|| Inspiring Light ||

When the day shut its dazzling eye and night cast its dark veil upon the world, man’s quest for light began. A world-fire kindled his imagination and stone against stone sparked off man’s relationship with the unknown. Spark led to flame ….the flame to inspiration….and hands expressed themselves in lamps…fueled by the urge to recreate sunbeams in the dark.

Deep wells cut into stone were the first crude light bearers designed to dispel the gloom within man’s first rock-hewn abode. As the world around unfolded its beauty to man the explorer, his creative instincts began to find expression. His hands rendered beauty to utility. And the evolution of the lamp in India began. Sea-shells, clay, wood and metal were discovered, carved, crafted and molded into the torchbearers of Indian craftsmanship. From the simple to the ornate, these lamps have graced many a temple, palace and home. Their shapes are many just as their sizes differ, in accordance with their purpose. A lotus blooming with light…a peacock preening by the mirror…a parrot gently swaying from the ceiling…a majestic elephant adding grandeur to a durbar (Court)…or a Deepstambha (Lamp Post) guiding ships from river-banks and seashores…all bring back to light the romance of lost centuries
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From the universal creative nucleus emanates the life force, permeating every living being on earth, Hindu religion refers to it as the Jeevanjyoti (the flame of life), and the individual is likened to a Deepak or Lamp.
At every stage of living therefore, lamps are lit to celebrate the eternal life force. And because Indians believe in the darkness of the soul, even when death claims the human body, a lamp is lighted to guide the departing spirit into the world beyond. Be it a birthday, the kings coronation, the departure or return of a victorious worrier or festivity to mark the annihilation of a legendary demon, every important occasion is thus set aglow with burning lamps.
The aarti (ritualistic adoration with lighted lamps) is performed to strengthen and establish relationship between brother and sister, wife and husband, mother and child and man and God. But God and man are not the only recipients of such adoration. Trees, cows, cattle, elephants, war horses, books, tools and weapons are similarly honored, trying together every form of life to the act living.

|| Beliefs and Superstitions ||
Although the flame (Jyoti) is worshiped as the symbol of Life, Wisdom (Gyanjyoti) and Eternal Love, there is the darker side too. Like the day has its night, the lamp too casts the shadow of superstition, whilst its flame penetrates the darkness above. When a flame suddenly dies out, or lamp falls down accidentally, it is considered a sure signs of ill-luck and religious rites are performed to ward off the evil. The Dharmashastra (an ancient text on Indian rituals) prescribes wood, iron, clay and coconut shell for making prayer lamps. The right way to light a lamp, it states, is with a little stick. An Indian woman will never blow at the flame to put it out. She’ll do it with a flower or by fanning it out with the end of her saree. A misshapen flame spells poverty. A white one is said to mean famine, a bright red denotes war and a blackish flame is death. On the other hand a quietly burning yellow flame is the harbinger of health, wealth and prosperity.

|| The celebration of Light ||

Ancient Indian myths and legends have inadvertently crept into the Indian lifestyle. Just as the day is marked with several rituals, so is the year. Festivals and celebrations dot the flow of time round the year. The Deepavali (festival of lights) between the months of Ashwin and Kartik (Oct-Nov) begins with a celebration of Rama’s return to Ayodhya after 14 years of exile, followed by ‘Narakchaturdashi’ the killing of the demon ‘Narakasura’ by Lord ‘Krishna’ and Laxmi - Pujan, the formal invitation to the goddess of wealth.
The five-day celebrations culminate in the New Year which is said to coincide with the waking of Lord Vishnu from a four-month long slumber. During this festival lamps decorate homes, streets and city, signifying the end of a dark period and the dawn of prosperity.
In some parts of India, Spring is given a bright welcome with the lamp dance. The day Lord Mahavira attained Nirvana is a day for the Jains to make lamp offerings. Similarly every part of India celebrates an occasion or the other with the lighting of lamps. And these in turn inspires painters, poets and musicians. Miniature paintings, Sanskrit verses, poetic similes and musical compositions express the deep-seated reverence for light in India. Like the Lamp itself, these works of art too offer the lustre of the Indian artistic temperament, in celebration of light.

|| The Flame of Devotion ||

Amidst burning incense, fragrant flowers, tinkling bells and melodious chantings, the spirit of man mingles with the sublime as he offers the glow of his lamp to the Divine Light. In India, it is believed that only light can glorify light. And so from the early morning aarti to the last prayers at night, the lamp is lit to yoke man with the creator. Devotion is not merely a matter of lighting the lamp however. Like the intricate pattern of delicate Indian filigree, the Indian devotee imaginatively decorates the place of worship with lamps big and small. Each of these lamps has a place and significance of its own in the religious rituals performed, either in the seclusion of the home or in temples. Tall Samai stand as sentinels on either side of the altar. A glowing arch round the idol gives it a halo. Whilst the quiet Niranjan gently lights up the face of the deity. A deepmala burning with over a hundred flames lights up the temple courtyard and the lit, arched doorway welcomes the devotees inside where the Nandadeep keeps the flame of devotion eternally burning.

| Inspiring Light | The Light bearers |From Birth Unto Death| | Beliefs and Superstitions | The celebration of Light |