Deepavali signifies the beginning of winter and also the beginning of a new year. It is a time for reflection on the year gone by and the year to come, a time to pause and ponder whether we are focusing our time and efforts in the right arena.
As we reflect on our lives, we observe that much of what we do is influenced by our constant search for peace, joy, and happiness. Yet, despite our valiant efforts, happiness in this outer world seems short-lived; lasting happiness still needs to be discovered.
Our lives seem riddled with difficulties at the physical, mental, and emotional levels. We hopelessly seek lasting happiness in the outer world when a perennial fountain of happiness awaits us within.
Connecting with it dispels the darkness of life, bathing us in the Divine’s lasting love, which brings us the lasting peace, joy, and happiness that we seek within.
The darkness of life relates to the difficulties we experience at the physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual levels. These challenges are a part of life. As our bodies age, we are bound to experience physical ailments and challenges.
Our relationships are also bound to be impacted by the temporary nature of this human existence, bringing us pain and grief. We may also experience difficulties or setbacks at the mental level.
These are all part and parcel of this human existence. We need to remind ourselves, however, that what is truly important is our spiritual health. We are, after all, spiritual beings having a physical experience, and we need to do all we can to ensure the health and well-being of our spirit and soul.
Our soul is our true essence and will live on beyond physical death but has forgotten itself and its connection to the Creator.
When it remembers its long story of separation from the Supreme, the soul experiences pain, which manifests as spiritual pain.
God wants us to return to Him and has given us all the faculties to find our way back Home. What is needed is a burning passion to know God. How, then, can we know the Supreme Being?
We can experience God in the stillness of the body and mind in meditation. As we withdraw our attention from the outer world and embark on the inner spiritual journey, we connect with the Almighty’s love and Light, which nourishes and strengthens our soul.
When we exert our free will to experience God’s love. As our love grows, we invoke further grace from God. These alternating arcs of grace and love continue until a circle of love and grace is formed, leading us back to the Absolute Being’s abode.
If we are to dispel the darkness of life’s challenges and find the lasting happiness we seek, we must embark on the inner spiritual journey to light the eternal lamp within.
Disclaimer
Views expressed above are the author’s own.
END OF ARTICLE
Source link
