Our world today needs so much light. In the midst of all the darkness there seems to be in the world, all of us are trying to hold on to the light we have inside. That does not seem a very easy thing to do. If you think of taking a lighted candle from one place to another in a storm, how difficult that is, and how much attention we would have to pay to keeping it alight. Yet, it seems that this is what we are all being asked to do right now; to keep hold of our sanity amidst all the sorrow, suffering, upheaval, animosity, anger and hate, and keep the light of humanity burning.
Spiritual light means keeping your goodness, virtues and kindness flowing. Some would say, well those others are not doing that, so why should I? Well, this is not about them; it is about me. It is my life, my karma, my destiny, and I am accountable to God at the end. How will I have lived my life? It matters not at all what others do. They say there are two ways of spreading light; to be a candle or to reflect the light by being a mirror. The light is God, and to reflect the light of God, I the mirror have to be sparkling clean.
To extend the metaphor a little, a candle comprises wax and wick and when we light the wick, we have a flame. I the soul am the wick, and when I am lit, it is with power and virtue. The wax represents life itself. Life is all around me, things are continually happening around me. Everything that is happening around me is an opportunity to spread light. Let me use virtues instead of vices. Being lit with anger is ugly, being lit with virtue is so beautiful.
My original nature is light. I am only in the dark when not utilising my virtues. Darkness is nothing in and of itself, it is simply the absence of light. When I am lit, and in awareness, then all I have to do is pick a virtue from the shelf of my mind and use it. Each one of us has some powerful quality, some special virtue; some are good listeners, some are easy-going, some are full of kindness, some are constantly happy. As I use my specialities and virtues in life, it makes my life easy because I am sharing what I have with others. We all have something we can share at any given moment.
How can we share happiness with everyone? Spiritual happiness is a state of deep contentment. It springs from knowing that there must be rhyme and reason behind everything. Which is why we say that peace and happiness go together, because light is also peace. Becoming a candle is also being at peace with everything that is happening; remaining a stable and still light.
Love is also light. When someone is very loving it feels like the room has been lit up – not romantic love, but the love that is kind and caring, spiritual love. In what way can we share our love with those in the world who are in the maelstrom of all that is happening? First, we do not condemn or judge. We have the awareness that, contrary to the physical evidence, there is a plan; something is going on that is bigger than us and all will become evident. In the meantime, what do those who are suffering need? We can share peace, happiness and love, through vibrations. We human beings are all together on this planet. In the end it will not matter what religion, race or nationality any of us are. If this planet blows up, we are all gone. It is the light of humanity that matters. Kindness, compassion, love, acceptance, can all be shared by sitting in meditation and sending out these vibrations. We are all psychic. We are connected and we do affect each other through our vibrations. So, first let me become that light and goodness. In Christianity they say that we move into darkness when we move away from God. When we are with God we are in the light. I believe as we come closer to that great light, we are absorbing and emanating that light. We cannot do it alone; we have to keep connecting with the source. When I connect my mind with God, the Supreme Light – I absorb His spiritual light, and then all I have to do is shine.
Aruna Ladva is an author and Rajyoga meditation teacher based at the Global Retreat Centre, Oxford, UK.