Man has five kinds of lights

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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