India is most famous for its art and culture. It is admitted and respected all over the world. We Indians perform pooja regularly, but do we all know that why do we follow some rules while performing pooja??  Why do we light a lamp?

In almost every Indian home a lamp is lit daily before the lord. In some houses it is lit at dawn, in some twice a day. All auspicious functions and moments like daily worship, rituals and festivals and even many social occasions like inaugurations commence with the lighting of the lamp, which is often maintained right through the occasion.

Light symbolizes knowledge, and darkness ignorance. The Lord is the “Knowledge Principle” who is the source, the enlivener and the illuminator of all knowledge. Hence light is worshipped as the Lord Himself.

Knowledge removes ignorance just as light removes darkness. Also knowledge is a lasting inner wealth by which all outer achievement can be accomplished. Hence we light the lamp to bow down to knowledge as the greatest of all forms of wealth. Knowledge backs all our actions whether good or bad. We therefore keep a lamp lit during all auspicious occasions as a witness of our thoughts and actions.

Know you all may have a doubt about why not light a bulb or tube light? That too would remove darkness. But the traditional oil lamp has a further spiritual significance. The oil or ghee in the lamp symbolizes our vaasanas or negative tendencies and the wick, the go. When lit by spiritual knowledge, the vaasanas get slowly exhausted and the ego too finally perishes. The flame of a lamp always burns upwards. Similarly we should acquire such knowledge as to take us towards higher ideals.

A simple lamp can light hundreds more just as a man of knowledge can give it to many more. The brilliance of the light does not diminish despite its repeated use to light many more lamps. So too knowledge does not lessen when shared with or imparted to others. On the contrary it increases in clarity and conviction on giving. It benefits both the receiver and the giver.

Thus this custom contains a wealth of intellectual and spiritual meaning.

Article Posted By : sreevani  On September 30, 2013lView All Articles

Article Source :

http://www.veethi.com/articles/why-do-we-light-a-lamp-while-performing-pooja-article-2733.htm

Keywords :
light a lamp , performing pooja