Jyot ! That serene little fire in a little lamp..... I have often wondered what might be its significance ! Of all the elements , fire is the one which is absolutely invisible as if it did not exist unless one really makes an effort to bring it on. Stones are just stones. But when they are struck against each other , it produces fire. That is so much close to what God is . He is everywhere but it needs some effort to actually see Him , feel Him. When we have a little flame before us , it really symbolises what God is and inspires us to make that effort to ignite the cosmic spark in us.
If we look closely , the flame has many parts , blue flame in the middle which is surrounded by two or three more layers. The last layer is invisible but immensely potent and hot.Every layer is at a different temperature and has different attributes. Is it not similar to what our body is supposed to be -physical body , ethereal body , causal body and many kinds of layers with fancy names ? And there is another factor common to both. A little whiff of air and it is gone. It is there one moment and gone the other. Our bodies die but the soul lives on. The flame dies out but the element of fire lives everywhere. Flame is nothing but a body , a physical attribute of heat and light. That is so close to what we are as humans and as souls.
And then we also keep a 'kalash' (pitcher)of water nearby. Flame and water both signify the Infinite. And we are all part of that Infinite. But we live in ignorance and these two elements are a means to inspire us , awaken us and be respectful to the powers of Nature. These two symbols talk to us and not only refer to our ignorance but also show us the right path. How is our ignorance signified ? The flame tells us that there is fire in all the things in this world but we can't see it. The Water tells us that it has many drops in it but the drops don't know it. A drop can not feel the sea but the sea feels all the drops. And this is also the path that these symbols show us. Don't be the drop . Be the Sea. The secret of life and eternity lies latent in all of us. Just ignite it !
Jyot also tells us . Be pure like me ! Burn your harmful thoughts and purify the ambience around you. The water in the pitcher tells us to be calm and serene and tto stay so while facing the vicissitudes of life. This reminds me of what Swami Kripananda had said once . Turn your heart into a pond of crystal clear water. Very peaceful and very tranquill. Then many creatures would be drawn towards it to quench their thirst. The deers would come and so would the lions. They all would see their own reflection in it and would be mesmerised... And one day LOVE itself would come . It will stoop to have some water , will see its own shadow in it and will stay there for ever...
