The ‘Festival of Lights’ on the new moon of Kartik, when millions of oil lamps dispel the darkest night of the year. Diwali celebrates Rama’s return to Ayodhya after 14 years of exile and the victory of inner light over ignorance. Lakshmi Puja is performed at midnight, as the goddess is believed to visit the cleanest and most illuminated homes. In tantric tradition, the Amavasya darkness represents the void (shunya) from which all creation emerges, and the lamps represent individual jivas (souls) recognizing their own luminosity.