Quest Magazine

Printed in the  Fall 2023 issue of Quest magazine. 
Citation: Smoley, Richard "From the Editor's Desk" Quest 111:4, pg 2

“God is light,” says the Bible (1 John 1:5)—a statement repeated so often that we take it for granted. But it is far from exactly true. God is not light in a purely physical sense. When you go into a dark room and turn on the switch, there is not more God in the room.

To say “God is light” is a metaphor, and a metaphor is not a statement of identity. When Shakespeare writes, “Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?” it is clear that the addressee differs from a summer’s day in certain important ways not mentioned in the sonnet.

We may conclude that the light that we call God is not the same thing as physical light. At first, this passage from The Secret Doctrine (1:70) might not appear to help:

According to the Rosicrucian tenets . . . “Light and Darkness are identical in themselves, being only divisible in the human mind”; and according to Robert Fludd, “Darkness adopted illumination in order to make itself visible.” According to the tenets of Eastern Occultism, Darkness is the one true actuality, the basis and the root of light, without which the latter could never manifest itself, nor even exist. Light is matter, and Darkness pure spirit. Darkness, in its radical, metaphysical basis, is subjective and absolute light; while the latter in all its seeming effulgence and glory, is merely a mass of shadows, as it can never be eternal, and is simply an illusion.

One clue to an answer may lie in the term “Clear Light,” which, as Antti Savinainen and Tommi Tolmunen point out in this issue’s article on The Tibetan Book of the Dead¸ is said to dawn on the mind of someone as they die. The Clear Light cannot be the same as physical light, which is not clear: too much light makes it impossible to see anything.

The difference may lie here: physical light is a medium by which we see. For seeing to occur, there must be three things: an eye to see, an object to be seen, and light by which to see. Physical sight does not occur if any of these is absent.

The Tibetan text indicates that the Clear Light of seeing is consciousness in a pure and unencumbered form. Here the light is both the medium of sight and the seeing itself; they are inseparable. Enlightenment then would be unblinkered access to this pure consciousness.

We are left with the paradoxes implied in the passage from The Secret Doctrine: “Light is matter, and Darkness pure spirit.” (Les deux lumières—“the two lights”—a book by the French alchemist Henri Coton-Alvart, explores this subject further, although to my knowledge it is not available in English.) We may be able to understand these concepts along the following lines.

In Tibetan Buddhism, the light of consciousness is rigpa; the loss of primordial consciousness is called ma-rigpa (the equivalent of the Sanskrit avidya). This is not ignorance in the conventional sense: it is a kind of coma, a deep oblivion out of which all of what we consider to be reality arises.

Tibetan Buddhism has a meditative practice in which the meditator, in a state of stillness, watches the thoughts as they come and go. As it turns out, the thoughts do not follow immediately upon one another: there is a space between thoughts, a blankness. This is called kun-gzhi, the “ground of everything” (the Sanskrit equivalent is alaya), which is identified with ma-rigpa. Thoughts arise out of this primordial oblivion; so does everything that we call reality. Physical light is a means of relative—and deceptive—seeing in this reality, which has arisen out of darkness and is darkness.

The famous mystical text The Cloud of Unknowing says the same thing. I will quote it in the original fourteenth-century English:

For when I sey derknes, I mene a lackyng of knowyng; as alle that thing that thou knowest not, or elles that thou hast forgetyn, it is derk to thee, for thou seest it not with thi goostly [mental] ighe. And for this skile it is not clepid a cloude of the eire, bot a cloude of unknowyng, that is bitwix thee and thi God. (emphasis added)

This text is giving a guide to meditation practice. The goal is to penetrate the “derkness” of oblivion that separates us from the real world of the divine.

The practice outlined in the text—updated today as Centering Prayer—is a useful meditative technique, yet its goal is difficult. The practitioner is to penetrate the primordial oblivion that is like deep, dreamless sleep, but much more profound and impervious. It is hard for me to imagine what lies beyond this cloud of unknowing, but it seems certain that it is nothing like this world—or the light that we see in it.

Richard Smoley

Printed in the  Fall 2023 issue of Quest magazine. 
Citation: Keene, Douglas "Light: Visible and Invisible" Quest 111:4, pg 9 & 47

By Douglas Keene
National President

The concept of light may conjure up images of the sun returning after the dark days of winter, the broad daylight of midday, a glorious sunrise or sunlight sparkling on a mountain lake. Even during the nocturnal hours, planets glow, stars twinkle, and artificial illumination marches relentlessly through our intrusion into the natural world.

