What is everywhere? The only thing that is everywhere in existence is pure darkness. Light is a temporary happening, a burning up of something. Whether it is an oil lamp, an electric bulb or the biggest source of light that we know, the sun, all of these things are just burning up. An oil lamp may last 10 hours, an electric bulb may last over 1,000 hours, the sun may last 10 billion years, but they will all burn up. When everything burns up, what is there? Only darkness. Before the burning, it was all darkness. After the burning, it is all darkness. For light to happen, something has to be done. Darkness simply is.
Light is limited. Just with the palm of your hand, you can stop it and leave a shadow of darkness behind. The sun is the very source of life on this planet. It is of tremendous size and intensity, but regardless of this, you can still stop the flow of sunlight with your mere hands. Or for that matter, just your eyelids.
If you look up into the night sky, you will notice a lot of stars, but stars are just small specks. The vast expanse of the sky is pure darkness -- one can easily miss this. So in this boundless expanse of darkness, a little bit of light is happening here and there in the form of stars; one notices these little happenings, but not the boundless darkness. Why? Because as human beings, we are also little happenings; we are forms of existence, so we identify with other forms of existence. But the non-existence of darkness is the largest part of existence and it is the very lap of creation.
It is from the lap of darkness that all creation blossoms, or as they say, it "bangs out" from infinite nothingness or darkness. It is the time frame of your perception which differentiates a bang and a blossom. If you were to see a nuclear explosion in slow motion, you would see it as a blossoming. But in real time, in your experience, it is a bang.
Every religion, every culture on this planet, has always talked about the omnipresent, all-pervading nature of the divine. If you look at it, the only thing that can be truly all-pervading -- the only thing that can be everywhere -- is darkness or emptiness or nothingness.
So why have we always referred to the divine as "divine light" and not "divine darkness"? We celebrate light simply because our visual senses are oriented towards light. If you were to live in a forest, you would see that when the sun sets and darkness falls, a much larger activity of life commences. There is a roar through the night of insects, birds and animals. If your eyes were made like theirs, if your visual sense were made like the nocturnal animals of the forest, you wouldn't be thinking of divine light. You would be thinking of divine darkness. So your prejudice towards light is simply because of the way your survival mechanism has been crafted.
There is a railway track in India between the cities of Hassan and Mangalore. It is a very special track. In a distance of 36 kilometers, there are over 300 bridges and 100 tunnels -- many tunnels stretch over two kilometers. When we walk through the tunnel, it is pitch dark, but we will walk on the railway track without using our flashlights. "Dark" means it is absolutely dark, to the point where you cannot even see your own hand, and after some time, you don't know whether your eyes are open or closed. Bats will be flying by, but they never hit you because they don't rely upon light (they rely upon sound), but they move so close you can feel their wings. And after some time, if you just keep walking in darkness, something very wonderful will happen to you. Once you get used to it, you don't know whether your eyes are open or closed. It is just the same; it is just absolutely the same. And suddenly, you become so aware, so beautifully aware, simply because you have lost the perception of light.
If there is not even an iota of light, the outside world completely evaporates from your perception. This makes you very much aware of what you are. The individual life becomes so dominant because the outside has completely disappeared. But people will not sit quietly in darkness because they want some perception that they are still there. So whenever there is darkness, people try to whistle, talk or sing. But in darkness, if you sit for long enough, then you will start wondering whether existence is really there or not.
One of the biggest distractions in life is light. For your survival, light is extremely important, but to look beyond survival, it is a distraction. When the sun is out, you miss all the stars in the sky. Many of these stars are a thousand times bigger than the sun, but the stars get completely lost to your vision simply because the sun is flooding you with light. In the evening, when the sun goes down, you can see the stars in the sky, but in the morning, what is in the sky? It is just clear. Do you see the deception? One has always believed that light means seeing, but one sees more in darkness than in light. This is a distortion of perception.
The whole system of yoga is dedicated to enhancing one's perception, as only what you perceive is real for you. The rest is just imagination or hallucination. The very nature of light is such that it will limit your perception to the physicality of existence. It is only when you are not blinded by light that one can perceive and experience the unity of existence beyond the separateness of the physicality. Hence, human beings have a natural attraction to those aspects of life which obliterate the physical boundaries and cause a sense of union, during twilight or darkness -- essentially, in the absence of blinding light.
If someone says "I love you" at high noon, you probably wouldn't buy it. But if they say it either at twilight, moonlight or starlight, when darkness is advancing upon the day, you could easily fall for it. Naturally, the absence of light or reduced light becomes a conducive atmosphere for anything that seeks to unite life beyond the boundaries of the physical. And hence, whether it is in love, contemplation, prayer or meditation, there is a natural tendency to close one's eyes. Closing your eyes is a simple privilege that you have to shut out blinding light when it seems like an intrusion.
