Dīpāvali is also called Divāli (known as Diwali in English). Diwali is “the festival of lights” – dīpa refers to small oil lamps. It is the most well-known holiday of this tradition, celebrated by a billion people around the world! As with Christmas, there are many regional variations, and a time for families and communities to come together in love and gratitude. People wish each other Śubh Dīpāvali (or more commonly, in modern Hindi you will hear people say, “Śubh Divāli” or even “Diwali Mubarak!”, which comes from the Arabic word for blessing – “barak”).
The primary spiritual tradition for Diwali is doing pūjā in the evening for Mahālakṣmī, inviting her cosmic golden presence and abundant power into our homes, our lives, and our hearts. As part of this invitation to her, we wash and clean our thresholds and mark them with her footprints made out of kuṃkuṃ, as well as draw the ancient and holy svastika symbol, which represents the wheel of life, prosperity, and dharma.
People also make beautiful raṅgolīs in front of the house, which are beautiful patterns and designs made out of colored sand or even chalk. The threshold stands as our doorway to the world, where inner meets outer, and we want it to be welcoming, auspicious, and a pure space for connection. [Scroll down for instructions on how to do a basic threshold pūjā].
Another hallmark of Diwali is all the food! People cook all kinds of delicious, fresh food, and it is a day for feasting. Two highly unhealthy and delicious Diwali staples are traditional Diwali snacks, which are usually fried, spicy, savory treats.
There’s also very rich miṭhaī, which are sweets made from milk, ghee, sugar, nuts, cardamom, saffron, etc. Some of these are also fried, like jalebi – which are crispy noodles dripping in hot sugar syrup. Because it is a time that celebrates and invites abundance, people go all out with food, and there’s freedom to splurge a little bit. In fact it is common to prepare many different types of items and offer them as part of the Lakṣṃī pūjā, as seen here.
Another common practice is to light oil or ghee lamps and place them all over the home. Diwali is the day that Śrī Rāma, the embodiment of dharma, returned to his kingdom of Āyodhyā, and was installed as the righteous king – in other words, the day that dharma prevailed and was restored to its proper place of glory and majesty (the return of light). The cosmic form of Mahālakṣmī is Śrī, who is described as pure golden light or golden shining, which is another reason we let this golden light fill our homes.
Nowadays, people also put up strings of electric lights. However, we recommend using the traditional flame lamps if possible. If you are unable to get small oil lamps, simply lighting candles or tea lights all over your home is also fine (be careful of potential fire hazards, however)! This is because fire has a particular life, warmth, and dynamism to it that can only be mimicked by electric light.
If you’re actually in India, there’s also a tradition of fireworks – so many in fact, that it actually almost sounds like a war zone with bombs bursting! However, it’s all part of the celebratory environment. If you do choose to burst fireworks, please make sure you do so safely and in an eco-friendly manner!
Lastly, in the spirit of abundance and sharing light, Diwali is also a time to feed and care for the poor and those who are less fortunate than us. Do you have any clothes or food you can share with the needy?
As part of the evening pūjā, many people, especially merchant communities, hold a special pūjā in their offices or place of work called “copḍā pūjā”. This is where we begin the new fiscal year by doing the first “bookkeeping” of the year. However, this special accounting report is actually a prayer to the divine, asking for a year of prosperity and abundance in our work. Bosses and employees pray together for a prosperous year, and there’s a tradition of giving a Diwali bonus to all the employees. Afterwards, everyone in the office shares a meal together and exchanges sweets.
Depending on professions, there are also different pūjās that take place. For example, brahmins and teachers all bless their books, since their career focus is not geared towards making tons of money. In fact, most people, regardless of profession, do some sort of abundance and blessing ritual at their place of work on the evening of Diwali. In India, even the guy who runs the corner lemonade cart will adorn it with fresh flowers and small candles. This practice is not defined or limited by how much you have – it is about inviting abundance to whatever you have. If you are at home, or retired, you can still pray for a year of prosperity and abundance and do Lakṣmī pūjā.
Finally, it’s traditional for all generations to ask for the blessings of their elders. Kids bow to their parents and grandparents, parents bow to the grandparents, etc, and there is a lot of hugging and sweetness all around. Families try to visit with each other, especially all the elders, and everyone exchanges gifts and food.
The purpose of this pūjā is to invite Śrī into your home, and into your heart. The threshold is the entry point between outer and inner spaces. So by blessing and anointing the threshold, we signal our longing and readiness to receive Her in our outer and inner world. We also hold a clear intention of what kind of beings and energies we want in our space, and which we don’t.
1) The first step is to wash and clean the threshold to your home. Sweep the surrounding areas. You may want to use a scrub brush or rags if need be.
