DIWALI – a dynamic portrait of light

There is no place left on the courtyards of the houses to walk, they are filled with beautiful designs made up of white coloured rangoli. Little girls are lining the gaps between the designs with shades of blue, green, and orange. A string of flowers is tied at the top of the entrance door. The cool evening breeze is present in the air. Though it is dark around, there remains the presence of light. We can see the tiny clay lamps are all over the place. A colourful stringed lamp is hanging high above them all. 

Diwali is the festival of lights. Along with our diversity, cultures, and traditions, India is best known for this grand festival of Diwali. According to Indian mythology, it commemorates the day prince Ram of Ayodhya, his wife Sita, and his brother Lakshman returned after being exiled for fourteen years. 

Additionally, the days of Diwali have their significance. ‘Narakchaturdashi’ ( नरकचतुर्दशी), marks the death of the demon, ‘Narakasur’. This day celebrates the power of good over evil. Then comes ‘Lakshamipujan’ (लक्ष्मीपूजन), a day to pray to the goddess of wealth. The prayer evokes the goddess to bless mankind with prosperity. Wealth is not just in monetary terms but also in the form of a gift of good health and happiness. And then comes one of the exceptional days which is Bhaubeej( भाऊबीज )or Bhaidooj ( भाईदूज). A day to appreciate the relationship of a brother and sister. 

This period of the year marks a prevalent atmosphere of revival. The revival of energy helps us to function efficiently all year round. The light symbolizes positivity. The festival's ambiance gives a feeling of joy to our hearts that favors us the time with our near and dear ones. In today’s fast paced world, Diwali sweetens our days with a little break from the routine. And thus grants us the hope of a better tomorrow. 

On this note, wishing you all a very happy Diwali. May this Diwali illuminate your life with goodness!

                                                             - Vaadasabha Member

                                                                  Maahi Gadgil

Home Away From Home

It's 6.30 in the morning, and I hear someone speaking. I got up, grumpy, and looked outside. There's this old couple living outside our hostel, unravelling their memories. Their living room is exactly opposite mine, and I can hear them speaking or contemplating about their son who has been away from them ever since. 

 “Raj has forgotten us completely,” Aajoba said.

 “He's been busy,” Aaji retorted.

 “It's been 9 years Lata. Screw letters, but he hasn't even called us. It's Diwali tomorrow. I miss him.”

 Aaji handed him a cup of tea while confronting him. 

 I was watching these two trying hard to handle this situation and suddenly my phone beeped. It was maa. 

 “Are you coming tomorrow?” She asked.

 “No maa. The situation is worsening here,” I said.

“Diwali isn't Diwali without you. Anyway, take care,” she uttered and cut the call.

 Somehow, I started drawing parallels between this old couple and maa. So similar yet so different. So emotional yet so precise. Diwali is a homecoming ceremony, but this year is weird, I chuckled. Diwali is a festival where light overpowers darkness and I had the plan to make it special for the old couple. 

 I bought a sheet of paper and an antique flower vase to gift them. I decorated those papers with some glitter and notes of hope. And thought of putting them outside their home at midnight. For me, everything seemed perfect and I went ahead and put the letter 'happy Diwali in their letterbox.’

Tomorrow morning, aaji opened the door and found the letter. Initially, she thought it was Raj. But she knew, it wasn't. 

 Maybe she just saw me peeping at her window and asked, “have you done this?”

 I said, “Yes. Do you like it?”

 “Very much. Thank you.”

 She invited me for lunch and aajoba talked about how he used to enjoy Diwali nights with Raj, his only son. He gifted me one of his favourite possessions, his painting, and said thank you for making our day, thank you for making our Diwali. I winked and said, this is my home away from home. They laughed and I found happiness.

 Maa always used to say, when you try to uplift someone, you never lose anything. Rather you find happiness tucked as a memory. I have found mine, have you?

