness of ignorance may fade away.

God embodies ‘sat,’ ‘chit,’ and ‘anand.’ ‘Sat’ signifies eternal life, ‘chit’ represents complete knowledge and omniscience, and ‘anand’ stands for bliss. God is the infinite ocean of these three attributes.

When God enters your heart  –  death, ignorance, suffering, and the mother of these three – maya – leave you forever. The individual soul then attains immortality, infinite knowledge, and unlimited happiness for all eternity. 

This is the true significance of celebrating Diwali.