Message of HH Sri Ganapathy Sachchidananda Swamiji in Bhakti TV Program telecast on April 20, 2020 – Mysore
Compiled by: Jaya Akkanapragada
Agni can take any object and turn it into ash. There is nothing which agni does not accept. If you light a lamp, the light from the lamp has the power to destroy germs as well as this Corona virus. Ghee lamps are especially beneficial. If you go to Guruvāyur in Kerala, the fragrance from the lamps there will envelope you. All the lamps there are lit with ghee made from the milk provided by the cows there. This is a practice followed there for so many decades. Just the fragrance of those lamps lit using cow’s milk, curd and ghee, has the power to cure many diseases.
This is why they say in every home, a lamp must be lit either with ghee, sesame oil or groundnut oil. Lighting the lamp itself is a puja. We must never perform a puja without lighting a lamp. If for any reason we do so, the Purāńās say our journey into the ūrdhva lōkās – nether worlds will be filled with darkness. Whatever we offer in this world, we will obtain in the after worlds.
There is a story I have narrated many times to you about Dharmarāja. After he left this world, when Yama was taking him to Swargalōka, they had to stop on the way at Narakalōka. Upon reaching Swargalōka, Dharmarāja requested Yama to take him to see Karńa once. Yama acceded to the request. Karña is known for his extreme generosity and charity. He is known as dāna vīra sūra karńa. Dharmarāja was very surprised by what he saw. On the one hand, he was very happy seeing all the abundance and prosperity abounding there, but he also felt disgust because Karńa was completely naked, decked in ornaments and seated on a grand throne. He asked Yama “how can this be?” to which Yama replied “Yes, he is a great soul. Whatever he donated, he is enjoying all these articles here now. But he never did vastra dāna, so he is in digambara rūpa now.”
This is why we must offer what we have as dāna. Imagine how wonderful it would be if we donated thinking of what we need. This is why the oil lamp must be lit. only then will the path to the other worlds be lit for us and our ancestors. In fact when we light a lamp, the dévatās light the way, and show us the path to Swarga. Whatever we give, we get back.
You may have noticed this. When you help someone, you will receive help from someone else. This is why you will hear people say “Oh! He came like a savior and found my lost bag/ passport for me.” Many times people are grateful to policemen for protecting them and say “he came like a God and rescued me.” It is only because you helped someone that you are having such experiences now.
As you keep doing good deeds, the points will get accrued in your account. With dīpārādhana, pitrudévās will be pleased. We never get to meet our ancestors. How great are the mother and father who have brought us into this world! How much have we troubled our mother while in the womb? But she bore it all patiently and with love. We can never repay the debt to a mother. Only now are people in other countries understanding how important mother is.
There is a belief that in punya kśétrās, Brahmadévatā comes down, and lights the akhanda dīpa – the eternal flame. There are so many germs and vruses which simply perish from the smell of the ghee lamp. I have observed many times that mosquitoes are almost immune to the sprays and coils. They should be yoga teachers. They have such strong lungs to withstand the sprays and smoke. But they cannot withstand the smell of a ghee lamp. In fact, in neighborhoods where a ghee lamp is lit, the dengue mosquito cannot survive. Instead of realizing this, we keep mindlessly using all kinds of chemical sprays.
Even to this day in Tirupati, there is a firm belief that the dīpam lit by Brahmadéva is still burning brightly. This is true because they keep lighting the lamp with a new wick and ghee but from the same flame. Even today, there are temples in the Himalayas where they say that if you light a lamp, it will be glowing for the next one year.
Sūrya is the lamp which Bhagavan lit to light up all the worlds. Sūrya graham is indicative of the place where He is said to be, but Sūryadéva is the presiding deity of this graha. Just as Paramātma lit the worlds with Sūrya dīpam, he also gave us śānti dīpam in the form of the Moon’s rays. There are so many countless mandalās, each with its own Sūrya and Candra lighting the corresponding planets in that mandala. This is all Paramātmā’s līla.
The Sun’s rays are the ākāśa jyōti which determines our fate and our lives. It is from this Sūrya jyōti that Bhagavān has given a small flame as agni déva and blessed us. In the beginning, some people were fighting with rocks. Due to the friction of them rubbing against each other, there was a spark which lit the nearby grass thus starting the first fire. This completely changed the lives of the people living at that time.
