Light to LIGHT

Diwali Satsang - Audio     

When Light is light, life is light.
When Light is lit, life is Light.

Don’t take it lightly. Light the light! 

Once a man went to a certain place to see a theatrical performance, carrying a mat under his arm.  Hearing that it would be some time before the performance began, he spread the mat on the floor and fell asleep.  When he woke up all was over.  Then he returned home with the mat under his arm!

-        Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa

Natural resources get depleted when they are consumed.  Human resource gets depleted when not consumed.  Human life is a precious opportunity to progress from darkness to Light.  “Tamaso Ma Jyotir Gamaya” should be our aspiration which should also lead us to "Jyoter ma Jyotir Gamaya" i.e from Light to Light.   

Accordingly there are 4 stages of life -

Darkness to Darkness

Darkness is a symbol of ignorance.  One cannot see.  The Goal and the path are not clear.  There is dependency and one cannot move freely. One is scared and hesitant.  Many are born, live and die in darkness.  Not knowing the purpose of life they spend the lifetime like the man in the story above.  One is ‘asleep’ throughout the drama of life. When asked - What is life? One says:  Life is Just Make Merry. Eat, drink and be happy or Just Make Money. Money can buy everything. Money is the goal of life. Acquire, accumulate and aspire for money. For yet others, life is Just Make out with Many.  Parties, night-outs, friends, socializing etc.  To the common man, life is – birth, growth, education, job, marriage, children, retirement, old age and death. 

What’s wrong with this way of life?  It seems normal and the majority follow this.  To an intelligent and thinking human being the emptiness and hollowness of this life-style is evident.  Moreover, it leaves behind a deep craving and makes us dependent and bound.  The question – “What next?” and lack of fulfilment is gnawing.  We do question - Is this all to life?  But only sometimes.  The darkness of desire has blinded us to the Light within.  Unaware of this Light within, one lives a light life not knowing that one is bound.  It is said – A happy slave is the greatest enemy of freedom.  Thus this is the movement in ignorance, from desires to desires, from death to death and from darkness to darkness.  Upanishads call this suicide.  A precious opportunity lost cheaply.      

Darkness to Light
Having lived a dynamic life, one goes through various experiences and sees the limitations of pleasure, power, prestige, position and people.  They can give us temporary joy but they are inadequate to give us what we seek – Permanent Happiness.  One grows in conviction that the Light Within is to be lit to discover Permanent Happiness. One seeks a teacher to gain the Knowledge of the Light and how to light it.

This is the birth of a seeker.  “The moment one questions the validity of one’s pursuits one becomes a seeker” said Swami Chinmayananda.  The seeker’s motto in life is: Struggle & Never Give Up.  By the Grace of God and blessings of the Guru one starts walking the path of Self-Discovery.  It’s not easy to curb the extroverted ness of the mind, its restlessness, wanderings and its deep rooted desires and tendencies.  Yet the seeker puts a lot of struggle with faith and persistence.  Through constant struggle against self-will and self-centredness one comes to develop selflessness and the Light within starts manifesting brighter and brighter in one’s life.  Thus one lives a light life.  A life free from the pressure of cravings, anxieties, fears, stress and sorrows. 

Light to Darkness
In the struggle of a seeker there are moments when one is in-alert or one succumbs to temptations.  Against one’s convictions one compromises.  One may break morality.  Many times one may not do anything morally wrong but spiritually one becomes slack.  The spirit of sacrifice and struggle is temporarily replaced by compromise and justification.  The attitude is – “Take it easy.  You are struggling too hard. You deserve some relaxation. After all you are also human.  You need not be so harsh on yourself.” Or “Sometimes a little indulgence is permissible. Everything should be in moderation.”  Many times one is not even aware that one is compromising because one moves away from satsang and gets involved in too many activities or in laziness.  Self-will can come in many disguises. Even in the noblest act of service there can be a hidden agenda.  Ambition can pollute the mind and make it aggressive.  Such moments of compromise later on cause guilt, shame, fear and regret and the light mind is now burdened and heavy.  This is moving away from the Light to darkness.  Temporarily the Light Within is obscured by darkness of indulgence, compromise (Tamas) and restlessness(Rajas).  “Obstacles arise the moment you lose sight of your goal” said  Swami Chinmayananda.  One has to lift oneself by oneself.  Constantly one must strive to attach oneself to the Higher once again through satsang.  Forgiving oneself without branding oneself one has to come out of this phase with gentleness and strong will power not to repeat it again.  Understanding the play of the mind one can improve one’s alertness.

Light to Light

Finally, the Light within shines forth, through years of struggle and self-effort.  Darkness of ignorance, delusion and desire is destroyed by the Knowledge of the Self.  One has come home from the exile of Samsaar or transmigration and experiences fulfilment.  The question – “What next?” ceases.  One has discovered That, knowing which everything else is known. Nothing more remains to be achieved.  It’s the greatest gain.  When the Light is lit, life is LIGHT.  The experience is there was no darkness ever.  Light alone was, is and will be.  Truth alone is at all times.  One experiences the oneness of Creation, Creator and Creatures.  One is completely freed from fear and sorrows.  Such are the Realized Masters who move from Light to Light.  The entire creation rejoices in their presence.  Having discovered the Light within, they spend their time in igniting and illumining more and more minds with the Light within. This is "Jyoter Ma Jyotir Gamaya."

Let us resolve to move from darkness to light and from Light to Light.  Let us not take life lightly.  Let us live a more purposeful life as a seeker and light the Light Within.  When the Light is lit, life is LIGHT and light.