Light.

With the winter solstice sliding right into a new moon, the darkest of the dark nights are upon us. This gesture from nature begs us to contemplate our own inner source of light. Rumi, a 13th-century Sufi poet, encourages us to “Set your life on fire, seek those who fan your flames”. May his timeless wisdom keep you from being small, seek company with others who support you, and persevere in pursuit of the highest good.

Bhagavad Gita Chapter 6, Verse 29

सर्वभूतस्थमात्मानं सर्वभूतानि चात्मनि |
ईक्षते योगयुक्तात्मा सर्वत्र समदर्शन: ||

sarva-bhūta-stham ātmānaṁ sarva-bhūtāni chātmani
īkṣate yoga-yuktātmā sarvatra sama-darśanaḥ

The perfected yogi, in the light of realized knowledge, sees everything in its connection with the divine.

“What is the function of light? To reveal objects covered by darkness, and to illumine areas that are hidden. When the mind is troubled and cannot decide what is right or wrong, we say that a kind of darkness has blocked the mind. We need an inner light to show us the way. We call it conscience. Like light, it dispels the shadows of confusion and promotes clear action. The most important inner light is the light of Consciousness. The Upanishads call it our true Self. It is the central light in the core of our being and it illumines all experience—including that of physical light. Vedanta scriptures repeatedly describe the glory of this Light, which is our true Self. The sixth chapter of the Bhagavad Gita prescribes a basic way to find this inner Light. Through the practice of concentration, we have to withdraw the mind from distracting thoughts and direct it to the Atman—the shining Self within us. A little faith is necessary because, in the beginning, we have no idea how to reach this inner Light. But if we have patience, perseverance, and devotion to the ideal, the mind develops inwardness and transparency, and slowly becomes able to touch the spiritual Reality within. The function of light is to reveal: any portion of knowledge is really a kind of light. But Self-knowledge is total illumination. As the Mundaka Upanishad declares, by knowing the Self nothing remains unknown to us. When we have reached the inmost Light, we shall know that there is no more darkness anywhere.” ~ Swami Shraddhananda