A line of diyas

During Diwali season, a girl and her family had bought different types of sweets. All of them were wearing brand new clothes and decorating their house. They had decorated the entrance to their house with rangolis and flowers. When it was time to light the diyas (earthen lamps) and candles, the girl’s mother told her to light a match and light the candles.

She was a little girl and so she did not know how to light a match; but she wanted to keep her mother happy and thus keeping the festive spirit in her mind she could not refuse this task.

Then she ran towards the balcony and quickly assembled the diyas in a line and prayed to god saying

“Oh God, I am really sorry that I do not know how to light the diyas for your welcome. These are five diyas – One is for my grandmother; I pray that you give her the best living experience for her remaining years for life. The second one is for my grandfather; I pray that he too enjoys his remaining years in the company of such a great grandma. The other one is for my father; I hope that all his dreams are fulfilled and the fourth one is for my mother for whom I wish that she receives all the love and respect that she deserves. The last one is for me, my friends and all others who have darkness in their lives. I do not wish for anything but I just hope that if there is any amount of goodness left in the world, then when You come here You yourself will light these five diyas. This will assure to me that you have removed darkness from everyone’s life and enlightened many dark lives! These five diyas when lit will signify the presence of trust, hope, happiness, goodness and love of humanity.”

Her father was secretly listening to this and when she left, he lit up the diyas. He believed that this line of diyas was the silver lining of this festival.

Let each one of us light the match that we can and finish the darkness wherever we can and in whatever way we can, to make the people believe about the goodness that exists in the world.