Lets light a Diya this Diwali…

To all my readers,

Shubh Deepavali…  Nutan Varshabhinandan…

The biggest festival of the Hindu Calendar is upon us –  It’s time to light up diyas in our homes and burst fire-crackers till dawn… Its time for rangolis and sweets… relatives and gifts… parties and gatherings… ‘chopda pujan’ and ‘vishva-bhraman’…

‘Diwali’ is a Hindi word with its roots in the Sanskrit word ‘Deepavali’ – meaning a row of diyas.  This refers to the diyas/earthen lamps lit up on the streets of Ayodhya to welcome Shri Ram on his return from exile.  No surprise then that Diwali literally means the festival of lighting diyas.

Diyas have always held a special significance in our scriptures.  For starters, there are specific Vedic Deep Praagatya Mantras – shlokas to be recited while lighting them.  One such shloka is,

Shubham karoti kalyaanam aarogyam dhansampada…

Shatrubuddhivinaashaaya deepjyotinamostute…

A lit diya is a harbinger of hope and happiness, a symbol of knowledge and a marker of purity.

Our sacred writings provide us with guidance on the types of diyas and the manner of lighting them so as to attain our desired blessings from a particular deity.  These guidelines are in line with the distinct ways of performing pujas and the unique shlokas recited to invoke different Gods and Goddesses revered in the Hindu traditions.

A simple diya is believed to bring peace and harmony to the individual’s home.  A two-faced lamp helps strengthen bonds in a joint family.  A three-faced diya is lit up when you need blessings for the children in your home while a lamp with four faces bestows you with property and wealth.  Lighting a Panch-deepak, a five-faced diya, is suggested for manifold increase in business dealings and trade.

Diyas are essentially vessels in which a wick is placed and lit.  Our religious texts place a particular emphasis on the material with which these diyas are made. Lamps made of gold are considered auspicious for business and health as it signifies purity and wealth.  Silver diyas are recommended for use in pujas pertaining to Chandradev while iron lamps are to be used specifically to attain blessings from Shanidev.  Normally, we use earthen or brass diyas at our homes as these are readily available.  When pujas are performed by a river, the diyas used are invariably made up of wheat flour.  They are immersed in the river after the puja-vidhi and serve as food for the fish and other aquatic life.  Similar diyas made out of lemons, beet, pumpkins and coconuts are used as per ease of availability and location.  Mango leaves, blackberry leaves, betel leaves or the leaves of the peepal tree are also used to make diyas for certain specific pujas.

Different types of oils or ghee are used to light a lamp.  Jasmine oil is preferred by Lord Hanuman, so the diyas at any Hanuman temple are lit with this oil.  Similarly, sesame oil is used at Shaneeshvar temples and at places worshipping Shri Vishnu.  The Goddess Mahalaxmi is pleased by lamps lit up with pure cow ghee while Lord Shiva prefers Mahua oil.

A diya in the form of Akhanda Jyoti at a temple signifies eternal hope and serves as visual representation of the  blessings of the presiding deity.  Thousands of lamps are lit from this Akhanda Jyoti and the deity’s ashirwaad is passed on to the believers in person.

A lit diya is source of energy – hence symbolizing life-force.  The Aatma is considered as a jyoti – a small diya of light if you will,  which is an `ansh` of the Supreme Being, the Paramaatma – a wellspring of unending infinite light and the source of all energy and life as we know it.  It is said that Bhishma Pitamah lit a hundred and five lamps in his palace prior to the Kurukshetra war – one for each of his grandsons, the Kauravas and the Pandavas.  As the war progressed, one hundred of them flamed out, each with the death of one Kaurava, until only the five representing the Pandavas remained.  The flicker and strength of the flame in the diyas lit in prayer by Devi Urmila, Laxman’s wife, for his well-being, varied as per his health and vitality.  Twice, these lamps were on the verge of being extinguished – when Laxman was under the Naag-Paash and later under the deadly influence of Meghnaath’s Shakti-Baan.

Our gurus and elders have always recognized this link between our life force or ‘chi’ and the flame of a diya.  Hence, they are used in the ancient meditative practices and healing techniques.  We celebrate our birthdays and special occasions by lighting up diyas and performing `aarti`.  According to the Hindu traditions, the lighting of a lamp is an auspicious way of inaugurating events and functions.  A diya is always lit first – as a witness to any auspicious religious karma such as a yagya or a havan.  It would not be an exaggeration to say that a diya inspires us all to reach out to positivity at dawn while it lights up our world and pushes the darkness in our lives away at dusk.

This Deepavali, let us just pause for a moment and behold the beauty, purity and divine power that resides so naturally and effortlessly in something as humble as a diya.  We use a diya as a tool to worship the Gods.  It holds the position of honor in an ‘aarti’.  But today, I would like to pay my respects to this modest flag-bearer of all the positivity in the cosmos with the lines:

Diya chahe ghar ke aangan me ho ya mandir ki chokhat par…

Diya chahe tere haatho me ho Tarkash ya Ganga maiya ke tat par…

Diya to Diya hai… umeed ki kiran jagaata rahega…

Tu bas uski oor dhyaan lagaa… tere mann ko sukoon pahuchata rahega…