The human being is a composite of man, beast and God, and in the inevitable struggle among the three for ascendency, you must ensure that God wins, suppressing the merely human and the lowly beast. This festival of Deepavali is to express gratitude at the defeat of the demonic tendencies in man, which drag him down from Divinity. Naraka means hell, and Narakasura is the demon whose death at the hands of Krishna is celebrated on this day. He is the personification of all the traits of character that obstruct the upward impulses of man. How did he meet his end? He died with the vision of Lord Krishna. This Consummation is truly admirable. Remind yourself that you must aspire for the destruction of demonic qualities in this very birth. This is the true spirit of Deepavali.

- Divine Discourse, Oct 24, 1965.