By: Smt. Sunanda Anant
Nanda Deep at Lendi Baugh reminds us of our true essence – ‘Lamp of Bliss.’ It means – ‘I am light, a pure and peaceful soul, master of this material body.’
Consider a diya, a traditional oil lamp lit at Dwarakamai, Gurusthan, and other places in Shirdi daily. The clay that forms a diya represents our physical body, while the flame symbolizes the soul within. The word ‘diya’ comes from Hindi, meaning ‘to give,’ and this concept of selfless giving lies at the core of Sai Maharaj’s blessings. The lighted lamps urge us to change our focus from ‘What’s in it for me?’ to ‘What can I give?’
A diya for home
The ritual cleaning of our homes for any festival is a metaphor for purifying the body, our first home. Our thoughts and emotions continuously radiate to the body as vibrations, thus impacting it. To cleanse emotional toxins, we must shift our focus from anger to empathy and fear to faith. We must move from abusing the body to radiating pure emotional vibrations by nourishing it with a sattvic diet, good health, and the high vibrational energy of Sai Maharaj.
Being a diya in relationships
Relationships are often maintained with a mindset of ‘give and take’ and an underlying desire: ‘What am I getting from them?’ This usually leads to disappointment and discord. Our responsibility is to shift from reacting and resisting to responding and accepting/giving with love, compassion, and forgiveness.
As we share festival sweets, let us also offer emotional gifts of blessings, understanding, and unconditional acceptance. The practice of closing financial accounts during Ugadi or Deepavali is a regular reminder for us to accept and settle our karmic accounts by letting go of past hurts and negative perspectives and starting afresh.
Being a diya at work
In the professional world, emphasis frequently is on personal gain. But Ugadi entails gifting, and our work is our gift to everyone who is a part of it. Whether we are creating products or providing services, our goal should be to give something valuable to society. Each morning, let us be at our workplace with the intention of giving-empowering colleagues, serving clients with integrity, and balancing commercial success with social responsibility.
Being a diya to nature
Nature has always given us abundantly. Ugadi reminds us to shift from exploiting nature to nurturing it. With such emotional resilience, we raise the collective vibrational energy of the planet. Our emotional state always influences the air, water, and plants around us. Let us embrace a new way of eco-friendly living – a simplistic lifestyle.
This year, for Ugadi, we can also consider giving gifts without any wasteful or plastic packaging that invariably ends up adversely affecting our ecosystem.
A common concern is, ‘If I keep giving, who will give to me?’ When we meditate to connect to a higher power, Sainath Maharaj, we get energized and radiate virtues. Then, giving becomes natural and effortless. This meditational process of connecting and radiating is beautifully symbolized on Ugadi day when one large diya, symbolic of Lord Sainath, lights a smaller one, symbolic of the soul, and that diya lights another.
As we light diyas and invoke Sainath Maharaj, the deity of purity and prosperity, we invite the essence of happiness and prosperity into our lives.
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