Lighten Up for Diwali

Namaste, as yogi know, is Sanskrit for I honor the light in you, you honor the light in me. Diwali, the Hindu festival of light, honors the light in all of us everywhere. Diwali, a Sanscrit term for a gathering of lamps, celebrates the triumph of good over evil, light over darkness. It’s observed in India by lighting candles and oil lamps, by dazzling fireworks, by wearing new clothes to symbolize a new beginning and the renewal of life, by giving sweets and exchanging gifts.

Diwali’s a good time, it’s all about joy, and you don’t have to be Hindu to play. Get yourself a fetching new outfit if you like, but if you really want to honor — and see — the light, practice ahimsa.  

Technically, ahimsa is Sanscrit for nonviolence, but something gets lost in translation. It really refers to divine, universal love. We all love the world in abstract, but it’s easy to get tripped up in the details. The real true practice of ahimsa means rejecting anything negative  —  that’s setting a pretty high bar. Even your unkind but perfectly justified thought about your stupidass boss can be defined as violence and definitely not ahimsa.  So, wow, how to begin?

Charity begins at home, they say, so start by practicing ahimsa on yourself. Be kind to yourself.  Keep your own inner light going by caring for the case it comes in — your fabulous body. Even an inner supernova will sputter without proper fuel.

The proper fuel is plant-based, and it’s not just me who says so. The Vedic poem the Mahabharata, a cornerstone of Hinduism, has some 100,000 verses, making it a real challenge to recite. Too bad, because there’s a lot of wisdom in those many versus, including, “Those who desire to possess good memory, beauty, long life with perfect health, and physical, moral and spiritual strength, should abstain from animal food.”  Who wouldn’t want all that? Many Hindus practice vegetarianism to be beautiful and healthy but also as a doable aspect of ahimsa. Controlling what you eat is often easier than controlling a passing naughty thought.

Diwali is a party, but also the time when Indians contemplate and honor their connection with others — friends, family, but also their connection with the world and all the creatures in it, because you can’t have too much ahimsa. A plant-based diet helps spread the light there, too. According to Johns Hopkins’  Center for a Liveable Future,  “the way we breed animals for food is a threat to the planet.” Talk about violent. On the other hand, Bard College physics professor Gidon Eshel has said, “However close you can be to a vegan diet and further from the mean American diet, the better you are for the planet.”

One single act — pursuing a plant-based diet — has multiple payoffs. It’s good for you, good for the planet, gives you a lot of ahimsa creds and spreads a lot of light. It lets you live an aligned, enlightened life.

Diwali is Wednesday, October 26, but festivities begin a few days ahead and when it comes to seeing the light, you can’t start too soon. Wishing you a joyful, light-filled Diwali. Namaste.