On Words of Light

Tags

awareness, celebration, darkness, diwali, light, words

It is the final day of the final lunar fortnight of the year (according to the Hindu calendar) and I sit in the low slant of the fading light of autumn as the sun starts to descend behind the trees in the distance.

The sunrise tomorrow (November 4th) will herald a new moon, a new fortnight, and will set off celebrations of the “Festival of Lights” (Diwali) for hundreds of millions in India and those of Indian origin across the world. It is perhaps apropos to note that this year’s Diwali festival comes after a year of particularly deep pain, darkness and suffering in India, due to the ravages of COVID-19 earlier this year.

However, as is light’s wont, it cannot be hidden for long by even the deepest of darknesses. Spiritual teachers and texts often remind us that we have the capacity to accept whatever comes our way with grace, as divine grace. We also have the infinite capacity to learn to lean into the permanence of light, even though we tend to forget the Infinite when we get caught up the impermanence of darkness. Light is often merely a word away.

Joy, Love, Hope, Grace, Peace, Truth, Giving, Health, Purity, Kindness, Gratitude, Lightness, Simplicity, Equanimity. How do you feel when you read any of these words, or speak any of them? I posit that every single one of these words elevates your heart, mind and spirit in some way, however small. If it elevates you, then every single word like say, JOY, becomes a bearer of the energy that can transform this moment for you into LIGHT.

Try it some time. When darkness tends to weigh on you, first say to yourself, ‘this is impermanent’. Then, say out loud (or within your heart) a single word like JOY. Repeat. What if you could create a regular practice that engages you in light-filling actions and leads you to light-fulness? What if the next time you go for a walk, or watch the sunset or sunrise, or drink a cup of tea, or are folding the laundry, or washing the dishes… you were to repeatedly say to yourself… JOY, LOVE, PEACE. Joy, Love, Peace. joy, love, peace.

Imagine that every moment were to become an awareness of the permanence of the light within you, and a celebration of the source of that light. You would then celebrate the sunsets for the stars that they reveal, and life’s dark turns for the grace of light that awaits. Like a fish in the ocean that knows no separation from the water, you would then know no separation from light.

It’s time for me to return to my tea and watch the fireworks that the sunset is surely going to set off among the clouds. It’s time to light the evening lamp to welcome the year of light arriving with tomorrow’s sunrise.

Joy. Love. Peace.

Kumud

P. S. Join us for our weekly Twitter chat, Sunday November 7 at 9am EST / 730pm India (time change in India due to shift to Standard Time in the USA). We will celebrate the light in our lives, and bring some light to those who may need it. Namaste – @AjmaniK

Joy. Love. Peace. A celebration of Light…

Towards the Light of Truth

Tags

darkness, deepawali, diwali, light, lightness, seeds, trees, truth

I did not exactly plan it this way. Three weeks ago, when I collaborated with my good friend Jon Mertz on the topic of “betterment”, I hadn’t looked this far ahead. Two weeks ago, we talked about “common ground”, and how it would be vital for us to find some, despite all our differences, in order to have a thriving and sustainable future. A week ago, with the goal of betterment in mind, we discussed the idea of sowing “seeds of kindness” on “common ground”. 

Assuming that at least some of us have planted some seeds of kindness, or are at least planning to plant some, we now need some nourishment for those seeds to successfully germinate. Nourishment comes from the nutrients in the soil, the water, and from sunlight. Yes, seeds are typically sown beneath the surface, but some light does reach them even below ground. Sunlight is in fact essential for the process of photosynthesis – the process by which light is synthesized into sustainable life. In essence, light plays the same role to grow seeds, as truth does to grow love in our lives.

How long would we be able to live a holistic, sustainable, growth-oriented, thriving life of joy without a constant stream of truth flowing into our heart-mind? I surmise that light and truth are interchangeable in our lives. Where there is light, there is truth. Where there is truth, there is light. When truth is felt by our heart, we feel lightness. When untruth is felt by our mind, we experience darkness. The victory which we often talk about, and even celebrate – that of goodness over evil, kindness over prejudice, love over bigotry – is in some ways encapsulated by the light of truth dispelling darkness. 

When a seed is able to encapsulate light, its darkness begins to disappear. With light, the seed’s ‘mind’ realizes that its purpose isn’t to remain buried beneath the surface. With light, the seed’s ‘heart’ begins to manifest its truth, which is to become a giant oak tree. With light, the seed starts growing root of truth below the surface and shoots of awareness above the surface. In some ways, seeds and trees are perfect examples of the circle of light, life and truth. 

