LAMP/ LIGHT- DEEPAH- ( दीपः )

SUBHASHITHANI:134

अपेक्षन्ते न च स्नेहं न पात्रं न दशान्तरम् ।
सदा लोकहिते युक्ता रत्नदीपा इवोत्तमाः ॥७॥

Apekshante na cha sneham na patram na dasaantaram I

Sadaa lokahite yuktaa ratna deepaa iva uttamaah II

Great men do not look for any reward for the help they give to others, make no differentiation between people to whom they render the help, as also they do not depend upon others to finance such activities. They only live to serve the society all the time ; Just as a self-illuminating jewel-lamp gives light without the need for a lamp,wick or oil.
* ( This sloka uses the words sneham, paatram, and dasantaram in two different meanings )

ननु दीपः स्वमात्मानं स्वात्मनैवावभासयन् ।
दृष्टो दीपप्रकाशार्थं न हि दीपांतराहृतिः ॥

Nanu deepah svamaatmaanam svaatmanaivaava bhaasayan I

Drushto deepaprakaashartam na hi deepaamtaraahrutih II

A lamp glows by itself. One does not need some other light to look for a lamp. Virtues of noble men are similar. They stand for themselves without any need for endorsements.

वृथा वृष्टिः समुद्रेषु वृथा तृप्तेषु भोजनम्।

वृथा दानं धनाद्येषु वृथा दीपो दिवापि च ॥
Rain on the seas, food given to one whose stomach is full , charity given to the rich and lamp lighted in the day are all waste.

युक्ति युक्तं प्रगृह्णीयात् बालादपि विचक्षणः ।
रवेरविषयं वस्तु किं न दीपः प्रकाशयेत् ॥

Even if a small boy says something appropriate - one must listen and take note. Isn't a small oil lamp capable of lighting up places that are not lit up by the Sun?

प्रदोषे दीपकश्चंद्रः प्रभाते दीपको रविः ।
त्रैलोक्ये दीपको धर्मः सुपुत्रः कुलदीपकः ॥

It is the moon which provides the light during night ; the guiding light during the day is the sun; virtue is the guiding light in all three worlds; a good progeny is a shining star for the entire clan.

सुखं हि दुःखान्यनुभूय शोभते घनान्धकारेश्विव दीपदर्शनम् ।

सुखात्तु यो याति नरो दरिद्रतां धृतः शरीरेण मृतः स जीवति ॥ २४॥

sukhaṁ hi duḥkhānyanubhūya śobhate ghanāndhakāreṣviva dīpadarśanam|
sukhāttu yo yāti naro daridratāṁ dhṛtaḥ śarīreṇa mṛtaḥ sa jīvati||
Happiness indeed shines up, after having experienced miseries, like the sight of a lamp in thick darkness. But a person who goes from luxury to penury, lives on [as though] dead, [only] keeping up (his) body.

न कूपखननं युक्तं प्रदीप्ते वह्निना गृहे ।
चिंतनीया हि विपदामादावेव प्रतिक्रिया ॥

na kUpa khananam yuktam pradIpte vahninA gRuhe ।

chintanIyA hi vipadAm aadAveva pratikriyA ॥

It is not wise to start digging a well when your house is on fire. One must be prepared for calamities well in advance and  effect a plan that is already made.

तमःपरिवृतं वेश्म यथा दीपेन दीप्यते ।
तथा बुद्धिप्रदीपेन शक्य आत्मा निरीक्षितुम् ॥

Darkness in our homes is expelled  by lamps lighting other lamps. Just like that, knowledge will let us search our souls in the darkness of ignorance.

यथा दीपो निवातस्थो नेङ्गते सोपमा स्मृता |
योगिनो यतचित्तस्य युञ्जतो योगमात्मन: ||6.19||Bhagavad Gita
yathā dīpo nivāta-stho neṅgate sopamā smṛitā
yogino yata-chittasya yuñjato yogam ātmanaḥ

Just as a lamp in a windless place does not flicker, so the disciplined mind of a yogi remains steady in meditation on the self. 

SRI KRISHNAYA THUBHYAM NAMAH