When we think of visible light, we may recall its physical properties: electromagnetic radiation within a specific frequency range that is perceptible to the human eye and brain. We may consider the wave versus particle theories, the spectrum of light that can be displayed through a prism, or even the speed of light, frequently used for astronomical measurement. Light can be valuable for aesthetic purposes, energy production, photosynthesis, and other essential roles.

However, light can also be used metaphorically when describing cognitive insight, increased awareness, emotional tranquility, and spiritual awakening. Annie Besant writes: “On the path of devotion the Soul is ever turned to the Light above, not that it may be enlightened, not that it may shine, but that it may serve as focus and channel for that Light, to pass it on to those who are in darkness. It longs for the Light above only to pass it on to those below” (Besant, Spiritual Life, 42). Is the concept of light used in metaphysics truly metaphorical, or might it be supersensory?

H.P. Blavatsky tells us in The Secret Doctrine: “The Root of Life was in every Drop of the Ocean of Immortality, and the Ocean was Radiant Light, which was Fire, and Heat, and Motion. Darkness vanished and was no more; it disappeared in its own Essence, the Body of Fire and Water, of Father and Mother” (Blavatsky, 69). Her expression—an “Ocean of Radiant Light”—which conjures up a distinct image that is perhaps slightly different for each of us. Most of us, at this stage, can only imagine this in our mind’s eye rather than experiencing it directly. Yet each of us can have some comprehension of the intention of the words.

The analogy of the human being as a mirror reflecting the light of divinity is often used to elucidate the concept of higher vibrations. We may be able to reflect that divinity only imperfectly. One traditional analogy is dust on the mirror, which interferes with the divine expression of our true nature. But we can increase the transparency of that reflection through the purification of our lower bodies. With the removal of each speck of dust, we assimilate a clearer conception of that which is beyond our senses. This is generally a very gradual process but can fluctuate, given our inconsistent behavior and insights. Sudden elevations (or clearing of a part of the mirror) can sometimes occur.

I.K. Taimni describes experiments using light in many of his explanations in Man, God, and the Universe. He explains why our true Self is so difficult to discern in our normal waking state, using the analogy of a light bulb and a tank of water: 

Suppose we have a glass tank which is filled with clear water and there is an arrangement for churning the water with increasing speed. A high powered electric bulb is suspended in the centre of the tank and can illuminate the water. If the light is turned on, the electric bulb can be seen clearly through the still and transparent water. The water remains invisible as long as there is no motion. Now turn on the motor for churning the water. As soon as the churning starts the bulb appears in a distorted shape and the water can be seen owing to the refraction of light emanating from the bulb. (Taimni, 151‒52).

 Here the water is the barrier to the accurate transmission of the light, distorted by this disturbance created by the “churning the water.” We can compare this with our own emotional natures and mental constitutions, stormy at times, but rarely tranquil and reflective. We need not discard or replace the “water,” but merely allow it to be still and transmit that which is already present.

In Light on the Path, Mabel Collins describes this light in various ways. Here the light illumines the path but is also the divine presence in each individual. 

 For within you is the light of the world—the only light that can be shed upon the path. If you are unable to perceive it within you, it is useless to look for it elsewhere. It is beyond you, because when you reach it you have lost yourself. It is unattainable, because it forever recedes. You will enter the light, but you will never touch the Flame. (Collins, 42)

 Here light appears to represent the divine, the unity of consciousness, which we seek to experience. It cannot be quantified, for it is continuous, expanding in all directions and dimensions. Will this light be experienced visually or in some other fashion? Words are unlikely to capture the essence of such radiance.

Where do we stand in such an array of universal forces? How can we interact with this mystery? Annie Besant may have given us a clue in her pamphlet The Use of Evil. She notes there are “vast spaces of the mighty universe where there are no light reflecting bodies, themselves non-luminous; in the absence of these dark ones light cannot be thrown back, reflected” (Besant, Use of Evil, 7‒8).

