The Spiritual Significance of Dhanteras and Diwali

To understand the festivals of Dhanteras and Deepawali, we need to go back in time, when after a hot spell of summer, the rasa (bodily fluids primary blood and lymph etc) inside us, which was boiling due to heat, start settling down once rains set in and temperature drops from 45 to as low as 23 in India. Now since rasa (moon in astrology) governs our conscience, during Summers it feeds our upper chakras (called as Devic chakras) more than lower however after rains it cools/settles down and feeds our lower chakras called as Asuric chakras meant for food, sex and procreation.

For four months it nourishes the lower chakras. This is why it is said that lord Vishnu goes to patal loka for four months (chaturmass) with Bali the king of Asuras. Hence in our body, lord Vishnu refers to the nutritional fluids (rasa) inside us. After another four months, the rasa starts expanding when Sun enters scorpion zodiac and the push of testosterone (strength) begins to push rasa upwards thereby starting another phase which is called as Dev uthani Diwali/ekadashi. This is because now rasa is moving upwards towards Devic chakras.

Thus upward and downward and again upward movement literally creates churning of conscience/rasa and thus our thoughts and experiences which is nothing but samudra manthan where devas and Asuras participate. The churning gives rise to many articles, Lord Dhanvantari being one of them who represents evolved conscience in us by virtue of yearly churning (internal) which also carries right way of living which is nothing but Ayurveda. This phenomenon happens not only annually but even from one life to another thereby evolving the soul.

This also explains the entire logic of Diwali where lord Rama (our soul) goes to patal loka (our lower chakras i.e. south of our body represented as Lanka on map) to get back Sita (righteousness) alongwith knowledge gained from experiences of life by Ravana.

Lord Hanuman represents the force in us that facilitates this churning to help Lord Rama get Devi Sita. The churning and surfacing of Lord Dhanvantari holding amrita should be an enlightening time for all of us which is why Deepawali is considered as a festival of lights where lights refer to the internal lights.

The reason that Devi Lakshmi is worshipped on Diwali is because the churning of the ocean of  knowledge lying inside us brings back all the resources (Laksmi) which had gone deep into the ocean (Rasa inside us towards the lower chakras). That  is why it is said that during Chaturmas, Devi lakshmi leaves Lord Vishnu and dissolves in ocean/Samudra (Samudra was the father of Lakshmi in mythology) and lord Vishnu goes in state of Yog Nidra (in Patal loka) and lord Shiva temporarily takes over the administration of the world (inside us) from Lord Vishnu. From Ayurveda perspective Lord Vishnu can also be considered as Vata Pitta and Kapha who uses resources (Lakshmi ji) to administer this world which is why he is incomplete without Lakshm and goes to Yoga Nidra (meditative state) when she goes into the ocean.

During chaturmass, our Rasa touches our mooladhara chakra which stores knowledge. Astrologically this is the time when Sun enters the zodiac of Mercury (buddhi) thereby providing power to our nervous system and fully activating it to touch all our body parts which also means that it awakens all the memories stored in our body. Thus this  time begins to expand our consciousness which is what Lord Ganesha represent (his large head represents Jupiter’s expanded size/consciousness and the mouse which is his vehicle, represents the crisscross movement of the consciousness through several interneural circuits (mercury) in a large space (large head/jupiter). And as Rasa moves up during Dev Uthani Diwali, it brings to surface this expanded  consciousness too. This is the reason that alongwith Laxmi Ji, we also worship Lord Ganesha.

Of course this phenomenon is  happening not just in our body but also at the collective level thereby raising the conscience of the earth which is nothing but a school where souls come to learn lessons and once their lessons are over they graduate to the higher realm.

Wish you all a very Happy Dhanteras and blissful and enlightening Deepawali…