                                                 - Vaadasabha Member

                                                   Siddhi Deshpande

A Mindful Difference : Response Vs Reaction

 As per the third law of Newton, “every action has an equal and opposite reaction. But do we have to follow this principle in our real life as well? Sometimes it is important to take few moments before reacting. Instantaneous reaction can cause harm on both sides. Thinking ideally and then responding is always a better option. There is the slightest difference between reacting and responding. This difference lies in a deep breath, a pause or a brief moment of mindful thought about the situation. The pause could mean a few breaths as a person allows instantaneous reaction to fade away in his mind and wait till the return of balance. This small yet powerful difference can create a drastic change in life.

          The word reaction Itself explains it is an instant action. When people react, it seems to be defensive. People seem to be at a disadvantage. They are uncomfortable with what is being said or done. In reactions, emotions take a central role. Reaction lack in ‘filtering process’. But on the other hand response is more thoughtful process. It contains reasoning. Responding is guided less by emotion and more by logic. It explores possibilities of various outcomes which may impact lives. That is why a wise person has compared reaction with a bottle of Soda while comparing response to a bottle of water. We know how strong and hasty soda is, where water is calm and cool.

          In the time of conflict, a foolish person always reacts destructively while a wise person responds constructively. A response can change even a conflict into enlightenment. It is said that peace comes not from the absence of the conflicts but the ability to cope up with it. And a thoughtful response to a situation could help in developing the ability to cope up with the problems. As the famous author Bob Proctor has said, “When you react you are giving away your powers; but when you respond, you are staying in control of yourself. There is an acronym that various psychologists suggest to use before reacting-P.L.A.C.E. Pause, Labeling your reaction, Asking yourself why, Choosing a skillful response, Empowering yourself. By increasing ‘Spiritual Intelligence’ a person can at least attempt to think about the situation from various perspectives. 

          We see so many examples of how reacting instantly and without caring about consequences can cause negative impact in lives. For example, we see politicians arguing uselessly over unimportant things. Sometimes they react so quickly and get themselves into trouble. But on the other hand we see some people who remain calm even in the situation where others cannot. They channelize their energy into a positive and enlightening response. There is a story of Gautam Buddha. Once a man became envious of Buddha’s calm nature. He became determined to make Buddha angry by any means. So one day he went to him and started verbal abusing to him. The man did everything he could to make his plan successful. But Buddha did not react at any point instead he had a gentle smile on his face as always. He listened to the man calmly. After he seemed to finish Buddha asked that man, “If I give you something and what if you don’t take it. Where would it go?” “Of course it won’t go anywhere. Obviously it’ll remain to me. Don’t you know such basic things?” The man replied arrogantly. Then Buddha gently smiled and said. “Similarly I didn’t take what you were trying to give me from quite a long time. So it remains to you. And why do you want to burden yourself with such negativity? Throw that negativity outside and start being a positive person.” This piece of advice changed that man’s life. He later became the man Buddha advised him to be. This story is the perfect example of how a calm and gentle response can save lives from turning into a mess.

          It takes a lot to reach at the peak where people like Buddha were. It is certainly hard but not impossible. No one is perfect. Everyone has flows. But not letting those flows overcoming situations is the key to healthy relations. We all are humans and I think being a human it is our birthright to make mistakes. A person cannot remain ideal in each and every situation. Emotions are bound to impact certain situations. Emotions are not static. But an emotional response can certainly impact in a negative way. A person has to control immediate reactions with an overall thought about the possible outcomes. Many times due to an unexpected situation, we might give an emotional reaction; but we may regret it later. At that time it is important to apologize after realizing mistakes.

          As Rick Hanson has said, “Neurons that fire together that wire together.” The more you become calm and nonreactive, the more you invite responses, the better your life becomes. As a wise man once said, “Between stimulus and response, there is a space. And in that space is our power to choose response. In our response lie our growth and our freedom.”

