Lesson 44: God is the light in which I see.
The Muslim mystic poet Hafiz wrote a succinct summary of this lesson in a poem several centuries ago:
“I wish I could show you,
When you are lonely
or in darkness,
“The
Astonishing Light
Of your own Being!”
That inner light that we all possess is essential for us to switch from the ego’s vision of this world to God’s vision. As today’s lesson emphasizes, “In order to see, you must recognize that light is within, not without.”
We think we see light outside of ourselves – the sun shining, the lightbulb driving away the darkness of a room at night, the candle creating a romantic glow, the fire lighting up the night sky. All of these are the eye’s perception of light, but none of these lights, no matter how bright, represent the real light of Love that shines only within each of us.
It is that inner light that allows us to see through the darkness our ego projects onto the world. Our ego loves to see the dark side of everything and everyone. We project guilt, fear and hatred onto this world and perceive evil, angry and hateful people around us. All we can see in them is darkness, fear and danger.
That’s all we’ll ever see unless we learn how to see the light within ourselves and realize that light is within everyone and everything we meet in this world. We are all walking light-bearers, all beacons of love meant to shine in this world.
Like the song based on Jesus’ instruction in Matthew 5 to shine our light in the world says, “Hide it under a bushel, no, I’m gonna let it shine.” This is what today’s lesson is trying to teach us. The light within us is already burning brightly, but the ego has convinced us that it’s arrogant to think we are the light of the world – even though Jesus tells us quite clearly this is our role in the world.
We discover that light not by looking out onto the world and perceiving darkness, but by going within and meditating on the light that already shines within us. This lesson is an exercise of lifting the bushel that the ego has put over our light. That light that shines within us is the holiness we declared was ours a few lessons ago. We are holy and whatever is holy cannot help but shine its light of Love wherever it goes. Holiness is a beacon – a lighthouse for a dark world to prevent us all from washing up on the rocks of the ego.
For Hafiz, this inner light has been poured into us like divine wine, making us happily drunk with the light of Love.
God was full of Wine last night,
so full of wine that He let a great secret slip.
He said: There is no one on earth who needs a pardon from Me –
For there is really no such thing, no such thing as sin!
That Beloved has gone completely wild.
He has poured Himself into me!
I am blissful and drunk and overflowing.
Dear world, draw life from my sweet body,
Dear wayfaring souls, come drink your fill of liquid rubies,
For God has made my heart
An Eternal Fountain!
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