Dear initiates, seekers and friends,
I wish you a very happy Diwali and a prosperous new year ahead.
Diwali is the celebration of the triumph of good over evil; a celebration of the light that can dispel any darkness.
This Diwali light the lamp of true determination in your heart to purify your heart and mind. Focus on the goal of finding God. Even if you are mid-way on your journey to find God, balanced abundance starts manifesting automatically in your life. The hallmark of a Raja Yogi is that he or she doesn’t have to give up material abundance to find God.
The seeker feels blessed and fulfilled. "Dhan-Lakshmi", the Goddess of Wealth, starts manifesting through the seeker's solar energy center. Career, business and financial achievements become possible while not loosing track of the ultimate goal of oneness with God.
Diwali marks the occasion of the return of Lord Rama, after fourteen years of exile and after slaying the egotist Ravana, back to his hometown of Ayodhya. In the poetic and powerful “hanuman chalisa”, or the forty stanzas praising Lord Hanuman, there are two words that describe Lord Rama. These words have always attracted and energized me. The two words are “tapasvi raja” and they mean an “ascetic king”.
Ascetics in India are sometimes mendicants, with little possessions, who practice rigorous self-discipline to attain God. Kings, on the other hand, were powerful rulers with access of every imaginable worldly pleasure. When you put the two words together, you realize the beauty of the brevity of the eternal Indian scriptures. Oftentimes, a couple of words are a lesson for life. This is what we should aspire to become - a “tapasvi raja” or an ascetic king (or queen).
This Diwali meditate on the lessons from Lord Rama’s life. Those who are not familiar with Him, should meditate on the abundance and the glory that Life has to offer when we let go of the limitations within and around us.
All the best,
Shailesh
Diwali 2012