Why is a lamp lit after the pilgrim leaves home and kept by inmates till the devotee returns home?
When the pilgrim leaves his home for Sabarimala, he breaks a coconut on a stone near his door step. A lit oil lamp is generally placed on this stone on ancient days traditionally. Till the pilgrim returns home after the pilgrimage, one of the family members ritually lights this lamp at dusk, and allows it to remain lit for a couple of hours, in a gesture of prayer for the well being of the pilgrim and his safe return. Some used to keep the lamp lit till the devotee returns. But it symbolically means that the pilgrim has sought the inner light within him after he left for Sabarimala.
The whole journey to Sabarimala is a symbolism of the Journey we undergo inwards. The rituals and the events reminding the adventures of Ayyappa in holy spots are nothing but mile stones in our inward journey overcoming the blocks of our Spiritual journey
No comments:
Post a Comment