By Rudra Shivananda
Each human being has an inner Light, but most people do not make contact with their Divinity, even once in their life-time. The physical sun that we observe every-day is very far from our planet. It appears as a small disc, but we know from our science classes, that it is really enormous. Similarly, the inner Light that we have deep within us, seems to be very far from us, and it seems very tiny and insignificant. However, when we approach our inner Light we are illumined and transformed by the transcendental Light of Truth that permeates all existence.
If one is on the path of spirituality, one is bound to see his inner Sun. At first, it might be just a glimpse of it, but the great Masters of Yoga have assured us that if we persevere in our practice, someday will dawn when we will see our inner Sun fully in all its glory. In still higher realizations, we will eventually merge with the Light itself, in Divine Consciousness.
This inner Sun appears to move, which is why the inner light moves and illumines the objects that are sensed by the mind. When it appears to remain still, we enter into silence. That is why in the Isha Upanishad, one of the most famous Upanishads (an ancient class of spiritual text), we have a description of something that moves and at the same time moves not:
That moves and that moves not
That is far and that is near
That is within and that is without
Ishavasya Upanishad 5
This is a description of Divinity that permeates the universe and in our solar system is best symbolized by the Sun. This Divinity is the creator that has created something without beginning or end. A great Master once said, “If the beginning comes from anything, then it cannot be a beginning. Beginning cannot come from anything.”
In the Rig Veda we learn that existence came from non-existence. Here, non-existence does not signify nothing. It is not something that never existed, it is ‘something’ which we cannot see with our eyes or detect with our instruments. The seers of the Vedas, through their spiritual sight, through their third-eye, saw non-existence as something which had not yet taken proper form and substance in the outer world.
We all want to bathe in the sea of sunlight. The outer sunlight will give us purification while the inner sunlight will give us illumination. When we want to bathe in water, we need a soap and towel. But when we have a sun-bath, we don’t need these things. When we bathe in the inner sun, we need only one thing to satisfy all our inner needs – our soul’s communion with our true Self.
The morning Sun comes as the day dawns, and we see beauty all around. God the Beautiful, comes to us in the morning in the form of inspiration. The poet is inspired to write soulful poems, the musician is inspired to compose beautiful music. People going to work from all walks of life, everywhere on this globe, are all getting abundant inspiration from their Inner Light to fulfill their daily duties.
The divine Sun comes to us in midday as dynamic aspiration. We have to perform the duties of the day. We have to fulfill our outer demands as well as our inner demands. The inner Sun comes to us with its fiery flames, giving us powerful, soulful, dynamic will which will hasten our inner evolution and outer manifestation.
The inner Sun comes to us in the evening as realization. When the sun sets, silence and purity reign supreme all around. Nature is resting, Mother Earth is resting and all is peace and love within and without. With evening comes realization, as we offer ourselves for the consummation of the inner and outer fruits of aspiration. When realization dawns and we perceive the inner light directly, the roles of inspiration and aspiration end.
Today we are aspiring, tomorrow we shall be realized. When we are all realized, we shall see that our aspiration and our realization are absolutely inseparable, just as the inner and outer Sun is inseparable.