One of the festivals of autumn is Diwali, which is celebrated as ‘the festival of lights’. There is a beautiful verse by Kabir Sahib referring to the diya, or the lamps lit on Diwali, which says:
Like the blind uselessly lighting a diya when they cannot even see, the secret of our true self lies within our house, yet we are seeking outside.
Hidden within each of us is a spark of the Divine. Breath-taking regions of beauty, unimaginable vistas of sights and sounds, infinite wisdom, and all-embracing love invite us within. The Light of Divine glows continually. There is a flame that can empower us with wisdom, eternal happiness, all-embracing love, freedom from fear, and immorality. This flame illumines our heart and mind with answers to questions that have mystified humankind for ages.
It is not a gift reserved for a few; it is available to everyone. We have to look within to bask in the eternal sunshine. Through meditation, we can see and hear the light and sound current within. We sit comfortably in the silence of our soul and look within to bask in the wonders of luminous vistas within. Like a ray of light leads back to the sun, the inner journey leads us to the Source of the current of light and sound, the abode of the Divine.
Just as we light a fire to warm us without, we need to ignite the spiritual fire within. Once that spark is lit, we need to tend it to keep it glowing. As it illumines us within, we shine forth our eternal light with a luminosity that radiates to all we meet until the entire world is flooded with the Light of the Divine and is bathed in eternal love, peace, and bliss.
Kabir Sahib’s conclusion is that we have the Light or diya within us, but seek it outside. The soul has the spark of God within, but seeks fulfillment in the outer realm. It is like a blind person who lights a diya or a lamp when they cannot even see the light. This forgetfulness of God causes the soul to seek only in the outer world for that happiness and bliss already within.
Kabir Sahib is saying that the situation is not hopeless. We can escape this cycle with knowledge of a spiritual teacher or Master. Masters come to this world to remind us that our true home is in God. They want to awaken us to realize we are not the body and mind, but the soul. They come to free us from this state of forgetfulness to take us back to the Lord.