Out of what has the tree been produced? Out of the seed; the whole of the tree was there in the seed. It comes out and becomes manifest. So, the whole of this universe has been created out of this very universe existing in a minute form….….every evolution is preceded by an involution. The seed is the father of the tree, but another tree was itself the father of the seed. 

— The Cosmos: The Macrocosm – Swami Vivekananda

Some of you who have read this far are probably wondering – what does all of this have to do with spirituality and spiritual practice? Remember the story of the “bowl of lentils” from last week’s post on sowing kindness? What if every single one of us was to choose to only see the light of truth that shines within us? If we were to practice that, will we not see our own truth, and start germinating rapidly to our manifest destiny of enlightenment? If we were to be in the process of rapid growth, what would we see in the world around us?

Immersed in the light of truth, would we not tend to see more of goodness, joy, kindness, faith, gratitude, honesty, integrity, acceptance and justice? Would we not perform more of the actions that produce light instead of darkness? Light begets light. Truth begets truth. The light of truth begets truth and light, just like the tree begets the seed and the seed begets the tree. “Every evolution is preceded by an involution”. So, where do we begin our new practice of germination?

Any time that we feel ‘darkness’, let us choose to immediately light a new lamp or candle. A newly lit lamp can serve as a reminder that we can evoke the source of light that we carry within us, at any given moment. When we evoke the source, the tree, we, the seed, also evoke its qualities of omniscience, omnipresence, omnipotence, self-luminousness, joyfulness, awareness and truthfulness.

Is there a better way to celebrate the light of truth?

Kumud

P.S. Join us for our weekly community gathering on twitter, Sunday, November 15 at 9amET / 730pm India. We will celebrate kindness, truth and light, and perhaps even make a commitment to goodness. I hope you can join me and indulge some of my questions as we gather on common ground. Namaste – @AjmaniK

 

A reflection – on the source of the light of truth within us…

The Light of Your Spirit

Tags

darkness, light, spirit, spiritchat

We all have periods of light and darkness in our lives. Some times we are living our truth, and at other times we aren’t. We go through feelings of love and of disappointment. A beautiful relationship turns sour because of a miscommunication or a misunderstanding. We celebrate the miracle of birth. And sometimes our lives are cruelly interrupted by the death of a loved one. 

Our spirit, resilient as it is, finds a way to keep moving forward towards light.

In India, the land of my birth, the darkest night of the month (new moon) in late October or early November is celebrated as the “festival of lights”. The deep spiritual significance of this festival was largely lost on me while I was growing up. In fact, my siblings and I were too busy lighting candles around the house, stringing lights, hanging paper based lanterns, eating goodies, buying new clothes and bursting firecrackers ~ the festivities would go on for days.

However, even through all the celebrations, one message was always clear ~ the festival was a celebration of the victory of good over evil. As I grew older, the message of “light over darkness” came more into the conscious focus of my spirit. I came to learn that darkness is just the absence of light and that “there isn’t enough darkness in this world that cannot be removed by the light of a single candle”. 

So, I invite all of you to celebrate your light with us.

Let us discuss ~  What is your truth and light? How do you overcome the ‘darkness’ in your life when it forces its way in? What is the source of your ‘inner’ light? Is our ‘inner’ light enough or do we need external ‘illumination’? 

I am sure your answers will bring out new perspectives on these questions. Come share with us.

Be well. In love and light,

Kumud ~ @AjmaniK

Join the #SpiritChat community on Sunday October 23rd at 9am ET/1pm GMT (‘evening’ edition at 7pm PT/10pm ET). Please tweet with the hashtag #SpiritChat (or visit tweetchat.com ) to join in our scheduled twitter chat. 

P.S. Please leave a comment about the “Light of Your Spirit” if you cannot join us at the appointed hour. We would love to hear from you. Thank you.

Update: Here are the questions that were asked during this discussion:

Q1. What qualities are necessary for developing spiritual truth and light?

Q2. What are obstacles in daily life that prevent us from seeking truth?

Q3. What resources can help us stay on the path to seeking truth and light? 

Q4. What is the connection of spiritual truths to faith? To belief? 

Q5. Is it possible for us to offer light and truth to others? If so, how?

Q6. What will you do this week to share light and truth with others? 

The answers of participants (from the 9am ET main chat) are available at this link: http://bit.ly/sc-tr-1023 or http://search.tweetreports.com/q/topic/spiritchat/id67231.html

The second, ‘evening’ edition of the chat (at 10pm ET) discussed Q2, Q3 and Q5 and other issues. The transcript for the discussion is at http://bit.ly/sc-tre-1023 or http://search.tweetreports.com/q/topic/spiritchat/id67302.html

Feel free to answer any or all of the questions in the comments below. Thank you.