Let there be light
On her visit to a slum, a social worker saw an old man lying in the darkness. “Why don’t you light your lamp?” she asked the man. “Because I’ve been deserted by all, and my life’s in darkness.” Saddened, the social worker said, “If I visit you regularly, will you light your diya for me?” The old man whispered, “Yes!”
Our world is enveloped in darkness; yet, illumined by lights. There is the darkness of poverty, corruption, ignorance, fanaticism, violence and exploitation. Simultaneously, there are many people who spread light through love, dharma, goodness, sacrifices and selflessness. Diwali is a heart-warming “Festival of Lights” during which we could light little lamps to radiate our resolve to make India a “land of light”. Light and fire are religious symbols used for both, the transcendent and the temporal, for God and man. The great lights — sun, moon and stars — were worshipped in ancient religions of light since life was so dependent on them and so despondent without them.
In the Indic tradition, fire is one of the five mahabhutas, an illuminative symbol of divine power and presence. In the Bible, God creates light by divine command: “Let there be light!” (Genesis 1:3) and, at the end of times, people will “need no light of lamp or sun, for God will be their light” (Revelation 22:5).
The Bible and the Vedas describe sacrifices being consumed by fire, Agni, often understood as the Divine being. God appears to Moses in a burning bush and leads people from slavery to freedom in the form of a pillar of fire by night. Every pious Hindu invokes with the Gayatri mantra the splendour (bhargas) of the rising sun. Jesus says: “I am the light of the world.”
The Zoroastrian Fire Temple is finest expression of light with God, wherein the holy flame burns incessantly. Islam preaches that Prophet Mohammed is the light of prophesy. And, don’t we always see agarbattis, diyas and candles brightening altars and shrines, worldwide?
Light is more conspicuous by its absence than by its presence. When we walk into well-lit areas, we hardly say, “There’s enough of light here.” But, when the lights are dimmer, we question, “Why this darkness?” Moreover, in spreading light, diyas, agarbattis and candles burn themselves out. Truly, light comforts, fireplaces warm and lamps enlighten our pathways.
“You are the lights of the world,” Jesus reminds us, adding, “No one lights a lamp and puts it under a basket, but on a lamp-stand so that it might give light to all.”
This Diwali, why don’t you light the lamp of your life and pass it on? With our lamps aglow, “India Shining” will dispel the darkness that engulfs our world, today.
Francis Gonsalves is the principal of the Vidyajyoti College of Theology, Delhi
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