We think of space as darkness, with the exception of an occasional celestial body that reflects the sun or some other light-giving orb. But if we place a new object in the vastness of space, it may become visible, depending on its reflective properties. Therefore, the space cannot be empty or inert, but contains radiation and light, undetected to our eye, unless there is an object on which it can fall. The visibility of such an object depends on its ability to reflect dully or vibrantly.

Perhaps we are these objects waiting, unaware of the divine light shining on and through us. How bright we shine will depend on the nature of the materials of which we are made. Can we, through purity and wisdom, create a reflective being? We do not need to generate our own luminosity, but merely reflect the universal radiation that falls on each of us. We can strive for understanding. We can become a clear mirror to the light of the universe.

Sources

Besant, Annie. The Spiritual Life. Wheaton: Quest, 1991.

———. The Use of Evil. Adyar Pamphlets no.166. Adyar: Theosophical Publishing House, 1932 [1910).

Blavatsky, H.P. The Secret Doctrine, Volume 1. Pasadena, Calif.: Theosophical University Press, 1988.

Collins, Mabel. Light on the Path.  Wheaton: Quest, 1970.

Taimni, I.K. Man, God, and the Universe. Adyar: Theosophical Publishing House, 1969.

Printed in the  Fall 2023 issue of Quest magazine. 
Citation: Quinn, William Wilson "The Provenance of Light" Quest 111:4, pg 36

By William Wilson Quinn                                 

In volume 1 of The Secret Doctrine, H.P. Blavatsky explains, “Darkness . . . is the eternal matrix in which the sources of light appear and disappear.” This refers to the periodic yet eternal interplay between pralaya as eternal matrix and manvantara, where light, as a core phenomenon of manifestation, endlessly appears, disappears, and reappears. She adds, however, that on our plane, the two “are interchangeable, and scientifically light is but a mode of darkness and vice versâ.”

Like much cosmogonic discourse in the first seven Stanzas, this last statement initially appears inscrutable. But rereading it with intuition and some intellectual wrestling, one may glean further clarity on the source and appearance of light, both in the universe and in the sentient beings who inhabit it. There HPB explains that light and darkness on our plane are both “phenomena of the same noumenon,” which can be described as “absolute darkness to the scientific mind, and but a gray twilight to the perception of the average mystic, though to that of the spiritual eye of the Initiate it is absolute light.”

Thus may we conclude with some certitude that this “interchangeability,” as HPB wrote, between the noumenal light and darkness actually interchange according to the varying capabilities of those who perceive light and darkness. 

Concomitantly, one may view light and darkness, again on our plane, as a polarity. In this polarity, absolute light and absolute darkness are extremes on the axis of luminosity, which contains all gradations of lighter and darker in between these polar extremes as perceived by the scientific mind, the average mystic, and the initiate. Moreover, being phenomena conditioned by duality as a consequence of light’s manifestation on our plane, light and darkness, although opposites, are subject to synthesis in the sacred and ineffable process of the coincidence of opposites: syzygy. This absolute state is transcendent, unconditioned, and eternal.

Armed now with this metaphysical provenance of light and darkness, we may achieve a better understanding of both the physical attributes of light and its many applications to the state of being human.

To focus narrowly here on the spiritual application, every human being who begins treading a spiritual path, and especially those who begin ascending the higher spiritual path toward initiation, has thereby made a seminal choice to follow the via lucis, the path of light. The opposite path, the via obscura or path of darkness, is chosen by those who are subject to the selfish dictates of their outer persons or lower selves. Their fates are self-sealed. Through the lens of the law of correspondence, these two paths can be seen as microcosmic, physical manifestations of the macrocosmic, metaphysical processes and polarities discussed above.                       

The choice to follow the light made by wayfarers on the higher spiritual path comes toward the end of their long journeys through samsara in multiple incarnations, bound throughout to the wheel of death and rebirth. While such choice is made prior to achieving vimutti (a Pali word describing “liberation,” or release from the wheel of death and rebirth), it not only evidences a discrete goal but is integral to the overall sacred initiatic process. Once made, this choice dramatically enhances the wayfarer’s flowering life within a spiritual universe of increasing light, and its divine counterpart, love.

