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Monday, February 18, 2008

Darkness within light



The Old Testament relates the transition from darkness to light.

“In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.

And the earth was without form, and void;

and darkness was upon the face of the deep.

And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters

And God said, Let there be light;

and there was light.

And God saw that it was good.

And God divided the light from the darkness.” (Old Testament, Genesis)..

What is darkness and what is light, anyway? A child, asked to draw black, will take crayons of different colors and scribble hard until the white paper is covered and obscured. But Do you think the same???? Darkness is what that absorbs all that is present in everyone and is everything. It is certainly comprising of both Nothing and Everything simultaneously. And Light is the opposite of heavy or ponderous. It is swift, graceful and elegant in form. Light is easy to bear or endure, requiring little exertion. It is free from the weight of care or sorrow, cheerful and merry, as in “lighthearted.” It is humorous and full of mirth. It is also knowledge and understanding, as in “enlightenment.” In addition to this heightened perception of light and dark, I am deeply appreciative of the "silence" that accompanies darkness. Within Darkness reflects, in a sense, what sounds "within silence.” I love the use of the word “darkness” in a poem by Hadgon

“ this deep sea of sadness

faith’s fishing boat

trawls the solemn depths

and in my nets joy collects

like slow fish

fat from feeding

in the deep darkness ”

So now the point is : Is Darkness lies somewhere in Light or the Light lies within Darkness…It’s similar saying .. We all have a shadow. Or does our shadow have us?

The Shadow includes our unconscious and unacknowledged thoughts, feelings and memories. Shakespeare called it “This thing of darkness I acknowledge mine.” C.G. Jung noted, “Everyone carries a shadow, and the less it is embodied in the individual’s conscious life, the blacker and denser it is. One does not become enlightened by imagining figures of light, but by making the darkness conscious. The latter procedure, however, is disagreeable and therefore not popular.”

For our own sake we have to explore the darkness or we cannot proceed with our lives. Otherwise we will be trapped in our projections..
From Rene’ Daumal’s, Mount Analogue comes,

“I am dead because I lack desire;

I lack desire because I think I possess;

I think I possess because I do not try to give.

In trying to give, I see that I have nothing;

Seeing I have nothing, I try to give of myself;

Trying to give of myself, I see that I am nothing;

Seeing I am nothing, I desire to become;

In desiring to become, I begin to live.”

Darkness is certain, but not light. Darkness is same for everyone i.e it doesn’t have different faces for different viewers as light has. Think of a blind darkness is darkness for him ,but not light , ask a beggar darkness is same for him but not light. This is really THE Darkness or it is something else. Some says Darkness is BLACK, some says its Ignorance, some says its life .Darkness in life plays an important part or one may say that life in darkness. Darkness is life , is a wrecked phase ,or a burnt face ,or a lost race, or an ugly grace, where light or the success appeared to be too far..too far to attain..too far to detain…too far to retain…may be sometimes too far to sustain. Darkness is a phase which is dull..lonely…abandoned..sad..bad..BUT its there is our lives .Trying to live life or life living us is same case. In darkness everything appear dark..dull..null.. i.e in darkness everything loses its identity and be a part of it . Check it out in a dark room, or in a dark depressed life or in the eyes of a blind or in the heart of a mother who had seen her only son dying in front of her. Darkness is Lunatic or a lucid dream. Darkness is where we loose ourselves or where we get enlightened, where we live or where we get dispersed, its overall OUR’S. Darkness is naked truth, everything immerges from it and diluted in it and light is a transient dilemma which has different durations for different people , depending on how they interpreted Darkness.

There are times when one’s life appear to be a stage

People come ,people go

They come in order to go ,

And go with no intent of return

When they return they return as one’s past

A past that would make you feel that the present is false. “

bY:-----------DOG-ra

3 comments:

SHEETAL BHAT said...

Hi...the article was really good and it did try to ponder into the various manifestations of darkness creep ed deep into the mundane hearts of common man trying hard to live up to his life. your portrayal of darkness in the form of ignorance , sadness, and other such so called dark or melancholic stuff was really commendable in character. Giving proper commentaries on these topic is a core philosophical issue and beyond my premises. but still looking at the passage from a tyro's point of view , I state that whatever you mentioned holds lots of gravity.

Your extraction of light from darkness and vice versa is a great artistic contemplation to read , but do you really think that they both are inter inked and need to be analyzed like that. i think that treating darkness with this much attention enhances its effects. yes, darkness are a part of life , but, it doesn't need to be glorified. After all they are the elements who mar your happiness . why give them this much stature. i don't know, may be i am wrong, but this is the way i think. moreover, if your are a firm believer of God , darkness is not going to mess up much with your life. rest was all fine.....feedback is welcome...

Rhydemz said...

u are a master of unique , style, and use of subject matter.Ur use of imagery within ur poems or articles s develops the themes of parts working together to create an entity of beauty, movement, and power... A magic kind of thing...
The vastness i can see and sense in ur articles as i have red few by now.. is all cud be a source of inspiration for people, if at the end the positive aspects loops in..
U are Solid and subtle, ur words reveals the depth of his insight and the wideness of his outlook.
God Bless.

Bindhu said...

This article is thought provoking.
I liked the analogue which says "light lies within darkness" - very well articulated one!

In my view, as there is virtue in the world, so is evil. Similary, light and darkness. I would say darkness and light are not inter-realted. They are two different experiences or phases. But surely, one can become the reason for the other to occur!

Again, darkness is something which can not make one aware of what all he has. As you said, it might have everything or somethings, but gives a feel of nothing!

I personally don't like darkness; yet i agree that darkness can give you the strength in the search of light.

Overall, i liked the article; commendable job :)