In the womb, you were incubated in darkness; the tomb is of course darkness. Or in other words, the beginning was darkness and the ultimate is darkness. Light is only an in-between happening. It is in the lap of darkness that all creation blossomed.
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Sadhguru posts a weekly article covering such topics as health and wellbeing, cultivating meaningful relationships, living joyfully, enhancing human consciousness and how to make this planet a better place to live.
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I never believed I would think this way, but I almost appreciate the loss of my sight. Oh, I can still see light from darkness, day from night, but I think I can appreciate the reference to the distractions of the light.
I fell on a bus just last week. I know nothing of the color of the skin of the man that helped me to my feet. All I know, is that his arms were strong, his hands tender and reassuring to me in my embarrassment and his kindness genuine, as he guided me to a seat and placed me there.
I do not know if he was rich or poor, dressed in finery, or wore watch of gold or rings. All I know,, is that he helped me. Shaken, he pressed his hand to my shoulder to reassure me. Strong hands, big hands, that is all I know.
No distractions, only appreciation, and his kindness true.
All the best
Knute
TR Knudtson
In times long past there were the warnings signs of war. Kings to gather herbs of mercy, gold and resources sequestered and readied for attack, and placed near your enemy. It is not from the halls of a constitutional government, that this will come. It is a harlot that harms her own children to diver attentions from her aggression, but a King that will try to being war.
Who gathers gold and opium and resources,,, this day?
Who destroys all that is good and kindness and those who would call for peace?
The stories of old are true, the White and Red Dragon have fought their celestial battle, one mortally wounded, but healed. Seek out the Red Dragon, known by the bones of the Peacemakers that lay before its’ cave. Within, you will find the storehouses and reserves, preparing for war.
Then gather your brothers and sisters that I know you love too,, no matter your differences,,,, and prepare!
YOU ARE a responsible citizen, I KNOW you love America, but THINK,,, think long and hard. Go deep within, clear your mind,,,, and THINK.
All the best
Knute
TR Knudtson
Here. Watch this.
Link
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4oSTyWYGJ6E
If I fail,,,,,, you will not.
If the sun turns dark, you will be warmed, if the air is no longer fit to breathe, you will breathe, if snows fall to cover the earth, you will be warmed, if your industries fall silent, you will have furnaces with which to rebuild, if you are injured, you will have healing, if your waters become poison, you will have ways to make them pure again, if there is no wood to cook your food, you will have fire to cook again.
If I fail,,,,,, you will not.
Above ALL,,,, Know I loved you!
All the best
Knute
TR Knudtson
http://www.alaindanielou.org/index.php?lg=en
We have ALL seen the abuses that come from Extremists views. The “well meaning” come even here, BUT dragged behind them to every conversation of faith, spirituality, examined realty or cosmology on Huff-Po; come those who pull with them a carcass of Christian error, and who would flop down the failings of “Neo-Cons” of late and exploitations of FAITH for political aims. The “Religiosity Argument” of sorrow, pain, bloodshed and suffering.
My suggestion:
Take your condemnations, accusations and hate to the Christians, and stop despoiling every discussion that is offered here at Huff-Po; with your VILE disgust and disappointments.
Your “Modern Day”, Neo-Con Crusaders, not unlike a 1000 years before upon entering Jerusalem; when Mosque and Synagogue were set to the torch, and Muslim and Jew put to the sword in equal count.
Again,, only a suggestion,, take it to the Christians, and leave others here ALONE and unmolested, and to share and learn and engage with each other in open discussion.
And YES, even to speculate.
All the best
Knute
TR Knudtson
What he say's about darkness is genius it makes total sense, this is kind of like what relativity did for science.
Let’s be practical here. When the human is in a state of fear,, the ears are the first thing to go. Such can be seen with a Boxer fighting in the ring. They need that loud bell at ringside because of this phenomenon. In combat, your focus is on other things, NOT THE EARS.
When you are totally focused on resisting change,, your better ideas take a back seat to the struggle at hand, your most creative side,, is dead and put out of commission. It is just the way of things.
For Progressives the troubles remain, that change need come from deeper in the community. Through education, kindness, love and over TIME, for both, you cannot force or Legislate morality.
BUT remember, the “Ship of State” floats in the waters of the people, is driven by the fabric of sails of commerce, BOTH,,, Great and Small,,, when there is no one at the helm, or binds set the wheel, needlessly, we get nowhere, and the rocks are near.
To call on winds that stir the seas to chaos pitch, waves and turbulence frothed and high, serves no one, save to make our future unclear, and bloodshed the worry.
This is WRONG!
All the best
Knute
TR Knudtson
Thanks.
LINK
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x_4CNvG1Q_M
All the best
Knute
TR Knudtson
Light permeates the universe, all universes in fact.
The darkness is of ones own perceptions.