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Episode 7Daily practiceDiwali

Why Do We Light a Diya?

At Diwali, millions of homes glow with tiny clay lamps. But many families light one every single day. Why a lamp?

The three reasons Try it this week Sources

Reason 1

Knowledge

Just as light removes darkness, knowledge removes ignorance. That's the prayer in the Upanishads: Tamaso ma jyotirgamaya. Lead me from darkness to light.

तमस्

tamas · darkness

ज्योति

jyoti · light

Reason 2

Beginnings

Every auspicious event, a wedding, a puja, even a school function, begins by lighting a lamp. Many homes light one at dawn and at dusk, and some keep a flame that never goes out: the akhanda jyoti.

शुभारम्भ

shubharambh · good start

अखण्ड ज्योति

akhanda jyoti

Reason 3

The flame

Tradition says the ghee is our desires, and the wick is our ego. As the lamp burns, both are slowly consumed. And however you hold it, the flame always points upward.

घी

ghee · desires

बाती

baati · wick, ego

Three lessons in one flame

ज्ञानgyan · knowledge

आरम्भarambh · beginning

उन्नतिunnati · rising

So the diya isn't just for light. It's a reminder to seek knowledge, begin with grace, and keep rising.

Try it this week

The mantra

तमसो मा ज्योतिर्गमय Tamaso ma jyotirgamaya Lead me from darkness to light.

SourcesK.V. Singh, Hindu Rites and Rituals, the chapter on lighting a lamp; Brihadaranyaka Upanishad 1.3.28. Told as tradition tells it; families practise this in many ways.

Does your family light a diya every day?

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