The shadow side to a hyper-capitalist culture with a Protestant work-ethic is a profusion of escapes. Our "escapist culture" seeks solace in virtual worlds, food and drug addictions and sexual fantasies. I am a product of this culture and in many ways a poster child for it.
The word Deepawali is derived from two Sanskrit words, "Deep" and "Aavali". Among these, Deep means "Diya" (or light which represents knowledge) and Awali means "chain". That is, Deepawali means given or series of lights. It is also called Deepotsav or Deepavali or Diwali. Of these, the term Diwali is most commonly used. The meaning of Deepawali also reflects the meaning of the name of Bharat (India). Bha means "light and knowledge" and Rat means "devoted". Deepawali means a series of lamp i.e. series of knowledge and Bharat means dedicated to knowledge and light.