In Hinduism As an indispensable part of the daily worship ritual, the Brass Lamps or Diya as the pooja lamp are lit to bow down to knowledge as the greatest of all forms. The oil or ghee in the lamp symbolizes our vasanaas or vices and the cotton wick, the ego. When lit by spiritual knowledge, the vasanas get slowly exhausted and the ego too perishes. The flame of a lamp always burns upwards and similarly one should acquire such knowledge as to take us towards higher ideals.