light of knowledge vs. darkness of ignorance

Light has been a popular symbol in numerous spiritual and religious traditions including Christianity, Judaism, Hinduism, and Islam. In particular, it has been employed as a beautiful metaphor for knowledge, in contrast to the darkness of ignorance. When it is dark, we don’t know what’s happening around us. We are robbed of our capabilities and can’t observe or recognize anything. We are lost and engulfed in ignorance. But when there is light and brightness, we know, we become aware, we feel empowered. We can get familiar with our surroundings and find our way around. Therefore, darkness keeps us stuck and stagnant, while light shows us the path that we must take and provides guidance, just as wisdom and spiritual knowledge. 

In this modern, fast-paced world, we have all become habituated with consuming content and information. But a key question that we need to ask ourselves is: Is this behavior making us more knowledgeable and wise? Is it dispelling the darkness of ignorance within us and getting us closer to the light of the Infinite Intelligence, the Divine Self within?

Paying constant attention to the stats of your favorite football or basketball team, the latest news in CNN or Fox, the details of upcoming movies and shows, and all the gossip, mindless entertainment, and meaningless conversations will do nothing to shed the darkness of ignorance; in fact, there’s a good chance it might take you further away from the light of knowledge. Hence, you have to be deliberate and intentional about your consumption of media, the associations that you choose to be in, and what you put in front of your eyes, your ears, and your mouth. Junk is like weeds, it’s everywhere and we have to protect ourselves. Otherwise, we’ll squander away our precious time, energy, and attention.

There’s too much mental, physical and spiritual noise we constantly face every single day that paints this world in a negative light and takes us away from our true essence and potential and puts us in the darkness of ignorance. And that’s where the Lord comes in. His knowledge can help us dispel the lack of awareness within and get us reacquainted with the truth, most importantly our truth. As we navigate through the information age and all the distractions and temptations that come it, we can all ask God to bestow upon us a few specks of light from his incredible aura to help us conquer the darkness that lies within us due to ignorance and negative inclinations and get us closer to experiencing peace, contentment, bliss, and tranquility within.