From Darkness Lead Me to Light

KEEPING A STORE OF CANDLES 
“From Darkness Lead Me to Light” (Shanti Path)  

There is an ancient Chinese saying: “Better to light a single candle than to curse the darkness”. The poet, Frank Ormsby has a collection called “A Store of Candles”. We all need such a store these dark days.  

Indians have recently been celebrating the festival of Diwali, with fireworks and lighting of clay lamps and candles, celebrating the victory of light over darkness.  

The clay lamp represents the “tama- guna” -darkness of ignorance; the oil in the wick represents “raja- guna” – the purifying heat of Yoga practice; and the light of the wick represents “sattva- guna”- illumination.  

We are all such lamps of clay.  

I am interested in the root meaning of words, and the word “Dhi” is a core part of the word “Diwali”.  

“Dhi” means “light” but refers to the light within us, the light of the intellect, intuition, enlightenment. It is part of the word for meditation “dhyana”.  

The beautiful Gayatri Mantra is a prayer for this light to illumine our own share of inner darkness, and to awaken insight and understanding, to open the “third eye”, or “Buddhi”: “Dhiyo Yonaha Prachodayat”.  

“Jyoti” is another Sanskrit name for “Light” and this refers to the Light of the Spirit, Atman, Self or Inner Guru.  

In the Chandogya Upanishad it says: “There is a Light that shines beyond all things on earth, beyond us all, beyond the heavens, beyond the highest, the very highest heavens. This is the light that shines in our heart”. 

In meditation we can connect with this Light, either in the cave of the heart, or at the eyebrow centre (Brumadhya). 

I like to place the fingers over the face in “shanmukhi mudra”. The index fingers rest over the closed eyelids; the thumbs seal the ears; the middle fingers rest against the sides of the nose; and the ring and little fingers rest on the upper and lower lips.  

I gaze into the healing darkness of the mind-screen and visualise a candleflame at the eyebrow centre. I find this mudra very comforting.    

There are countless pathways. I like the simple ones.  

Sometimes I chant “OM” three times and that is enough to take me there.   

Or I bring my hands together at the heart centre in in namaskar mudra. It is such a healing little practice; I just “sit”, “refreshing myself at the well”.  

I don’t have any big revelations or “see the light”; I don’t have to. It shines away in the darkness. It is enough to know it is always there.  

There is always a store of candles.  

Om Tat Sat.  

Michael