Blurtmusic for the Holidays: Happy Diwali

The Festival of Lights begins on November 14 2020

More Light ..... Happy Diwali

Some of my favourite portions from the Isha Upanishad that remind me of the teachings of St. Thomas when he was in Kerala, India in 30 AD.

OM! That (the Invisible–Absolute) is whole; whole is this (the visible phenomenal); from the Invisible Whole comes forth the visible whole. Though the visible whole has come out from that Invisible Whole, yet the Whole remains unaltered.

OM! PEACE! PEACE! PEACE! -

The One Cosmic Existence shines through all things. As we gain the Light of wisdom, we cease to cling to the unrealities of this world and we find all our joy in the realm of Reality....

That One, though motionless, is swifter than the mind. The senses can never overtake It, for It ever goes before. Though immovable, It travels faster than those who run. By It the all–pervading air sustains all living beings...

It moves and It moves not. It is far and also It is near. It is within and also It is without all this. It is near to those who have the power to understand It, for It dwells in the heart of every one; but It seems far to those whose mind is covered by the clouds of sensuality and self– delusion. It is within, because It is the innermost Soul of all creatures; and It is without as the essence of the whole external universe, infilling it like the all–pervading ether.

He who sees all beings in the Self and the Self in all beings, he never turns away from It (the Self).

He who perceives all beings as the Self’ for him how can there be delusion or grief, when he sees this oneness (everywhere) ? He who perceives the Self everywhere never shrinks from anything, because through his higher consciousness he feels united with all life. When a man sees God in all beings and all beings in God, and also God dwelling in his own Soul, how can he hate any living thing? Grief and delusion rest upon a belief in diversity, which leads to competition and all forms of selfishness. With the realization of oneness, the sense of diversity vanishes and the cause of misery is removed. - Isha Upanishad

Diwali is the Indian festival of lights, lasting five days and celebrated during the Hindu Lunisolar month Kartika

One of the most popular festivals of Hinduism, Diwali symbolizes the spiritual "victory of light over darkness, good over evil, and knowledge over ignorance".

The festival is widely associated with Lakshmi, goddess of prosperity, with many other regional traditions connecting the holiday to Sita and Rama, Vishnu, Krishna, Yama, Yami, Durga, Kali, Hanuman, Ganesha, Kubera, Dhanvantari, or Vishvakarman. Furthermore, it is, in some regions, a celebration of the day Lord Rama returned to his kingdom Ayodhya with his wife Sita and his brother Lakshmana after defeating Ravana in Lanka and serving 14 years of exile.

The word Diwali is from the Sanskrit dīpāwali meaning "row or series of lights".

The conjugated term is derived from the Sanskrit words dīpa, "lamp, light, lantern, candle, that which glows, shines, illuminates or knowledge"and āvali, "a row, range, continuous line, series".

The five-day celebration observed every year in early autumn after the conclusion of the summer harvest and coincides with the new moon, known as the amāsvasya – the darkest night of the Hindu lunisolar calendar.

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diwali