Naraka means hell. What is “hell” by the way? Hell is a place where the beings are bonded, where there is no freedom. When beings are forced to behave in a way against the will is naraka. Lord mahA vishnu took up a form of wild boar and uplifted the earth from a daemon hiraNyAksha. Earth is a wife of supreme lord. In that incarnation born a son to goddess earth with predominant nature of darkness of ignorance. Mother earth wants her son to be very powerful with a long life. She took a boon from supreme lord that only with her consent this kid can die and no other force can conquer him. As days passed, this kid got into the bad company of daemons bANAsura and bhAnDAsura. Due to the bad company and his own ignorance he turned as daemonic. He went around conquering all the worlds with his power and invincibility. He kidnapped several thousands of men and women and detained them. He was called as narakAsura — darkness of hell. Gods approached supreme lord to fix this problem. In the incarnation as lord kRshna with his wife satyabhAma (an incarnation of goddess earth) attacked the kingdom of narakasura, defeated him and released all those detained by him. The day daemon narakasura fell in the war is the naraka caturdaSi. The 14th waning phase of month of ASvayuja. It is followed by the dark night of month without moon. We celebrate freedom rows of lights and sweets. What does it signify? narakAsuara is nothing but the ‘ego’ born of self and earth which is the combination of all elements (ether, air, fire, water & earth) and due to the wrong association with ignorance or darkness it turns daemonic. All our positive thoughts & energy opposing this ‘ego’ are detained in the cage of body by the force of ego. So, we become bonded within the body without realizing our true nature of freedom and bliss. With the grace of supreme lord liberating ourselves from the hell of darkness is the inner significance of deepavali. The same is the essence of rAmAyaNa, mother seetha is freed from the detention of rAvaNa by lord rAma. The day of deepavali signifies return of lord rAma to ayOdhya. It is the celebration of freedom; real freedom from the mightiest daemon ego! रामो राक्षससंहर्तः श्रीकृष्णो नरकांतकः । तयोरेकात्मरूपाय शिवाय गुरवे नमः ॥ Let this deepavali bring everlasting peace and bliss to one and all by the grace of supreme self personified by lord rAma, lord kRSna who appear in a single form of paramESvara, The GURU. SivAya guravE namaH — This day is also mAsa SivarAtri. om tat sat
