The Ninth Diya: Saral Sab San Chalhina (Simplicity and Sincerity)
As Dadi lit the final diya, the room blazed with light. Nine flames danced in harmony, creating patterns of shadow and illumination. Her voice carried the final verse:
“Navam sarala saba sana chhalahina, mama bharose hiya harasha na dina”
नवम सरल सब सन छलहीना, मम भरोस हियं हरष न दीना।
नव महुं एकउ जिन्ह कें होई, नारि पुरुष सचराचर कोई॥
“Simplicity with all, free from deception, trusting the divine without excessive joy or sorrow,” she completed. “This is the culmination, beta—authentic presence in each moment.”
She fell silent, allowing the teaching to settle. Then, unexpectedly, she laughed—a clear, young sound that seemed to surprise her as much as Tarkik.
“You know who taught me this final lesson? You did.”
“Me?” Tarkik was startled. “When?”
“When you were four. Your parents were struggling financially. Your father’s business had failed, and we didn’t know how we’d pay for your school fees. I was secretly selling my jewelry, one piece at a time, pretending everything was fine.”
Tarkik had no memory of this.
“One day, you found me crying in this very room. You climbed into my lap and said, ‘Dadi sad?’ When I tried to smile and say no, you shook your head. ‘Dadi sad,’ you insisted. Then you hugged me and said, ‘Sad okay. Happy come back.'”
Dadi’s eyes moistened. “A four-year-old’s wisdom! You saw through my deception with the simplicity of a clear heart. And you were right—by accepting the sadness simply, without drama or denial, it passed more quickly. Your father found a new job, we survived, and I learned that authenticity is the highest spiritual practice.”
“But the last part,” Tarkik said, thinking hard, “about not having excessive joy or sorrow—doesn’t that make life flat?”
“No, beta. It makes life deep instead of dramatic. Watch the ocean—on the surface, waves rise and fall dramatically. But in the depths, there’s profound stillness. We learn to live from that depth. We feel joy and sorrow fully but aren’t tossed about by them. We trust that like waves, they rise and fall while the ocean remains.”
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