2) Draw three svastika symbols for the three divine powers of creation, sustenance, and destruction. Be sure that the wheel is clockwise (the middle line going to the top should point to the right) if you are standing outside facing towards the home. Also place four dots in each of the four spaces made by the svastika. This symbolizes fullness (no empty space). Also, remember that the svastika should be kept straight, not tilted like the modern hate symbol.
3) Optionally, you can also draw the goddess’ footprints, signifying her entrance into your home. A curve with five dots is enough to signify feet, as depicted in the raṅgolī in the title image of this lesson.
4) In the center of each svastika, make a dot of turmeric and, if possible, sandalwood paste as well. You can also offer a few grains of rice, and flowers.
5) On a tray, place a small ghee or oil lamp with some kuṃkuṃ, turmeric, and rice. Add a flower or two if can. Wave the flame in a clockwise circle three times, honoring inner and outer light, and the presence of the divine.
6) As you do this, pray that all the deities and divine powers, all your ancestors, all the natural elements and powers, all the gurus and enlightened teachers, all the virtues, wisdom and compassion, and every good thing to come to your house. Ask for their blessings and welcome them into your home and your heart with great love and sweetness.
7) Many people also invite their [living] loved ones and family members – especially those that live far away – to called into the space in spirit.
8) Try to avoid stepping directly on to your threshold if possible. Whenever we leave our house, it’s traditional to take a moment to say a mantra or mentally pause to honor the divine, and leave or enter the house with your right foot first, with great awareness of crossing into or out of the space. The threshold is the link between your private life and worldly one – so let it be a sacred, intentional, and beautiful one!
9) Traditionally, it is your responsibility to feed any beings who cross over your threshold, recognizing them as divine and bringing you blessings. Especially on Diwali, it’s the householder’s sacred duty to make sure that everyone who enters your home is nourished – even if it’s just some refreshing juice or a bite of something sweet.
Diwali has many, many beautiful traditions, and we hope you have learned enough here to get you started. Any one of these practices is enough to start.
Remember, our main purpose here is choosing light over darkness; abundance over lack; joy over misery. Let the cosmic effulgence of Śrī fill your heart and home.
We pray that your Diwali celebration is full of light, beauty, prosperity, and joy! Śubh Dīpāvali!
If you have any questions, or want to share your experience, you can do so by emailing us at admin@livingsanskrit.com.
Teacher: Shivani Hawkins
Maitreya Larios is a scholar and practitioner of the ancient and living traditions of India. He has been a practitioner of Indian spirituality since he was 9 years old.
In 2013, he obtained a doctorate in classical Indology from the University of Heidelberg in Germany, where he is currently employed as a research fellow. He wrote his dissertation on the living Vedic traditions of Maharashtra, which will appear as a book in late 2015.
He is most excited about being a student of Sanskrit and philosophy and about igniting that enthusiasm in his students. His personal journey over the 26 years of studentship in this tradition has been a humbling experience, but it is a path that he assures brings the most amazing transformations.
Besides his area of expertise as a scholar of Indian culture and religion, Maitreya is passionate about photography, visual arts, traveling and vegan/vegetarian cooking.
He is happily married and a father to a beautiful boy named Kabīr.
Few artists have the power to create an indelible impact on the minds of their audiences through their art form and one such name in the world of Kathak is Shambhavi Dandekar. Shambhavi Dandekar as an accomplished Indian Kathak master performer, has carved a niche for herself through her sheer talent, unique performances and unparelled choreography, that has brought her recognition on the national as well as the international platforms.
As a young dancer, Shambhavi started her training under the able guidance of her own mother and renowned Guru Pandita Maneesha Sathe, a celebrated dancer and a teacher in her own right. Shambhavi then went on to complete her intense training in ‘laya and tala’ or rhythm and beats from Table virtuoso “Taalyogi” Pandit Suresh Talwalkar. Along with her top-notch traditional dance training, Shambhavi also has a strong academic educational background with a Bachelors in Commerce and two Masters degrees in Dance. Furthermore, she also holds Diplomas both in French and Sanskrit.
Shambhavi has more than 20 years of teaching experience at an undergraduate and a graduate level at various dance education institutions in India. She has also started her own international school of dance in 2008, called ‘Shambhavi’s International School of Kathak’ or SISK. SISK is a prominent and a thriving international institution with five branches in India and the United States of America with over 400 students and a staff of 15 teachers who are trained by Shambhavi herself.
SISK has produced many a talented student over the years. Shambhavi’s years of experience, intellectual understanding and analysis of the nuances of the art form, has helped her create stellar performers out of her dedicated students. Many of her students are emerging as budding Kathak professionals. Shambhavi guides performers and students all over the world through workshops and master classes.
Shivani is a meditation teacher and multi-disciplinary artist, and the founder of Living Sanskrit. Born both American and into the yogic tradition, she is devoted to preserving and accurately practicing ancient indigenous wisdom in modern times and non-native contexts.