Sustained effort by the wayfarer on the path of light consciously to radiate and project loving-kindness to all sentient beings is today ever more necessary to offset the darkening pall of global angst, fear, and suffering. As our mentors the adepts do, it should become the wayfarer’s solemn duty to broadcast through all available means the hope and consolation that inheres in the path of light and love. By example, he or she should be a constant beacon to others radiating the pure light of love, as the profound inner beauty of prismatic emanations flowing from the atma and buddhi, the human being’s sixth and seven principles. Such entwined light and love form the serene and spiritually luminous brilliance that “embraces all in oneness” and provide the welcome solace of human loving-kindness that, on our level, simulates the warming rays of the sun, whose light nurtures and blesses everything it touches, indiscriminately and unconditionally.

William Wilson Quinn holds an MA (Divinity School) and PhD from the University of Chicago in the philosophia perennis. His doctoral dissertation on that subject was published by State University of New York Press as The Only Tradition. In the 1970s he was employed by the Theosophical Society, where he was editor of The American Theosophist (now Quest) magazine. His other books include Articles of Aquarius and The Chela’s Handbook. His fourth book, The Higher Spiritual Path, will be published by O-Books in December 2023.

Printed in the  Fall 2023 issue of Quest magazine. 
Citation: Levine, Arlene Gay"Balancing the Dark: An Equinox Moment" Quest 111:4, pg 34-35

Harvest twilight
balancing the dark gently
on scarecrow’s shoulders

─Arlene Gay Levine, frogpond, Haiku Society of America

It seems counterintuitive to begin an article about light by talking about the dark. Rumi said, “If light is in your heart, your will find your way home.” Most assuredly you will. Of course, the burning question he ignites in his reader is, how?

As always, the beginning is a good place to start. A Chinese proverb provides enlightenment: “You can only go halfway into the darkest forest; then you are coming out the other side.”

During the course of a solar year, the seasons accompany us on our spiritual sojourn. Ever since humans walked the face of this planet, fear, followed by fascination with these cycles, stoked desire to understand the mystery of our once-around-again world. Earth’s never-ending circles are classified into summer and winter solstice (the longest and shortest days of the year) and spring and autumn equinox. Equinoxes are the only time when both the Northern and Southern Hemispheres experience nearly identical amounts of daylight and darkness.

In our own lives, we encounter cycles too. No matter how far along the path one travels toward union with the One, the inevitable disheartening days appear. It can be as simple as some insignificant dispute with a friend, or as life-altering as the loss of a dear one. When we are feeling fragile because of harrowing news about the current global mayhem, even one hurtful word can send us spiraling from fine to frightful in a moment’s notice.           

Let us uncover the subtle art of transforming suffering (what we perceive as darkness) into light, which leads to the door of our true Self. This ingress guides us to the center, a place of balance known as “the palace of holiness in the midst,” said to “sustain all things.” It is the point where space and time are unified in the here/now experience we seek in meditation. Imagine how beneficial it might be to prolong our stay in that peaceful state after rising from meditation, as we walk through our lives minute to minute. Wouldn’t it be a blessing and a service to become more in charge of our mental and emotional states in order to uplift ourselves and everyone we meet?            

The way you live your life is how you pray. Every day, hour, and moment, you possess a chance to choose the sacred path toward the revitalizing pastures of light within or to remain stuck in the pain and struggle of situations that are merely lessons waiting to be learned. There is the “I” who knows and the “I” who refuses to see. The latter causes us to cling to destructive behaviors, habits, emotions, memories, longings, and fantasies. And what really is this repudiation but a lack of acceptance caused by fear of change?            

These dark contents, buried in the deep recesses of our unconscious, point toward Jung’s shadow self, or as poet Robert Bly describes it, “a long bag we drag behind us . . . We spend our life until we’re twenty deciding what parts of ourselves to put in the bag, and we spend the rest of our lives trying to get them out again.” Unless, of course, you make no effort to liberate those qualities because you are paralyzed by trepidation at an exceedingly low level of vibration. Like a malfunctioning pendulum, heavy with anxiety, hate, depression, or rage, you will be unable to move toward the center.           

This extreme form of self-sabotage is really the root cause of conflict in the world. Therefore, it is imperative that we possess steadfastness so we may become light workers. Let us learn to use one of many special tools carried in our personal blue-violet velvet bag of healing. Courage is always the first implement to be unpacked. Without it, we won’t develop the self-discipline to counterbalance the aspects of personality that keep us from attaining our goal. Here is a simple exercise, which, if done regularly, will provide much insight into how to proceed.           

