EMBRACE THE DARKNESS
During the week
that has just gone by, many people around the world celebrated Diwali, a
festival of light. Its origins lie in India in some ancient dimension where
history has long given way to mythology. The cause for the
celebration is usually attributed to the return of one victorious king and his armies
to home base after travelling for about 20 days from the scene of the war.
The entire city was lit up with lamps of welcome, and the tradition continues.
The ‘victor’ was
a king who still symbolizes piety, justice and propriety. The situations and
sacrifices arising out of his defence of these values are awesome. The ancient
tale carries so much wisdom and anguish that it easily qualifies to be sacred,
and Raam or Rama is synonymous with so many other names given to God and is, as
such, worshipped by a sizeable part of the world’s population.
The 'vanquished' was an opponent who was a worthy match. One of the most intriguing and
satisfying twists in the holy tale is that the anti-hero, himself a very
learned and accomplished entity, had a boon of near immortality. No ordinary mortal being could get at the reservoir of nectar harboured inside him. As events built up, he recognized the Divinity of his adversary. Being aware that here was someone who could kill him, and would do so for the sake of righteousness, propriety and love, he chose to be drawn into battle and die at the hands of the Holy One. In the choosing, he secured a place for himself in the Life Eternal,
variously known as heaven or moksha or nirvana or One.
So much for good
and evil! So much for destiny and pre-orchestrated choices! So much for
Darkness and Light! So much for gods and demons!
Maybe it is not
about banishing Darkness after all! Maybe it is rather about celebrating it, a
celestial darkness that harbours in its womb the glow of hope.
Maybe it was the
love of the villain that drew the protagonist to him, and maybe it was the love
of the hero that gave the antagonist a place in heaven.
So much for the
Glow Within! So much for Love!
So much for Celebration; jashan!
Celebrating darkness along with light. Sorrow along with joy. Sickness along with health.
Poverty along with wealth. Paucity along with abundance. Greed along with
contentment. Hate along with love. Evil along with good. Death along with life.
Because they complement each other in this perfect world, and
the one would not be able to exist without the other.
Celebrating the
Whole, celebrating the One, celebrating God by all names.
We can light a candle to extinguish darkness only if we know that there is darkness around us. Isn't it?
ReplyDeleteI like your words 'extinguish darkness'!
DeleteIn the first instance, yes, we can only see the darkness if we acknowledge the light we stand in. like a performer onstage.
Second, we can only feel the light, if we acknowledge the darkness that could have been ours.
Simply put, good old 'count your blessings', the light; and look around and in awe at what could have been yours, the darkness and depravity.
Having understood this, reach out to people, not to try and pull them out of their god-given 'darkness', but to experience it and share it, and leave behind some of your glow in their shadows. Then watch your glow increase!
Dear Zeina Glo,
ReplyDeleteI once gave a little bit of advice to a pretty, young girl who was going off to college and I'd like to repeat it here for the benefit of all your readers: Remember to be liberal with that million-dollar smile of yours - spread it around the campus and watch everything light up!
A smile is infectious and has the magical quality of instantly evaporating the troubles of the person you're smiling to.
Try it.
Practise it.
Our Key 'mid Ease.
For you, Archimedes, and the glow inside you, Zeina Glo today posts 'Touché, Pussycat !'
DeleteIt advocates the touching of souls, which is the purpose of smiles!