LIIGHT OF ALL LIGHTS- OUR SUNDERJI- A DEDICATION

[Guest guest]

Man has five kinds of lights

 

 

The wise man, whom we have called "the Venerable Sage," came one day

to the court of King Janaka, ruler of a portion of India. In those

early days, people had no lanterns or artificial lights. They used to

keep open fires nearby most of the time. The King had a desire to ask

this sage some questions about the source of light, but it happened,

on that day, that the Sage did not feel inclined to talk. Still,

somehow, Janaka got his permission to begin a conversation.

 

"Revered Sir," the king asked, "What lights a man's way in this

world? What is the real source of light?"

 

"Why, that is easy, O King," the Venerable Sage replied, "the sun

lights a man, of course. For, with the sun alone as light, a person

sits, goes out, does the day's work, and returns."

 

"True, Sir! But when the sun has set, what lights one's way in this

world?"

 

"Why, then, O King, the moon is one's light. For, by moonlight, one

can sit, or go out, do one's work, and return."

 

"That is true, O Sage," agreed Janaka. "But," he added, "when the

moon also has set, what then?"

 

"Then fire is one's light, O King. For, by the light of fire, one

sits, or goes out, does one's work, and returns."

 

Again Janaka agreed. "That is true, Sir, but when the sun and moon

have set, and the fire has gone out, then what lights one's way in

the world?"

 

"O King," answered the sage, "at that time, voice alone is one's

light. By the sound of voices, one can sit, or go out, do one's work,

and return. For, when it is so dark that one cannot even see one's

hand in front, one can still hear sounds, and move toward them."

 

"That, too, is true, Sir. But when the sun and moon have set, and the

fire has gone out, and all sound has stopped, what then lights one's

way in the world?"

 

"Then the Self, alone, is one's light, Your Majesty. For then one

must sit, or go out, do one's work, and return, all with the help of

the Self alone."

 

Janaka happened to know quite a lot about the Self already, but he

urged the Venerable Sage to explain more about it. He hoped he could

add further to his own spiritual knowledge, so he continued to

question the Venerable Sage.

 

"Which is the Self?" Janaka asked.

 

"The Self, Your Majesty, is the Knowing One, here among our various

parts -- the Inner Light within the heart. It is He who sees this

world of our waking state. It is He who sees the world of dream. And,

in the dreamless sleep, when we think that we are not seeing, the

Self is there, seeing.

 

"There can never be an end to the seeing of the Seer. He is eternal.

In deep sleep, you seem to know nothing, but in truth, the Self goes

on knowing, for can there ever be an end to the knowing of the

Knower? No. He exists forever.

 

"In the space within your heart lies this One Controller of All, the

Master of All. It cannot be destroyed. It does not attach Itself to

anything. It is not bound, does not suffer, is not injured. Good and

evil do not affect It.

 

"When a person clearly sees this Self inside as God, the Lord of the

past and the future, then he has nothing to fear. This is the

undying, fearless Brahman. Fearless, indeed, is Brahman, and he who

knows this becomes the fearless Brahman."

 

 

 

 

Brihad-aranyaka Upanishad

 

 

YOU ARE THE MOST VALUABLE PERSON IN THIS SATSANGHA!

 

love and regards

[Guest guest]

advaitin, "adi_shakthi16" <adi_shakthi16>

wrote:

> Man has five kinds of lights

>

 

Namaste,

 

from : Amritanubhava by Jnaneshvara

 

Chapter Six: Inefficacy Of The Word

>From the author/translator's introduction:

 

Chapter Six: Inefficacy Of The Word (excerpts)

 

The word is the flower

Of the sky of the Infinite;

Its fruit is the universe.

There is nothing

That cannot be determined by the word.

 

However, the word,

So well-known as a reminder,

Cannot coexist with the Self.

 

However, there is a case where the word is

useful as the destroyer of ignorance;

But I'm afraid to even think about this.

 

For it is foolish to say

That the word destroys ignorance,

And then the Self becomes conscious of Itself.

 

If ignorance was something

That could be destroyed by the word,

Then could we not set fire

To an imaginary city-in-the-sky?

 

[ NONDUALITY: JNANESHVAR

 

Please include the following text when copying any of this material

elsewhere:

 

This material is edited by Jerry Katz, http://nonduality.com/jnan.htm

 

The book from which these excerpts are taken, is entitled "Jnaneshvar:

The Life and Works of the Celebrated Thirteenth Century Indian

Mystic-Poet," by S. Abhyayananda. It is published by Atma Books,

Olympia, Washington, ISBN 0-914557-02-5. $11.95 U.S.,260pp.]

 

 

Regards,

 

Sunder