How did you celebrate Diwali this year? What are your traditions?
Growing up, I spent every single Diwali in Agra. My parents believe in Radhasoami faith, and New Year Day is our biggest bhandara of the year, celebrating our last guru, Babuji Maharaj. I have fond memories of all my visits there. We would get to do most things associated with Diwali - yummy food, sweets, dressing up in new clothes, firecrackers, watching the local Soami Bagh kids perform at the cultural event (my sister and I even got to be judges for a few years), meets n greets with so many people, but above all, doing Satsang 4 times a day. Looking back, it was the Satsang that grounded me, and brought a lot of the meaning behind the festivals to life.
Here in the US, I don't have many traditions for Diwali (or any festival, for that matter), with the family. It sounds boring and maybe bad but at least I'm honest. Some years, I do a lot of cooking and prep work, host parties, decorate many corners of the house, put lights outside (re-use the Christmas lights during this time), and some years, we keep it low key. This year was a low key year. We went to celebrate the festival to my sister's house in the bay area. They just moved into a new home so it was their first Diwali at the new house, and we had a lovely family time. I did the decorations as my job for the day. And besides that, any day I get to spend with the 4 kids - hers and mine - is THE best day in my life.
Right after Diwali dinner on Saturday night, they lost power (PG&E power outages have been awful this year; thankfully, we don't have PG&E so no cuts for us, so far). We wrapped up the party in the best way we could with no lights, and headed out of the house as it wasn't safe to stay there longer. My sister went to a friends place, and we decided to drive back home. The whole weekend was sort of unplanned except for the Saturday evening party, and that was one more reason I couldn't really carve time to do much at my home.
Last week was also a week where I logged my highest mileage so far - 41 miles in 7 days. Perhaps that's another reason I had no energy to generate hoopla for the festival weekend.
Sunday afternoon we went to our local BAPS mandir, for Annakoot darshan. Our kids go to the temple every Sunday for classes, so we have built a small community of friends there and feel at home. It was really nice to be able to meet everyone and wish them in person. Today being our New Year, I hope to do a small Satsang at home before dinner time with the kids and husband.
Browsing social media this morning got me thinking again (just like how I had felt on New Years's Day this year). What really does Diwali mean? Is it just all the outside stuff, like lighting diyas, bursting fire crackers, eating food, and dressing up? Call it growing old, or being anti-social, or increasingly becoming an introvert, none of that entices me anymore.
The real celebration would be to be able to share what I can, to illuminate the path of others. It doesn't have to be big - it can be several small things, daily acts of random kindness, being there in a time of need, taking coffee for a teacher, taking someone for their first run, or showing an exercise routine to a friend at the gym, or discussing the benefits of a plant based diet and sharing my learnings - the opportunities are endless. I strongly believe in giving back, and there is never a week that goes by where I haven't volunteered my time, resources or efforts towards others. This new year day, I hope (and will plan) to do a LOT more of giving back, in whatever way possible. I hope more people join me, and we can make the lives of those who are not as fortunate or lucky better in whatever way possible.
New Years' is also a time for resolutions, but I follow the Western calendar for those. I did go for a short run today during my lunch hour. I'm already working on my list for 2020, and can't wait to see how it unfolds. Till then, time to focus on the marathon and look forward to a family vacation during Christmas Break!