                                                       Vaadasabha Member

                                                       Shravani Acharya

Vijayadashmi

 Growing up, we have all enjoyed celebrating the victory of Ram over Ravan, Good over evil, on the 10th day of the Ashvin month. Dussehra, Dasara, Vijayadashmi, whatever the name we may call it, our intention for the coming year remains the same- burning all the negative qualities in us, and continuing to live a life, devoted to the possible good ones. Most of us try to overcome our anger, ego, arrogance, and other Ravan-like qualities for some days after the Ravandahan . But very few of us might be able to continue the same for a longer time period.

It is no hidden fact that Ravan, the great scholar, a capable ruler and a maestro of the Veena made Rama sorrowful over his death. The ten heads representing his knowledge of the six Shastras and the four Vedas were no more. Still, the revered devotee of Shiva is sometimes depicted to be nothing more than an evil character, which again, is true in some events. Along with all this, is it possible, with the blazing effigies of Ravan, that we might burn off the knowledge, the power, and the dedication as well? Defeating a person does not only include their bad deeds but a lot more than that.

There might not even be the whole picture in front of us. The one who defeated Ravan, Ram and his army, definitely had the traits dynamic and influential enough to be the ones to triumph over the mighty Ravan. Ram, an avatar of Vishnu, is known to be a person with innate goodness and adherent to truth and Dharma. All these abilities together managed to defeat one of the greatest skill-bearers.

This Dussehra, like all the previous and upcoming ones, let us all try to acquire Ram’s moon-like pleasing qualities and his earth-like forgiving nature to win over only the negative traits of Ravan, affording his brave heart.

Wishing everyone a very happy and prosperous Vijayadashmi!

                              Vaadasabha Member

                                Sneha Jain

2nd October - The Birth Anniversary of Indian Stalwarts, Mahatma Gandhi and Lal Bahadur Shastri

Today marks the 153rd birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi. Mahatma Gandhi or Bapu as he is lovingly called is the father of our nation.

We have grown up singing the words, " दे दी हमें आज़ाद बिना खड़ग बिना ढाल

साबरमती के संत तूने कर दिया कमाल "

Mahatma Gandhi is one of those leaders we know and are familiar with even before we start learning history. We are taught with his principles even before we start understanding the concepts of secularism, nationalism, and non-violence. As a nation, we have always aspired and tried to walk on the path he led and the values he tried to instill. 75 years after freedom and over 70 years since he died, Mahatma Gandhi continues to inspire our nation.

Mahatma Gandhi was born as Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi in Porbandar, in coastal Gujarat. He trained to be a lawyer in London, England, and then moved back to India. However, he moved to South Africa soon and started his legal practice there. He was shocked by the injustice that was met to Indians there and started fighting for their rights.

Interestingly, he was hesitant about coming to India and joining in the freedom struggle. He was later persuaded by Gopal Krishna Gokhale, whom the mahatma considered his political guru.

Who could have imagined that a lawyer who could not build a successful career in India and was hesitant to come back would take the country by storm and would haunt the British government till the very end? Leading the freedom struggle using strictly nonviolent means, Bapu inspired many future leaders. One such disciple of his was Lal Bahadur Shastri who shared his birthday with the Mahatma.

Lal Bahadur Shastri went on to play an important role in India's freedom struggle and also became our 2nd   Prime Minister. He led the country through the Indo- Pak war of 1965 popularising slogans like "Jai Jawan, Jai Kisan". He also championed the white revolution which is the reason why India is the biggest producer of milk in the world today.

Shastri, much like Mahatma Gandhi was a simple man. Down to earth and humble, he also had a steely resolve which was on full display during the war. In his quiet way, Lal Bahadur Shastri also brought about many economical changes in India. He was a man with no ideological blinders, he saw facts and what they were and used the best methods possible for solving the problem at hand. He introduced measures that decentralized decision-making and empowered the private sector.

India has been blessed with leaders like Mahatma Gandhi and Lal Bahadur Shastri who paved the way for the future generation to flourish. They instilled in us values like secularism and nonviolence. They taught us to hold our heads high while making sure that our feet are firmly planted on the ground.

I humbly pay my tributes to these two stalwarts of our nation.    

                                                           - Vaadasabha member

                                                              Yugandhara Barve