One of the most popular festivals celebrated widely, Diwali symbolises the journey from darkness to light. It is a time to turn inward and light the lamp of knowledge and truth to dispel the forces of darkness and ignorance within us, thus allowing our innate brilliance and goodness to shine forth.
“The goodness in our mind is symbolised by calmness, patience and endurance. The evil, on the other hand, is represented by worry, stress, anxiety, depression and the constant wrestle with low self-worth.
Negative thinking patterns are unhelpful and can have a strong and devastating impact on our relationships, health, work and ultimately on our lives,” states psychiatrist Dr Shefali Batra.
Time to evaluate
Diwali is a time to reflect on and evaluate our thoughts, words, and actions over the past year. It is a time to acknowledge and better understand our prejudices, negative behaviours, and bad habits so that we may begin the process of transforming ourselves.
“If we keep the light of self-awareness and mindfulness switched on, we will feel confident, accomplished, and realistic. And always remember that the same old thinking will give the same old results,” points out Dr Shefali.
We should introspect and learn the anger, hatred, envy, resentment, jealousy and enmity we harbour towards others. Once we understand the nature of these thoughts and feelings we see that they bring negativity not only with respect to others but also harm us in subtle ways.
“Some traditions like gambling involved with Diwali indicate the uncertain nature of life. It tells us that not everything in life can be controlled. For our mental well being, it’s important to understand that getting stressed about things over which we don't have any control is futile,” says psychiatrist Dr Chinmay Kulkarni.
“One can also learn the value of perseverance, unity and abiding by moral values despite there being opportunities of taking the easy way out,” specifies psychiatrist Dr Anjali Chhabria.
Make way for new
In Hindu culture, Diwali marks a new year and symbolises new beginnings. It is all about ringing out the old and ringing in the new. “But what about all those unwanted, uncalled for negative thoughts? We need to be more rational with our attitudes, and find ways to challenge distorted and self-damaging belief systems, which lead us to negative outcomes.
Negative thoughts are not a big deal. What you do about them is,” claims Dr Shefali. We must evaluate our relationships with family members, colleagues, subordinates, neighbours and find out if we are carrying any negative, unhealthy emotions or behavioural patterns towards them.
“These patterns make the surroundings gloomy so it’s important we resolve these interpersonal conflicts in an amicable way,” suggests Dr Chinmay.
Spread love & light
It is a time to discover how we can be more loving, kind and respectful towards others and ourselves. Since all wealth, be it material or spiritual, should be shared with others who are less fortunate, Diwali is also a time to reflect on the various ways we can assist others and shine our light out into the world.
“Mental health and well being is something people still refrain from talking about openly. We can be more mindful about others’ mental well being while encouraging a conversation around the importance of the same in order to make others Diwali brighter,” suggests Dr Anjali.
“Time is the most precious commodity and this Diwali we can share some of our time with others rather than giving any materialistic stuff. Spend this year’s Dhanteras money on charity,” recommends Dr Shefali. You can leave inspirational notes at random places or send thank you notes to those who have made you shine a little brighter.
Reviving work ethos
We live in a competitive world where everyone is trying to outbid the other, so why not use the spirit of Diwali to revive the work ethos? “Competition, which is unhealthy, often stems from a space of low self-confidence.
If there is self-belief and an outlook towards advancement without trampling on others’ toes, it is possible to revive better work ethos,” declares Dr Anjali.
Hence, a sure shot way to avoid getting trapped in the rat race is to build self-faith and correctly value one’s own worth. One should do things that are more consequential and see the bigger picture. Working as a team and staying more connected is always helpful.
“Adopt a value creation mindset at work and know that everybody is fighting a battle. Do the little things with great enthusiasm and work on your own resilience and spirit,” maintains Dr Shefali.
