03-03-2005, 08:55 PM
Came via email..
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->Question:
Lighting of the lamp at various functions - What is this ceremony called?
Why do we light odd number of wicks?
Why do we light only two for Kathakali while we light three for Bharatnatyam?
<b>Answer</b>
The Hindu philosophy and the related sciences evolved through the explorations of the open-minded ancient seekers of deeper facts of life and universe use a highly symbolic form of language, often as seen in the stories of the Purana-s which today call for their intellectual interpretation so that they can give much soothing wisdom to the disturbed modern man who is taught by the present-day consumerist-oriented education that life is nothing but an empty, meaningless and a chance phenomenon. It is the symbolism they employed that enabled the wisdom last through generations. The modern mid requires intellectual support to convince themselves of the practical relevance and validity of the ancient wisdom for further human evolution.
Light is a symbol of Enlightenment. It reminds him that man is capable of transforming the raw material called mind to the perfection of its Fullness and can thus achieve the Vedic evolutionary aspiration, 'thamaso maa jyothirgamaya' - lead me from darkness to Light.
In the background of practices of Hindu philosophy there are rational and scientific principles. One wick in an oil lamp can indicate the basic Oneness of the universe and all existence. Two wicks, of course, represent the apparent duality of the One for in the projection of the universe and Its consequent appearance as the many. Generally, odd number of wicks are seen to be used and this again conveys the idea of the basic indivisibility of the One, and to indicate the involved in the _expression of the One as the many
The three wicks represent the three primeval energy modes called the 'gunas' - sattva, rajas and thamas - that cause the projection of the infinite phenomena. The five wicks ( in the Bharatha-naatyam generally five wicks are used) represent the five evolutionary stages - the 'pancha-bhoothas- from the subtlest physical space, Aakaasha to the grossest Privthvi, the earth element. There are well inter-connected principles in the background, the exploration of which will give modern man a new insight about himself and the universe.
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<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->Question:
Lighting of the lamp at various functions - What is this ceremony called?
Why do we light odd number of wicks?
Why do we light only two for Kathakali while we light three for Bharatnatyam?
<b>Answer</b>
The Hindu philosophy and the related sciences evolved through the explorations of the open-minded ancient seekers of deeper facts of life and universe use a highly symbolic form of language, often as seen in the stories of the Purana-s which today call for their intellectual interpretation so that they can give much soothing wisdom to the disturbed modern man who is taught by the present-day consumerist-oriented education that life is nothing but an empty, meaningless and a chance phenomenon. It is the symbolism they employed that enabled the wisdom last through generations. The modern mid requires intellectual support to convince themselves of the practical relevance and validity of the ancient wisdom for further human evolution.
Light is a symbol of Enlightenment. It reminds him that man is capable of transforming the raw material called mind to the perfection of its Fullness and can thus achieve the Vedic evolutionary aspiration, 'thamaso maa jyothirgamaya' - lead me from darkness to Light.
In the background of practices of Hindu philosophy there are rational and scientific principles. One wick in an oil lamp can indicate the basic Oneness of the universe and all existence. Two wicks, of course, represent the apparent duality of the One for in the projection of the universe and Its consequent appearance as the many. Generally, odd number of wicks are seen to be used and this again conveys the idea of the basic indivisibility of the One, and to indicate the involved in the _expression of the One as the many
The three wicks represent the three primeval energy modes called the 'gunas' - sattva, rajas and thamas - that cause the projection of the infinite phenomena. The five wicks ( in the Bharatha-naatyam generally five wicks are used) represent the five evolutionary stages - the 'pancha-bhoothas- from the subtlest physical space, Aakaasha to the grossest Privthvi, the earth element. There are well inter-connected principles in the background, the exploration of which will give modern man a new insight about himself and the universe.
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