Not just Ram, Deepavali celebrates Krishn lila too — his defeating of Narakasur, offering protection to the abducted princesses, and his rope trick when Yashoda tries to bind him, writes RADHANATH SWAMI
Deepavali falls on the fifteenth day of the auspicious month of Kartik. We all know that it is meant to celebrate the return of Prince Ram to Ayodhya, along with Sita and Lakshman, after 14 years of exile, and is associated with Goddess Lakshmi and Ganesh.
This festival is also centred around Krishn. It marks his victory over a demon called Narakasur of Pragjyotisyapur, and his rescuing and acceptance of 16,100 princesses. It is an occasion of victory of the divine over the demoniac and the protection of the innocent.
Deepavali also celebrates the binding of little Krishn by Mother Yashoda in Vrindavan. On Deepavali, lamps are offered to the deity, Yashoda-Damodar, in Vrindavan. It demonstrates the kindness and grace of the Supreme self-satisfied Lord.
Bhauma was born to Mother Earth. He fell into bad company of evil people like Banasura and Dvivida and started lusting for power, wealth and women, and became Narakasur. The demon committed many atrocities such as stealing the earrings of Aditi, the mother of demigods, and the umbrella of Varun. He abducted 16,100 earthly princesses and daughters of demigods and sages. Everyone was fed up with him. So, Indra, the king of demigods, approached Krishn in Dwarka to seek his help. Krishn immediately arrived at Pragjyotisyapur, Narakasur’s capital, and effortlessly destroyed the well-guarded fortifications of his city. He then fought Narakasur, destroyed all his army and weapons, and liberated him with his Sudarshan Chakra. He then released all the kidnapped princesses. Now, these princesses were enchanted by Krishn. Since they were abducted, no one would have married them. They pleaded with Krishn to accept them, and the all-attractive, merciful god agreed.
The Bhagwad Gita 16.21 states that lust, anger and greed are the paths to degradation and destruction. These three vices blind our vision of compassion, love and selflessness. Greed appears as corruption, frauds, hoarding and unethical trade. Anger surfaces in the form of crime and wars. Lust is reflected through infatuation for wealth, sense enjoyments and prestige, resulting in great stress and anxiety.
Currently, there are four major wars in the world and political unrest and insurgency in more than a dozen countries. Every month, we are witnessing mass shootings. Every one in three adults is sleep-deprived owing to excess or unhealthy work culture. The world loses 3.2 lakh crore rupees in digital fraud. Both collectively and individually, we are being ravaged by these three vices — lust, greed and anger — which are represented by Narakasur.
We need to dispel this darkness. These vices are formidable, and we cannot overcome them by ourselves. We need help of the Divine, who is free from these vices and has the ability to liberate us from them. In fact, he looks forward to freeing us from these vices. All we need to do is to seek refuge in Krishn, like the abducted princesses did.
It happened to be Deepavali in Vrindavan when Mother Yashoda tried to bind her naughty son Krishn. She was concerned that if she used a stick to discipline him, he would get too scared. So, she started tying Krishn with a rope, but it fell short by a few inches. Yashoda then brought more rope. Yet again it fell short by the same length. This way she laboured hard to tie down her beloved son. Yashoda’s loving endeavour melted Krishn’s heart. His mercy potency overrode his omnipotence. When we offer sincere devotion to Krishn, he reciprocates, dispels darkness and awakens love in our hearts. Deepavali is also a celebration of divine love. ■
The writer is the spiritual guru of ISKCON
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