Today is the Winter Solstice—which, for those of us living in the Northern hemisphere, marks the shortest of days and, therefore, the darkest of times.
Despite that, this has been a time of celebration and festivity throughout human history. While we might be forgiven for soberly commiserating this time of darkness and cold, the festive spirit impels us to look ahead and to celebrate the return of light as the sun now begins its northward ascent in the heavens.
It can be no coincidence that Christmas, one of the more recent iterations of this midwinter festivity, glorifies the birth of the Son of God, which may be taken to mean the Sun of God; the literal return of light to the world.
The festive season is indeed a celebration of light amid the darkness.
While in the Winter months the natural world withers and withdraws, the trees bare of leaves, fruit and flowers, we do the opposite. We decorate our homes with greenery and lights and we feast amid what otherwise would be a time of famine. We celebrate the renewal of life and the promise of brighter days to come.
The esoteric meaning of Jesus’s birth, which has a large number of parallels with the birth of Krishna (perhaps you’ve even noticed that Christ and Krishna are almost the same word), is of a return of the light—and, specifically, the discovery of the light and Divinity within ourselves and within all beings.
The scriptures declare this realisation of our inner Divinity to be life’s highest goal. By recognising the ever shining light of our innermost Consciousness and shifting our sense of identification from the body/mind/ego to this true Self, Consciousness, we are freed from sorrow.
That’s something we cannot find in the world of duality. While it boasts many joys and pleasures, the phenomenal world cannot offer lasting fulfilment owing to the limitations inherent in duality. All we can do is navigate the dance of the opposites as best we can; accepting the seesaw of good and bad, pleasure and pain, success and failure, happiness and sorrow. Trying to find lasting happiness—or lasting anything—in such a world is a fool’s errand.
It’s only by realising the light within ourselves, the Christ within, the Krishna within, that we’re able to permanently transcend the storms and stresses of duality.
So, as you’re switching on your Christmas tree or lighting a candle at night, recognise the ritual as a metaphor for the illumining of your own mind and heart with the light of your true being. Conducted in the right spirit, the Winter festivities represent a shifting away from worldly challenge and limitation to the self-shining and eternal light that is Consciousness; the one thing that can never be given or taken away from us.
The birth, as it were, of light, hope and illumination is the recognition of the Divinity of your innermost Consciousness. The Consciousness illuminating and enlivening your mind and body is the same Consciousness that illumined all the great sages and avatars of the world, including Jesus, Buddha and Krishna. This recognition of the inner holiness of all beings, the light (Son/Sun) born in the dark and dank stable of the mind, is alchemical in nature.
By holding fast to this Consciousness as your true identity, you transcend the limitations, pains, fears and sorrows of duality. You find that all you’ve ever sought in the world of form—happiness, freedom and love—is already there within you. What relief; what joy!
The world cannot give you what you seek. In fact, the world of maya, immersive and consuming as it is, will successfully obscure and conceal this realisation. It’s up to you to dispel the darkness of ignorance by keeping your attention upon the light you are; the simple, direct, ever present Consciousness in which all forms come and go.
There’s no greater gift to the world than the liberating light of Self-Knowledge cutting through the darkness all around. Bask in this light, in the eternal being of your own ever-full Self. Recognise this same light in all others as you go about the Wintry days and know that it shines always and forever.
Happy Solstice, Happy Christmas, Happy New Year.
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