Deepavali or Diwali is one of festivals of commemoration of the return of Lord Ramacandra to Ayodhya after His 14 years of exile. The meaning of Deepavali is as follows: The word ‘ Dip’ means lamp and ávali’ means ‘rows of lamp’, thus it is said “Deepavali”is a festival of lights.
It is described in the Ramayana, one of the great four epics in the world, that Rama was banished from His kingdom into the forest for 14 years. In the forest Ravana kidnapped Sita and took her to Lanka. After searching for Sita for sometime, Rama and Laksmana made an alliance with many monkey warriors, and subsequently, having come to the southern tip of India, built a bridge to cross to Lanka. Finally Lord Rama killed Ravana and this incident is commemorated by the Vijaya-Dasami festival. Mother Sita, having been tested in fire, emerged completely pure and thus Lord Rama, Laksmana, and Sita, accompanied by other associates, returned to Ayodhya. The residents of Ayodhya, in preparation for the Lord’s arrival, placed lamps on the rooftops and balconies heralding the Lords’ return. Subsequently Lord Ramacandra was installed on the throne. Dip or lamps are lit in homes and temples commemorating that day.
Devotees also want to welcome Lord Rama (Lord Krishna) into their hearts. Just as we clean the temple before installing the Deity making the temple a perfect place for the Lord to reside, similarly we each want to welcome Lord Ramacandra into our lives, installing Him on the throne in our hearts. In order to prepare our heart, for the lord to reside there, we have to properly cleanse it. Therefore, on the auspicious occasion of Diwali, we chant the holy names of Lord Rama and Krishna–”Hare Krishna Hare Krishna KrishnaKrishna Hare Hare, Hare Rama Hare Rama RamaRama Hare Hare”–thus the heart is cleansed. Then we can properly welcome Lord Rama into our mind and install Him on the throne of our hearts, celebrating His presence there.
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