“Aarti” time holds me in awe of the
light from the wicks soaked in ghee (clarified butter). The flickering “aate
wala diya” placed in a big “thaali” splashed generously with rose petals moved
clockwise before the deity with hymns playing in the background and focus on
the Almighty, eliminating all distractions with the ringing bells, invoking the
Supreme to bless us mortals … it is the most picturesque of all rituals. And
this “thaali” holds the food for the soul …
The flower petals … the opening of the heart
The ringing bells … warding off distractions and invocations to “Him”
The camphor … burning of the evil desires
The singing and the clapping … the joy you experience
The “thaali” … the tray that holds the offerings … the tray that holds
the blessings received.
The lamp … the fire …
The
light of life … Fire … be it the Sun or the blaze … illuminates and teaches us
to illuminate our beings like the pious light of the lamp, to fill our lives
with the light of knowledge, to be able to see truth and the beauty through
that truth, to make our thoughts and actions pure and beautiful.
Raise … Fire … always rises upwards and teaches us to do
the same … by heart, by words and by actions.
Brightness … Fire … has the power and that power makes it
shine bright and bold … teaches us to shine bright on the power of virtues
Assimilation … Fire … assimilates all that is close to it
… wood, gold, or iron … everything … teaches us to become the “samidhaa” … the
offering in this sacred fire and get assimilated with the Almighty, become one
with the Lord.
Vast spread … Fire spreads … has a wide reach … Look at
the Sun … so many light years away but it is the fire in the Sun that
illuminates your days … teaches us to be like the Sun, to be able to help
others with our capabilities, to help others to see the light and to make our
presence be felt far and wide.
Struggle … Fire … is born out of struggle … the struggle
of clouds, the struggle of water … that give birth to the light … the fire. It
teaches to struggle to learn, to grow spiritually, and to be free in every
sense and actual sense.
Altruism … Fire converts the “samidhaa”, the sacred offerings
made with devotion and love into pious, powerful and primary elements and
returns them back to the devotees. It converts the crude ores to pure gold. It teaches
us to use our powers, our resources, and our capabilities in the welfare of all
that surrounds us. To self analyze and to burn our impurities.
Active … Fire … does not rest … when it does, it dies. It
teaches us to give up the inertia … to be industrious in order to achieve our
goals.
This, they say, is the Vedic Learning
from the Fire. And this, I hope has been decently translated by me because the
source of all these golden words was a newspaper article in Hindi.
Never really understood why people
worship Fire … why Fire finds it way in almost all sacred activities. But now I
know. And am I happy that I know? Yes, ecstatic.
Truly, “Learning never ends” … this
time it is the Fire … I wonder what it will be next????
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Since every thought is a seed, I am looking forward to a delicious harvest.