Let there be Light!!

The third verse of the Book of Genesis; in the King James Bible, reads:

1:1 - In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.

1:2 - And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.

1:3 - And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.

1:4 - And God saw the light, and it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness.

This division of light from darkness is what makes the earth different from the other planets. This difference between light and darkness is, however getting blurred today with the increasing amounts of power shortages. Our generation has seen and continues to see a lot of light and a lot of good; many of the things that were unheard of when our parents generation was still young.
Even though electricity has been existing in nature since eternity, it was only in the early 1900s that electricity was available in India; and that too not on as huge a scale as it is today. If anyone takes the time to listen to them, our parents and grandparents would be more happy to tell us about the first experiences they have had with electricity. Something that we take for granted since we are born, something that our children have taken for granted all the time, was a novelty for our earlier generations.
The work done by our generation and the one before that to reach this novelty in almost every household today is commendable, and yet, there are still a lot of places in our own country where electricity is not available all the time, some places get electricity only once a week! While we give credit where its due; can we honestly say that we are doing justice to all their efforts? They strove hard and used their brilliance and intelligence to reach 'Light' to us; and what have we done to preserve and enhance it?
Come Diwali, all of us are more than happy to decorate our homes with the most beautiful lights and decorated lanterns. Yes, Diwali is the Festival of Lights, after all, isn't it? Everyone wants to go ethnic come festival time; ethnic wear, ethnic interiors, ethnic themes......then why cant we only light lamps or diyas instead of electric lanterns and hanging lights and leave it at that? If decorations are done using only diyas and lamps and other sources of light that we traditionally use not only will the decorations look more ethnic and traditional, they will also help in saving electricity; which is very crucial when it comes to leaving behind a legacy for our next generation. We have enjoyed the fruits of the toil of our earlier generations in reaching the "Light" to us; now is it not upon us to pass on this legacy to our next generation?
A child's book of 'Good Habits' tells him, among other things, "Save water and electricity"....why then do we elders have to be reminded of the same by the electricity boards who are left with no other option but to cut power immediately after Diwali? It would be so much better if all of us realized this responsibility that we all have towards our next generation.
We all struggle hard and make great efforts and sacrifices to accumulate wealth and prosperity so that we can leave it behind for our children. The sacrifices that our generation has made towards this goal are enormous. I would not go as far as to say that we are making more sacrifices than our parents generation, but there is no doubt that given today's opportunities and today's competition, we are forced, and doubly so, to make very different and a lot of sacrifices and efforts so that our children are well taken care of, their future is secured. But securing the future of the next generation cannot be achieved only by elaborate financial planning alone; or leaving them with huge properties either.....what use will wealth and prosperity be to them if they are not able to enjoy the basic things in life like air water and electricity?