Why We Light a Diya

The diya is lit at the start of a puja because light is the oldest symbol of the divine. Its flame stands for knowledge that dispels the darkness of ignorance, and for the presence of the sacred within the space.

The oil represents our negative tendencies, the wick the ego; as the flame burns, both are slowly consumed, leaving only light. To light a diya is to quietly resolve to let one's own faults be transformed.

This is why the lamp is kept burning through the ritual and often waved before the deity in aarti — the gathered light is offered back to the source from which all light comes.