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A spiritual comment and prayer to begin the day with Brahmacharini Shripriya Chaitanya

Good morning.

The final day of Diwali is celebrated today, known as ‘Bhai Dooj’. It is a day when the relationship between siblings is celebrated, particularly between brothers and sisters. In the various stories associated with the occasion, there is a reunion between siblings long separated who are delighted to once again be in each other’s company; having not had the opportunity to meet for a long time, they promise to reunite every year on this particular day.

Families can be complicated; relationships with parents, siblings, children, partners, are rarely without their challenges. Particularly in some cultures, the basic unit of society isn’t counted as the individual but as the family, making it all the more important.

Sometimes our families aren’t the ones we are born into; sometimes, they are the family that we choose. They’re the people we surround ourselves with who accept us as we are, wish the best for us, and are not afraid to tell us where we’re going wrong. Above all, they love, unconditionally. Sometimes, those people are the ones related to us by blood.

On this day of ‘bhai dooj’, the celebration of siblings, I remember that there’s no one who can bring out the worst in you more than someone who remembers what you looked like in nappies. And yet to be in their company brings only a deep sense of gratitude and relief - to have people in your life who have seen you at your worst and still believe in the version of you that is you at your best.

May we be grateful for our family, whatever shape it takes, and may God grant us the virtues needed to be good to our family in turn.

Namaste, Hari Om.