After quieting your mind with deep breathing, plan to spend some time with a sheet of paper. Draw a line directly down the middle. Make two lists. On the left side of the line, place the title “Qualities I dislike in others” and on the right side, use the heading “Qualities I admire in others.” Don’t rush; allow yourself to choose only those character traits that resonate from deep within. Now peruse your list of dislikes and put a check next to the ones that, with fearless eyes, you can admit you also possess. Then scan the list of positive traits and place a star next to those you wish to own. Ponder both lists. Pick one dislike that needs to change. Try to match it with the positive behavior that most closely reflects its opposite.           

When you are done, consider this: opposites are merely two poles of the identical concept, with numerous fluctuating degrees between them. An important aspect of any voltage value is its polarity. Voltage is an energy level difference between two points, and the polarity of the voltage simply indicates which point has the higher energy level. Think of the thermostat controlling the temperature of your home. Is there any way to discern where heat stops and cold begins? Heat and cold simply signify varying degrees of the identical phenomenon: temperature. Similarly, the speedometer in your car at zero goes from no speed to 120 mph. Even so, zero speed and 120 mph are still degrees of the same thing: velocity.           

These two sayings are believed to have been inscribed n Apollo’s temple at Delphi: “Know thyself,” and “Nothing in excess.” The exercise you just completed can be employed for both purposes. “Know thyself” speaks to your new insights into the character traits you possess and often project on others—until you own them as yours. It shines light on who you’ve been and the problems that hold you back.           

Conversely, recognition of qualities you delineated as productive helps us reconcile what can be seen as opposites but are really only different degrees of the same thing: personality attributes. So, for example, jealousy (at a low rate of vibration) is nothing but the opposite pole of admiration (a high rate of vibration). The ability to transmute a mental state by neutralizing your polarity, consciously guiding it degree by degree toward the higher energy level you wish to maintain, changes your disposition. This catapults you into your own “equinox moment” and can raise the spirits of anyone near you as well.           

Keep at each pairing until you feel satisfied with your results. When you can set aside some more quality time, go back to your list of dislikes and pick the next item you wish to transform by matching it with its opposite until the list is finished. Whenever necessary, start a new list and continue working through it in a similar manner.           

After all this musing, do a few simple stretches and prepare to unwind. Sit or choose a prone position for the following “Drawing down the Light” relaxation. Begin with a period of deep breathing, which you will maintain throughout. Now imagine a ball of dazzling luminosity above your head. On the next inbreath, draw that radiance down into the top of your head, and let it relax all the muscles in your scalp. Continue at your own pace, moving this healing glow into your forehead, eyes, cheekbones, jaw, and lips while allowing your muscles to relax in each location. Then resume this process, moving down the body into your neck, shoulders, arms, chest, back, and so on until you have reached the soles of your feet.           

Become aware of the peaceful state of your body and mind. Enjoy the feeling for a few moments without permitting yourself to drift off. When you are ready, take a very full breath and pull that orb of illumination down through the top of your head directly into your heart. Feel its glow expand out from this sacred center of your body to fully engage with the brilliance bathing you from above. You have just merged with the Limitless Light, the One Mind, in which we all live and which also resides eternally in every heart. This is the Light that is Love which, as Rumi understood, will lead us home.

It is night
yet still light enough to discern
tendrils of new growth emerging from
naked arms of the ancient oak: undulating
fingers of phytoplankton, discerningly
searching an unfathomable sea of sky.
Everything upside down now, all
tossed and tussled; picture an abstract painting.
Is it hope, horror, or honorable
intentions, portrayed for the purpose
of this planet’s suffering/salvation
as the earth bears our scars,
becoming sacred again, boundlessly
across space
and time?

Arlene Gay Levine is the author of 39 Ways to Open Your Heart: An Illuminated Meditation (Conari Press) and Movie Life (Finishing Line Press). Her prose and poetry have found a home in The New York Times, numerous anthologies, including most recently The Power of the Pause (Wising Up Press), and a new collection from Highland Park Poetry. Poems appear online at A Year of Being Here, Your Daily Poem, Verse-Virtual, and Storyteller Poetry Review. She is the creator of Logos Therapy™, a transformational writing process from which the exercise in this article originated.