This is why when we light a lamp we pray to Paramātma to bless us with gñyāna and buddhi, and transform our lives. O agnidéva, my buddhi is enveloped in darkness, please expel the darkness. When we visit Tirupati, why is the sactum sanctorum so dark? Of course they can afford expensive lights, but we must see Paramātma in natural light coming from the ghee lamp. When such light falls on Him, His effulgence which is far more, illumines us. Even our Védās and Purāńās extol the significance of lighting natural lamps.
An electric bulb does not have the power to change our minds. But the lamp lit with ghee has the power to illumine the antarātma. You can even observe for yourselves that lighting candles do not impact us as much as ghee lamps. This is why the śāstrās emphasise the importance of performing a puja with dīpārādhana.
There is a tradition to be followed in lighting a dīpam. The place where such a lamp is lit must be cleaned, rangōli should be drawn with rice flour and flowers must be offered. The one who lights the lamp must also be clean. They must wash their hands and feet.
After cleaning the floor, a rangōli should be drawn. On it a clean cloth must be spread. Then a banana leaf or some other leaf must be placed on the vastra. Rice or rice flour must be placed on this plantain leaf, and turmeric should be offered. On this, a plate should be placed decorated with rangõli and Kumkuma. Kumkuma must be placed in the aśta diśās – 8 directions, and each of the aśtadikpālakās must be invoked. Now in the middle of this plate, a clay diya or a brass lamp must be placed. Bhūdévi – Mother Earth must be prayed to. In the dīpa stambha (stalk or pillar of the lamp), Narasimha Swami must be invoked, and ghee or oil must be offered. There is so much to be followed! At least from now on, all of you follow this practice. Only if you do all this, is it considered a dīpam. This dīpam now has 5 corners. In each corner, 3 wicks should be joined and placed. Then the mantra to invoke agni should be chanted. While chanting the mantra we must remember that while this dīpam will be lit only for the duration of the puja, may the light from this flame eternally illumine our hearts.
O agnidéva, you who shows us Paramātma, may you as the akhanda jyōti always bless us with gñāna. Protect us from evil forces and obstacle causing inauspiciousness. Keep all bad thoughts at bay. Bless and protect our family. Bless us with wealth and longevity. With this feeling in mind, we must light the lamp.
asatōmā satgamaya – take us from untruth to the Truth
tamasōmā jyōtirgamaya – from darkness, take us into the Light
mrutyōrmā amrutam gamaya – take us from death to the Eternal tattva
Om śānti śānti śāntihi
Chanting this mantra we must light the lamp.
dīpadévī mahādévī śubham bhavatu mé sadā
yāvat pūjā samāptiśyāt tāvat prajvala sustirāt
O dīpa dévi, please bless me always with auspiciousness. Until the completion of the puja, please glow steady and bright.
dīpa is also referred to as dīpalakšmī and dīpadurga. Dīpa is indicative of our sankalpa – vow.
Śubham karōti kalyāńam
ārōgyam dhana sampadaha
śatru buddhi vināśāya
dīpam jyōtir namōstuté
dīpajjyōtihi parabrahma
dīpajjyōti sanātanam
dīpō haratu mé pāpam
dīpajjyōtir namōstuté
O dīpa dévi bless us with auspiciousness, health, wealth and destroy our wicked buddhi. To that dīpa jyōti, I offer my prostrations.
dīpam jyōtif parabbrahma
dīpam sarvatamōpaha
dīpéna sādhyaté sarvam
sandhyā dīpa namōstuté
Dīpa jyōti is verily Parabrahma, it is eternal. May it destroy all my sins. To that dīpa jyōti, I offer my prostrations.
while this sloka is chanted by the majority of the people, it is grammatically incorrect. The grammatically correct way of reciting this sloka is
dīpajjyōtihi parambrahma
dīpajjyōtihi sanātanam
dīpéna sādhyaté sarvam
sandhyā dīpa namōstuté
Before the sun sets, and it becomes dark, the lamp should be lit. if we are sitting facing east while performing puja, the dīpam should be to our right in the āgnéya direction. If we sit facing the north, the dīpam should be in īśānyam.
Men should never put out lamps, and women should never break pumpkins. We must understand the significance behind this. In places where such things are done, the Purāńās say, the family line will break. Scriptures say that a candle lit when the power goes can be put out, and lamp lit to see the way in the dark can be put out, but the lamp lit for dévatā puja must never be purposely extinguished. The dīpam should go out on its own. If a breeze blows and the flame goes, you can relight it again. But one must never purposefully put out the oil lamp lit for puja.
Nārāyańa Nārāyańa