WHERE IS THE LIGHT?
Light is both a
literary and religious symbol. Some of its connotations are: knowledge, intelligence,
understanding, comprehension, illumination, enlightenment, goodness, love,
life, hope, grace, wisdom, holiness,
spiritual awakening, , elevation of inner powers, insight into ultimate reality
and a fair view of the unknown.
Men of literature and
religion use this symbol very frequently in their writings and speeches.
Light is not the
comprehensive opposite of darkness, especially when related to daybreak , sunrise
and the one generated by candles, lamps, lanterns, torches, sparks, tapers and
matches.
As a symbol light is
used metaphorically and the meanings are those which the user wants to convey
contextually. They may sometimes be
difficult to discover. So in such cases, the user throws some hints to dispel total
obscurity.
Very briefly, let me
add that everybody in this world is in search of light. And his attempt to find
it continues till the end of his existence. It is also a hard fact that leaving
aside some Buddhas, hardly anybody succeeds in his search. Enlightenment in
this sense is Nirvana, that is liberation from the cycle of births and deaths
and re-confinements in this elemental world.
Given below is a song
taken from Tagore’s Gitanjali. It is on
the theme of light with a few connotations of light as a symbol. For Tagore,
light stands for victory over darkness, freedom from bondage and the
demystification of biological life. However, the light referred to by him cannot
be achieved without ‘the burning fire of desire.’
“LIGHT, oh where is the
light? Kindle It with the burning fire of desire!
There is the lamp but
never a flicker of a flame, -----is such thy fate, my heart! Ah death were
better by far for thee!
Misery knocks at thy
door, and her message is that thy lord is wakeful and he calls thee to the
love-tryst through the darkness of night.
The Sky is overcast
with clouds and the rain is ceaseless. I know not what this is that stirs in
me, -----I know not its meaning.
A moment’s flash of
lightning drags down a deeper gloom on my sight, and my heart gropes for the
path to where the music of the night calls me.
Light, oh where Is the
light! Kindle it with the burning fire
of desire! It thunders and the wind rushes screaming through the void. The
night is black as a black stone. Let not the hours pass by in the dark. Kindle
the lamp of life with thy life. “
It is e clear from the symbols of ‘ flickerless lamp, gloom, darkness,
misery, night, overcast sky, thunder, the screaming wind and music ’ that the journey from darkness to light is
extremely difficult and is impossible to be covered without ‘the burning fire of desire.’
4th March 2020 G.
R. KANWAL
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