Shivani first heard Sanskrit in the womb, and not a day has gone by without it. She grew up immersed in dharma culture, yogic teachings, and sacred practices under the guidance of her spiritual teacher and also her grandmother.
Living Sanskrit is the culmination of a long-held dream to keep this tradition alive and share its magnificent gifts with the world.
Shivani started teaching meditation in 2001, and professionally a few years later at the suggestion of her spiritual teacher. Since then, Shivani has shared meditation with thousands of people at venues that range from corporate offices to hospitals to schools. From 2008-2014, Shivani was a Fellow with the Berkeley Initiative for Mindfulness and Law, leading retreats and weekly meditation sessions at Berkeley Law School.
Alongside teaching, Shivani is a prolific artist, photographer, and writer. She is a graduate of the Waterfront Conservatory and Playhouse, a member of the California Bar, and has a J.D. from the University of Southern California and a B.A. in Rhetoric with minors in Theater, Business Administration, and South Asian Studies from the University of California, Berkeley.
She lives with her beloved husband Nick in Redwood City, California, where she can often be found dancing, gardening, listening to birdsong, and hiking in nature.
Ekabhumi is an award-winning poet, author, illustrator, yoga instructor and arts educator with 18 years of international teaching experience. Through a ritualized and meditative creative method, he makes artworks for ceremonial and educational use that help people deepen their spiritual practice, recognize the divinity of common experiences, and find meaning in the beauty of our world. His artworks may be found in yoga studios, private homes, and on altars around the world. He is currently part of the core faculty of livingsanskrit.com.
His name was given by his first guru during a formal initiation ceremony into a tantric yoga lineage in 2005. Since that time, he has studied with many spiritual teachers and traditional artists both in India and the States. His art teachers include eminent western figurative painters like Domenic Cretara, as well as Newar artist Dinesh Charan Shrestha, Bikaner-style miniature painter Mahaveer Swami, Thangka painter Andy Weber, and yantra painter Mavis Gewant.
Ekabhumi’s writing and artwork has been published widely, appearing in anthologies and journals like The Poetry of Yoga, Berkeley Fiction Review, and Pearl, as well as books like Tantra Illuminated by Christopher Hareesh Wallis and Awakening Shakti by Sally Kempton. His instructional Shakti Coloring Book and the uplifting Bhakti Coloring Book are now available world-wide from Sounds True Press.
Though his first love is the arts, he has a wide range of interests that are reflected in his many past occupations: event producer, stock options broker, handyman, journalist, ski boot fitter, competitive surfer and champion sailor. He toured internationally as a performance poet, and the poets he coached won numerous regional and national titles. He facilitated writer’s groups, hosted poetry readings, and organized spoken-word festivals for nearly 20 years, culminating in the acclaimed 2009 Individual World Poetry Slam.
Ekabhumi is an inspiring, playful yet methodical teacher who helps students cultivate deeper intuitive states. For nearly two decades, he variously taught yoga, painting, public speaking, and creative writing to students ranging from kindergarten to post-graduate level. Much of his time is now spent creating educational material about interpreting, making, and utilizing sacred art of the dharma traditions. On weekends, he can be found in his garden practicing silence and learning directly from Nature.
Hema Patankar has spent her life immersed in study, practice and service to the Vedic tradition. It began when she was a teenager irresistibly attracted to the sound of Sanskrit and images of yogis who had become profoundly wise and blissful through meditation.
An alumni of a gurukula in Western India, Hema spent over 30 years intimately engaged with the traditions that have emerged from the Vedas. She worked on research, translation, and editorial projects in the company of learned pandits and scholars. She assisted with yajnas – ancient fire ceremonies – and rituals, which allowed her to get extraordinarily close to the living practice of Vedic traditions. She immersed herself in the sādhana of singing Sanskrit hymns and the songs of the poet saints, which she studied intensively with her Gurus and traditional devotional singers. She became known for devotional singing, and taught students from around the world.
Hema has a passion for the preservation of sacred Vedic heritage. For several years she was the Executive Director of the Muktabodha Indological Research Institute. There she spearheaded the development of an extensive online collection of rare Sanskrit texts. She nurtured the establishment of a traditional Vedic school where an endangered branch of the Vedas is preserved. She also directed the video documentation of remarkable Vedic rituals and brought rare texts on Śaiva philosophy and Vedic ritual to publication.
She later studied traditional Āyūrveda and earned a Vaidya Bhusana (vaidyabhūṣaṇa) Ayurvedic Practitioner degree. She is President of the Board of Trustees of Vedika Global, a school for the study and practice of traditional Āyūrveda and Vedic sciences. She has published articles on Āyūrveda, the Bhakti tradition, and the preservation of Vedic manuscripts. Most recently she edited a text on Vedic full and new moon rituals. Her current writing focuses on the intersection of living Ayurveda with the rituals and philosophy of the Vedic tradition.