There are so many ways to lean into living authentically and celebrating the moments that bring us the most joy, especially in times when our world seems dark. And that can provide the resilience we all need to handle the dark part. This week on The State of Belief, Interfaith Alliance’s weekly radio show and podcast, Rev. Paul Brandeis Raushenbush celebrates Diwali, the Hindu Festival of Light, with Purple Pundit Project founder Sushma Dwivedi. And Sharon Salzberg is back with two new books illuminating the meditation practice and wisdom that she has spent three decades promoting and teaching.

“If you trace Diwali back to its roots, it is often referred to as the Hindu festival of lights. And the light factor has both physical connotation in terms of lighting candles, as well as the more spiritual factor of a victory of light over darkness, good over evil.” - Sushma Dwivedi. Sushma is a Hindu pundit and a marriage equality pioneer. She is also the President of Ghetto Gastro, a culinary collective with a racial and social justice lens. Sushma and Paul talk Diwali, community-building, and building a life that reflects one’s deepest values.

“I think we live in a time, in general, where there's a real degradation of an understanding of love. I've often wrestled with the saying of the Buddha, which was echoed, of course, in slightly different language formed by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. When the Buddha said: ‘Hatred will never cease by hatred. Hatred will only cease by love. This is an eternal law.’ It's wrestling! You come to some situation, you think here? Here, too?” - Sharon Salzberg. A central figure in meditation and a New York Times bestselling author who brings Buddhist wisdom to contemporary challenges, Sharon co-founded the Insight Meditation Society in Massachusetts and is the author of numerous important books, most recently Real Life: The Journey From Isolation to Openness and Freedom and Finding Your Way: Meditations, Thoughts, and Wisdom for Living an Authentic Life. Sharon is back with us to talk about how her practice is helping her through the threats of the moment we live in, as well as the teachings that have sustained her through the decades.

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