You are the Light
by
Swami Chidananda

Adorable Spiritual Presence! We bow in reverence and devotion before You and accept at Thy hands Thy most graciously given gift of this day. May we be enabled to live, think and act during the course of this precious day in a way that sows the seeds of a golden harvest of peace, contentment and satisfaction in the future, in the days to come, in this very earth life. Guide us with Thy wisdom teachings, so that in this day we may move with the understanding that the primary purpose of our having been sent here is to attain our highest good. It is to achieve our supreme welfare, transcending all limitations, vexations, all finite trammels that hold us bound.

May we have the right understanding that our supreme welfare, our greatest good, does not constitute something that contradicts the supreme welfare and the highest good of others. May we realise that it is in working for the good of all beings that we verily attain our highest good. It is verily in contributing to the happiness of Your creation that we ourselves go beyond creation and enter into You.

In this objective field of living our life, may our life become a noble process of perennial good unto the least of Thy creatures, unto all, for that is the way, the very art and science of attaining You, Who are the highest good. And it is so, precisely because You are the indwelling principle in all beings, and therefore all good that is done to Thy creation verily constitutes good that is done to You. Thus it becomes a spiritual process of adoring You, worshipping You.

Give us also the insight that we may know that no experiences come to us because others inflict them upon us, others do something good or bad to us. But all experiences, pleasant or unpleasant, come to us because we have worked for them. They come to us through the operation of a just Law. And within the justice of this Law lies concealed infinite love, infinite goodness which is of Thy nature, for in the operation of this Law lies the seeds of our highest good. No experience is meaningless, no experience is purposeless, no experience is futile.

“Through them all I am helped. Through them all I am given insight into this creation, this universe of Yours. I am given insight into myself. Through them all I progress in wisdom. Through them all I stand to benefit, I stand to gain if only I shall look at experiences with a perceiving eye, with a perceiving vision. Thus let me be given the insight that the operation of this Law is verily the operation of the functioning of Thy infinite love, infinite goodness, through infinite justice, divine justice.”

This Law is our greatest good. It is constantly seeking to awaken us, guide us, to make us aware of many things which we would otherwise be blind to. Thus it is a light upon the inner path as well as the outer path. May we be fortunate enough to recognise this and eagerly seek to grow through all experiences. Thus may our life be lived in understanding. May our life be lived with knowledge. May our life be lived with the recognition of Your goodness and love in all the experiences You send to us.

Radiant Divinities! A light is not lit and hidden away under some covering. A light is meant to shed radiance all around, banish darkness and illumine everything, to light up even dark nooks and corners. It penetrates everywhere, brightens everything, illumines all and shines and shines. It is lit to shine, to illumine, to brighten.

Whatever shines here, shines due to the radiance of that great Light of lights beyond all darkness. And of that great Light of lights beyond all darkness, you are all radiant rays. To shine is your birthright. Light is your unchanging eternal being.

And yet we pray tamaso ma jyotirgamaya (Lead us from darkness unto Light); and yet we pray dhiyo yo nah prachodayat (May He illumine our intellect). What is this contradiction? What is this anomaly? You who are the Light of lights, you who are a radiant centre of effulgence, divine effulgence, spiritual effulgence, why should you pray, tamaso ma jyotirgamaya? Where comes tamas (darkness)?

This morning in the spiritual presence of Gurudev, in this sacred Samadhi Hall of his holy Ashram, I wish to tell you once and for all—to shine is your birthright. I wish to tell you once and for all—there is no darkness in you.

If you pray tamaso ma jyotirgamaya, it is not because there is any darkness in you. You are not asking for Light, because you are the Light. “I am in the Light, the Light is in me, I am the Light”—this is the truth. This is the truth and nothing else.

When you are the Light, why then do you pray tamaso ma jyotirgamaya? You pray this way because there is something that has come as a covering. Why it has come, how it has come, we need not go into. It is unnecessary. But we know that it is there. And therefore this covering is to be removed and this is your chance.

A dog cannot study Vedanta. A dog cannot work out the means of removing the darkness that enshrouds it, the darkness that tries to hide and cover the Light that refuses to be hidden, that refuses to remain covered for long. A pig or a sheep or a goat cannot know that it is the Light of lights beyond all darkness, a ray of the radiance called param jyotisvarupa paramatma (the supreme Self Who is of the nature of supreme light). But you can, because you are made in His image, capable of thinking.

The sky is the limit to the ascent of your thought. Great minds have proven it. So remove that which seems to be dark, which is not in you, but seems to be because of its proximity. Avarana, they used the significant word avarana—a covering. Therefore the prayer asks for the removal of that which covers your effulgence, the radiance that is your birthright.

And this prayer should be followed by action to remove this darkness. That action is called Yoga, That action is called sadhana. And that action to remove the darkness and once again shine with effulgence is the science of religion. It is your supreme duty. It is your great privilege. Engage in it. Our ancients gave it as the highest of all values to be pursued, striven after, the supreme value, atma sakshatkara (Self-realisation).

Ponder these points. There is no darkness in you. You are eternal Light. Come out of this enshrouding anatma (non-Self), enshrouding cover, that has been temporarily made to come over you. It cannot touch or dim or alter your effulgence. Radiantly effulgent, you have come here upon earth to shine, illumine all, and leave this world a thing of brightness.

This is your birthright. Claim it. Do sadhana. Practise Yoga and shine as a radiant ray of the supreme Light of lights beyond all darkness. That is the glory of human life. That is the greatness of man. That is the grandeur of your presence here on earth. Let your life manifest this grandeur, and may it complete its journey gloriously.

Engage in this day after day with keen interest, keen enthusiasm, and make life a thrilling adventure, a thing of great fervour, zest and zeal. Every moment look forward to that ultimate consummation. May you realise yourself: “I am the Light of lights beyond all darkness. To shine is my birthright. Effulgence is my natural state. I am here to brighten all, brighten everything, banish darkness and shine radiantly.” God help you in this glorious adventure!

(This article has been reproduced from "Ponder these Truths" by H. H. Sri Swami Chidanandaji Maharaj.)

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