Keeping traditions alive with the help of Easy Diya: pre-soaked ghee diyas that help you preserve your culture without the mess.
There are some traditions that no matter what changes, I find myself repeating year after year. Making something sweet on the first day of the new year, observing meatless Tuesdays, switching the mandir light on as dusk falls and saying a quick prayer before starting my day.
As I grew up I watched my Mom light a diya every morning to start the day with positivity and close the day by lighting a diya to give thanks for our daily blessings. It became such a peaceful start to the day that after getting married I wanted to continue the same tradition.
Lighting a diya/ghee lamp in front of one’s mandir (alter) holds spiritual significance in Hinduism. Pure cotton is rolled into a wick, immersed in ghee, creating a candle when lit. The diya can be placed in a little earthen bowl made of clay or in an intricatly decorated brass, silver or steel holder. Ghee is favored to oil as it represents the purest form, nothing mixed or altered to create it.
Diya’s are lit by families to purify their homes and their hearts. Worship is always commenced with the lighting of a lamp. The light symbolizes knowledge, illuminating and enlightening us. Like the flame burning upwards, it represents that knowledge must take us towards higher ideals. The light radiating from the ghee lamp removes darkness, ignorance and evil.
The way a single diya can light many more diyas without diminishing the original diya represents that our knowledge does not decrease when we share it with others, both the giver and receiver are benefited.
I did however face a few hurdles along the way, making a ghee diya in the mornings proved to be messy and time consuming. Not only that, after lighting it I found myself waiting around until it naturally went out (as its inauspicious to put out the flame and felt it was unsafe to leave it unattended). Given the circumstances, I saved the ghee for bigger occasions and started using oil on a daily basis. While the tradition of lighting a diya daily in our mandir has continued, I’ve started using ghee diyas again thanks to Easy Diya.
Easy Diya is a California & India based start up whose mission is to simply praying rituals by offering ready to use diyas, the cotton wicks are pre-soaked in ghee and the diya itself is made of pure ghee. What I love most about Easy Diya is that they come in two different sizes, one that lasts seven minutes, for those mornings you have to rush out the door and one that lasts thirty minutes.
If you’re looking for a mess free way to make ghee diyas I urge you to try Easy Diya. Love Laugh Mirch readers get 10% off using the code LLM10 at checkout and for orders over $10, shipping is free! In addition to offering their ready to use diyas they make organic kum kum and turmeric, smokeless camphor (think tear free havans) and hand woven cotton wicks.
Easy Diya sent me their products to try and review, as always all opinions are my own.
What are some traditions you have with your family?
My mom always lights a diya to start the day, but since she works she also struggles with the same challenges early in the morning as she has to leave for work. I think you’ve inspired me to start this tradition in our home as well with the start of this new year and I think these easy diyas are going to be a big help!
Thank you for sharing and Happy New Year!
Happy New Year Reshma! I thought these Easy Diyas were such a great concept, had to share! So glad they’ve inspired you to start this tradition at home 🙂
Hi, I love this ghee diyas… do you also light oil diya along with ghee ones… Also, is that coconut wrapped in red cloth; do you always keep it in mandir
Hi there yes I always keep it in the mandir