By Guest Blogger: Bharati Jadeja
Today, more than a billion lamps will shine upon the land of India. Homes, towns, institutions, and especially temples will all light the oil lamps.
“Ma, how come we light oil lamps on Diwali?” asked Dhinu. “Baitho, sweetheart, have a seat,” said Ma.
Along with a few other siblings, Dhinu crossed her legs and sat on the shetranji, the carpet made of Indian cotton. Children were not allowed to sit till told to do so, and certainly not on furniture!
“Suno, listen, children. First, oil lamps are made of cotton and oil. Cotton is a natural product that we grow in our khetar or farm. Correct?”
“Jiha, ma. Yes, ma,” all the brothers and sisters replied quickly.
“Second, you must know that we have an oil mill in our village where we have folks making sesame oil and peanut oil.”
“Jiha, Jiha!” said the children with excitement.
“You also know that the kumbhar- the clay potter- makes a kodia, or lamp holder from the clay. Now, do you see how the parts are all natural?”
“Jiha, ma! The land is our mother who nourishes us and provides us with what we truly need.”
“Balko, children, suno. The oil lamp lightens up the darkness. Sacchu? True?”
“Yes, ma!” they cried.
“It continues to give away all it has till the last drop of oil. Barober? Correct?”
“Hanji, ma!” (Respectfully, yes.)
Balko, we should naturally be a giving person; that’s what the oil lamp teaches us. And we must continue to do so as long as we have the capacity to give.”
“Ma, why is giving so important?” the children asked.
“Balko, think about it. You know that you need air to breathe, yes? Do you drink water?”
“Yes, all the time.”
“Can you live without water and air? And do you have to pay for that air or water?”
“Nahin, nahin,” said the children with excitement.
“Children, when you plant one mango seed, you get a whole tree with many fruits; when you place one corn in the ground you get an entire corn plant. So, you see that nature gives us all this freedom for us to live. Children, always, always remember to give and to share.”
“The oil lamp has another huge gift for us. It gets rid of the darkness in a room. Did you know that you have some dark points in you, too?”
“No, no ma, what do you mean?” asked the children.
“Do you get jealous when your classmate gets better grades than you?”
“Yes, ma sometimes I do,” said one of the Dhinu’s brothers.
“That is called krodha, or anger! Do you ever feel you don’t want to share your snack with anyone?”
“Sometimes,” answered another sister.
“That is called Lobha, or greed. Do you sometimes feel mad because someone looks prettier than you?” That is called irsha, or jealousy. Perhaps sometimes you even think about stealing your friend’s nice pen. That is called kama, or yearning. And finally, sometimes you might feel you are smarter than the whole class! Children, this is the most dreadful one; it is called ahamkara, or ego. So, you see that we all have dark points within us, and we must light the lamp of knowledge and get rid of our dark points.
Children, now go ahead and light your oil lamps and think about which dark point you would want to work on and remove from your life. But also, think about the oil lamp. The lamp keeps giving light to others its entire life until the last drop of oil is gone. Above all, the oil never discriminates to whom it gives that light. It only lives to light the lives of others; that is the only purpose it has. Think about how you want to brighten others’ lives as well and live your lives for that. Happy Diwali. “
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Bharati Jadeja is a fellow writer in the Yorkville Library Writing Circle, of the New York Public Library. She shared this piece at our session and I was so moved, I asked her to be a guest blogger on my blog. Many thanks to Bharati for sharing her light with us all.
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