The Magical Diwali

The biggest festival of India Diwali had materialized to proliferate joy galore. Everybody draped in glittering new attires had bludgeoned their stress and anxiety to death and had invited the joy offered by the festival of lights. The world looked beautiful filled with purity thanks to the positivity that vibrated all around. Even nature manifested its beauty and generosity thanks to the collective happy thoughts spawned by millions of minds. Why don't we have Diwali every day so that we can always swim in the happy ocean? Nothing would be chaotic if every day becomes a festival of lights. The day commemorates the victory of light over darkness, God over demons, positivity over negativity, good over bad, virtues over vices, and righteousness over unrighteousness. Wow! The spiritual pool is full and overflowing today, unlike the other days when joy and love are scarce. Diwali doesn't allow our minds to be debased or defiled. It envelops our minds with purity, peace and divine love. We scotch our vices because the festival of lights wouldn't entertain negative energies to flow at any cost. Diwali promotes righteousness by exterminating unrighteousness and it helps us to reach the pinnacle of purity. It is the best day to purge yourself of your impurities and don the armour of spirituality to live a disciplined life embedded with good karma. The evil game was sabotaged by the power of lights to explain to us the underlying significance of Diwali.

Birds through their zest made a concerted effort to reinforce the ambience of nature. Sun God looked to be scared of the rockets so he hid behind the clouds. The rustling leaves tried to grab the attention of nature with their melodious tunes. Sweet makers were all smiles because no one could stop them from making a profit today and so were the cracker sellers.

The Ram whose mind battery was actively charged went on a poem-churning spree. 

Demons are the epitome of spiritual bankruptcy

Their wicked deeds don't deserve any mercy

Devas are the symbol of purity

Pray them to strengthen your sanctity

The darkness that snubs out our happiness

Will lose and become powerless

The light which spreads purity

Will triumph and last for eternity

Diwali is a festival of pure lights

Please don't entertain any fights

The acquisition of million blessings

Will be your great savings

Dissemination of love and peace

Will end all disturbing menace

The world is manufacturing smiles

Let the good emotions forever get etched in our memory files

No one can disrupt the peace of this consecrated day

If they try, then they will have to heavily pay

Let the wisdom fill our spiritual accounts

Why don't we slip into God's chants?

I wish I could fly

To catch the colour of lights painting the sky

Many children were seated in the corridor that led to Bhim's house. He came out of his abode and sat in the middle of the corridor to narrate a story as a gift to the children on account of the grand Diwali.

Once upon a time, there lived a demon king named Bhakshaka who was cruel and crooked. The villagers cursed the wicked king for his savage deeds. Devi Durga had warned him that she would not tolerate if he commits more than two sins which would result in his destruction. The demon seemed to have ignored Devi's verdict and drowned in his ocean of vices. One day, one of his courtiers arrived near the king's throne.

"Oh, the mighty king! We have been silent all these days but I am breaching the silence today. As a king, you must look after the welfare of the people but you seem to be devoid of good qualities."

"How dare you stand in front of me and disregard my conduct? You don't deserve to be my courtier."

The King ordered his guards to bind the courtier to the pole. He pulled out a rope from the table and lashed at him mercilessly. There was no iota of compassion embedded in his mind as he derived sadistic pleasure looking at the red marks that materialized all over his body.

"Mark my words, Devi Durga will punish you for your wickedness. You may kill me today but my prophecy will haunt you tomorrow."

The King broke into laughter and neglected his prophecy. All of a sudden, he vibrated in anger as he unsheathed a sword and swung at the courtier. One marble in his sin bottle evaporated and two more sins would put a full stop to his life. He was warned by the sage to change his conduct but he was not in a position to listen to change rather wanted to commit more sins.

One day, three beggars who scarcely had food in the last seven days, managed to find food. Their stomach growled to give a hint that they must feed it at the earliest or else they would starve to death. The demon king looked at the sorry plight of the beggars. He promised to feed them in his kingdom so asked them to throw the food away. They looked at each other and didn't feel like throwing the food away but they couldn't reject the king's words which would only invite punishment. They all arrived at the kingdom craving food. The King had a food packet in his hand. He ripped open the cover and spilt the contents on the floor and asked them to lick the food. Before they could sprint to put some food into their mouth, wild dogs were released whose fiery barks refrained them from having food. They begged the king to feed them while the wild dogs gobbled the food spilt across the floor. They cursed the king before they starved to death. Some of the courtiers felt bad for the beggars but they couldn't go against the demon king whose second marble in the sin bottle evaporated. We all crave others' blessings but the king had amassed a wealth of cursing. The sage again warned the king to take a pause and check his demeanour and correct it or else he would regret it later but his advice fell on deaf ears. Bhakshaka had now become a slave to his vices and was spiritually impotent. The bad karma was overflowing and it was just a matter of time before it snaps. Bhakshaka came up with a creative plan to eat non-vegetarian food. Through his guards, he passed a shocking message to the villagers which sent shivers down their spines. They were all taken off guard and couldn't believe how the king could stoop to such a low level.

Effective from tomorrow, one villager has to come to the kingdom voluntarily and sacrifice his life. The butcher in the kingdom would slash them into multiple pieces and feed the king. If no one comes, then random men and women would be chosen as per the king's wish.

The King was acting according to his whims and fancies. None of the villagers came to the kingdom because who would want themselves to be cut into million pieces? That's the height of barbarism. One villager was dragged to the kingdom and even urinated looking at the sharp knife of the butcher. The king ordered the butcher to slash him into multiple pieces. Suddenly, the atmosphere in the kingdom changed. The heavy wind blew which shook the entire kingdom. Everybody looked surprised since they couldn't come to terms with the strange force that took over the kingdom. A divine figure materialized out of nowhere in front of the barbaric Bhakshaka.

"I had warned you not to commit more than two sins but you ignored my word. You will now have to face the consequences of your barbarism and stupidity."

Everybody in the kingdom ran away upon seeing the divine Durga Devi. Bhakshaka tried to flee away but he couldn't. For every step that he took, a piercing object out of nowhere pierced him which made him bleed. Tormenting others rendered him sadistic pleasure but now he was on the receiving end. Devi Durga used her trident to end the menace of Bhakshaka once and for all. Everybody prostrated before Devi Durga, and their chants of her rose to a crescendo to commemorate the victory of light over darkness.

Children clapped their hands in delight upon listening to the story. They all rushed to the temple to seek the blessings of Devi Durga. The chants and prayers reverberated everywhere to disseminate positive energy.

Diwali is a reflection of light and goodwill. Likewise, let our minds be the reflection of purity and peace.