After the day of Diwali, today there is another festive day, Ramona calls it ‘Food Day’. The kitchen has been preparing food for the whole day so that there will be many different dishes for dinner. Of course this also has a background in mythology and there is another ritual that will be done in the evening. My mother and grandmother are already preparing for it.
I have been seeing all these celebration and rituals from my childhood on and grew up with them just like everybody else here. I was used to performing and participating in many rituals myself. However in my mind a lot of changes took place and I do not really believe in these rituals anymore. These changes started from 2001, after coming out of the cave. In my opinion changes don’t take place from one night to the other. Change is a process that happens gradually and this is how my mind developed over the years and I am today of the opinion that we don’t need rituals to find God and that God will not be especially happy if we do rituals for him. You can find God through love and by being in love, you do the best service to him that you can.
You can naturally see this change reflected in my writing, in my blog, and any reader who has been following the diary for longer can confirm that even in the last three years my mind has changed and developed. I feel others things are right that I did not think of before and I left many things behind. I have been following this path of change my whole life long and I will develop more in the future, too. It is the natural process of development of the consciousness of a human person. I am honest about it and that is why you may have wondered about such changes. I will always keep on changing, finding out more and developing.
Even if changes take place however, I do not want to be disrespectful for any ritual, any religion or any person. I told yesterday that we bought fireworks for the children although I am not in favor of them and in the same way Ammaji and Nanji will have their ritual today and the whole family will participate. My mother, father and grandmother have been doing it their whole life long and instead of hurting their feelings by rejecting it, we celebrate, are in festive mood and enjoy it together. I would not start the ritual myself but I will celebrate with everyone. My opinion gives me space to enjoy anywhere and with everybody, no matter what country, culture, religion, mosque, temple or church. I can celebrate and go anywhere and this is how I am looking forward to tonight’s celebration and of course dinner afterwards.
See pictures of yesterday's celebration
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your Ashram look Great!!love it..
It is so nice to see the pictures of diwali an I remember last year when we were at ashram for celebrating together.It was so great and full of love. Hug you all. Love Regina
Would Love to have you here with your family. Love
Yes it was great and it is great and it will be great. Soon we will see us there in Germany. Love
Well said Swami Ji!
It is interesting how many cultures still have rituals, traditions, and celebrations from centuries past. Whether or not they are linked with religions, people tend to keep these traditions going and teaching the next generation the same rituals.
I agree that we shouldn’t focus on rituals like Diwali as a way to please God and make God happy. But I think these celebrations are important for sharing joy with those we love and celebrating the experience of life together!