lakh batti a ceremony of 100,000 lights

7/26/2019 Lakh Batti a Ceremony of 100,000 Lights

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Culture

If things are going wrong or the way you dont want them to, and you would rather have themtake a different course, dont be upset. You can change the course of happenings through divineintervention, say experts in Hinduism. So when rema, a Hindu by birth and an ardentpractitioner of rituals, was advised by her astrologer to perform a lakh batti !literally means

"##,### lights$ rite for a better future for her son and daughter%in%law in &ustralia, she obliged.She had little doubt that the rite would immensely benefit her migrating children in their 'uestto survive and struggle in an unfamiliar land.(Since to every action there is a reaction, every karma bears fruit,) says rof. *irgha +a-himire, a retired teacher of Sanskrit for # years at /ribhuwan 0niversity. (1ven if youperform lakh batti rite with no particular desire good things will happen, and according toShastras !scriptures$, your place is secured in Heaven.)

rema is happy that her son, *ron, and daughter%in%law, 2una, are leaving for&ustralia. 3ut she ust wants to ensure that things are easier for them there, and that theyachieve success in whatever they do.

3abu +am +ial, an &charya !the e'uivalent of graduate$ in 4armakanda !the science of rituals$says there are three kinds of karmas5 kamya, nitya and nimitya. (/hat you came here tointerview me is kamya karma6 you interview people everyday as a part of your ob is nityakarma6 and you do it hoping to become an editor someday is nimitta karma,) he says, almostclearing my confusion. His second attempt snuffs out all the doubts. (&ny work you do is kamyakarma, if you do the same work everyday it becomes nitya karma and if you do it seekingsomething, it is nimitta karma.)

/hen linking his karmic homily to the context, +ial says, (7akh batti rite can wash awayimpurities and bring about positive results out of all three karmas, if performed in conformity tothe guidelines in scriptures.)

8or rema the rite becomes a nimitta karma, as she seeks well%being and progress of her sonand daughter%in%law6 but to happen, as &charya 3abu +am +ial said, things will have to be donefollowing guidelines in the scriptures.So, what is right way of performing the rite9

& night before the rite the battis are soaked in ghee or oil extracted from til !sesame$ or mustardseed in an earthen pot. (/hese days people prefer sunflower oil over ghee, sesame or mustardoil,) says +ial. (:hen I tell them only any of the three kinds of oils mentioned in scriptures areacceptable, they tell me instead that sunflower oil is refined and therefore purer than the otheroils.)

(If they do not follow, I 'uit,) +ial says. rema was lucky;+ial would think otherwise;that

she didnt ask him to conduct the rite, because she, too, had soaked the battis in sunflower oil


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says +ial. If you dont engage an expert to carry out the rite, the whole thing makes no sense. (Itis ust like getting a heart patient operated by an orthopedic surgeon. =hances are that you willend up inviting more problems, instead of solving them,) he says.

>nce the ritual is over, the lights are kindled. &s the battis are lighted, the hosts and their familyand relatives crowd around the earthen pot, throw their hands closer to the flame and roll back

to place over their closed eyes.

/hirteen 3rahmans, including one vinya !expert$, should be fed at the end of the ritual.+elatives of the hosts who are invited to share the blessings, also oin in the feasts later on.

/he best months to perform lakh batti rites are 4artik, ?agh and 3aisakh of the @epalicalendar. (7akh batti performed during 4artik is "### percent more fruitful than other months.In ?agh it yields "## percent better results than in 4artik. 3aisakh, however, is the mostsuitable month for a lakh batti rite as it produces best results;"### percent more than ?agh,)says +ial.

(7akh batti can cure problems related to eyes, even blindness,) says rof. -himire. (:hile

performing the rite we alight "##,### battis. 7ogically, therefore, it heals all health problemsthat are in some ways related to body temperature. &lmost every function of the body generallydepends on temperature, therefore, the rite has overall benefits,) he says. 1very matter has itsdharma !essential character$. :ater 'uenches thirst, air carries oxygen, likewise, the dharma offire is to aid in vision and anything that re'uires heat, he says.

7ike most other ancient traditions, it is difficult to ascertain when or who started the lakh battirite. 7egend has it that 7axmana, an upper caste female, marries a lower caste male called3huanga soon after her husband dies. oor and deeply aggrieved, she does so as she needssomeones support to survive. 7axmana, however, feels guilt ridden for not keeping her widowschastity. >ne day she meets a hermit called Yaaka and asks ways to atone her transgression./he hermit tells her to perform a lakh barti !batti in Sanskrit$ rite that cleanses all karmic

doshas !blemishes$ and opens doors of good fortune.

/he scripture does mention that 7axmana and 3huanga enoyed great fortune and led happylife afterwards. If that is what you want, go for a lakh batti rite.

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