The Meaning of the Diya

On a chilly dark November day in Chandani Chowk, with storm clouds gathering from the west, a serene looking man was dragged out of an iron cage and shoved on to a platform. Just as he bowed his head in prayer, he was beheaded. A terrible storm broke out as he lay on the ground. Earlier Guru Tegh Bahadur watched as Bhai Mati Das preferred to be slowly sawn in to two halves rather than accept the offer of riches to convert to a religion not of that land. He watched as Bhai Sati Das was boiled alive in a cauldron of oil and hacked to pieces. He watched as Bhai Dayal Das was wrapped in cotton and roasted alive in flames. Guru Tegh Bahadur had offered himself to save the right of Kashmiri Pandits to practice their religion.

The fear of the Tyrant was such that Lakhi Shah set fire to his hut with Guru Tegh Bahadur’s mortal remains in it to cremate him. It is this Guru’s noble deed for another’s right to freedom of conviction and conscience that we honor as we bow when we light the diya on Diwali – for without these deeds there may never have been another Diwali. We bow humbled by the sacrifice of Guru Tegh Bahadur and the Sikhs who gave up their lives.

A thousand miles south in dusty plains along the Cauvery river, the Rig Veda chants echoed through the Patashala. Different mandalams chanted the vedas using their vikratis – (techniques that rival modern forward error correction algorithms in communication theory) ensuring the purity of the oral renditions. In the nearby Agraharam they led a monastic life and lived on alms. They had given up materialism long ago and had devoted their lives to the chanting of the Vedas and passing it on from generation to generation. For over two thousand years they had lived under the protection of mighty Dravidian kingdoms and later on the powerful Marathas. For a brief few decades when this protection waned, entire Agraharams were massacred. At the Melkote Agraharam one Diwali night, men were lined up to face the women and decapitated as the women wept – their oral tradition extinguished – by savagery on behalf of a faith founded by a man from a distant land. When we light the diya with a bowed head – we bow to the sacrifice and perseverance of these scholars, we bow in remembrance of the lives lost by the Marathas and the Rajputs in protecting our ancient culture, we bow to the strength of our ancestors in holding on to this ancient Dharmic way of life amidst adversity and faced with tyranny.

Our ancient kingdoms were not lost to foreign invaders because they were weak in military. They were lost to invaders who used our Dharmasastra as a weakness. It is said that in ancient Indian battles between Hindu kingdoms, women and children were never hurt and commoners never attacked. Nor were homes and temples touched. Battles were conducted on battlefields and at the end of each day of battle it was not uncommon for opponents to meet. Chivalry was expected and was the rule. Dharmasastra reigned for thousands of years – even in the lands ruled by the Vangas and the Cholas away from the shores of Bharat. Savage invaders took advantage of these practices. Yet they did not last long.

In the recent past, Mahatma Gandhi upheld Dharma when under duress from friends and enemies; he treated the British with respect – lent a helping hand to them in World War II – even though he could have taken advantage of their plight. Gandhi upheld Dharma when he fought to allow people of all faith to remain in India at inception. When we bow to light the diya – we bow to all that upheld Dharma and we renew our compact to uphold it as we light the flame.

Our history refers to Ramayana and in that Lord Rama’s return to Ayodhya with Sita from his exile. As he returned home after rescuing Sita to claim his throne, people placed lit lamps outside, to acknowledge his unwavering faith in Dharma amidst adversity, to honor him with a lit pathway to his home. That was the beginning of this practice.

As we bow to light the diya, in this year 5109 of Kaliyuga, we bow in remembrance of all those sacrificed to preserve this ancient way of life and we light the lamp to symbolize the dispelling of the darkness by the rays of light, to give us the strength to uphold our commitment to Dharma.