Diwali 2010

Hey guys!

So the day's pretty much over. I just finished today's diwali aarti a while ago. I was in such a rotten mood just before the aarti. I was so impatient and so irritated. I had to help my sister find an outfit for her high school graduation ceremony tomorrow and we just couldn't find anything and it was frustrating me. We sat down for the aarti and I was just being so negative about everything. It all seemed very ritualistic, and I kept remembering the blog entry I posted earlier today, about ritualism. Moreover, I've gotten accustomed to thinking like this because of reading so much about how Hinduism is just "paganism" and "heathen". So anyway, I reminded myself of my own blog entry, and told myself to think of the meaning behind these rituals. Soon, during the aarti, I started feeling very

Happy Diwali, Everyone!

Hare Krishna!

Happy Diwali to all of you! I wish all of you lots of peace, joy and happiness, and most of all, love of God.

Let's spend today focusing on the meaning behind our prayers and rituals, which are the means to an end, and not the end itself. Today is a good day, and it comes with a good opportunity to practice this. We must always understand the reasons and intentions underlying all our religious acts and not become mechanic and ritualistic. There is no use of performing any rituals if the reason behind it is not understood. Actually, the reason should always be love.