Days of War, Nights of Love
When all the knots that fetter the heart are cut asunder, even while here on earth, then a mortal becomes immortal. — Katha Upanishad II.iii.15
Why do we create new inner knots or pull old ones tighter? Within us are two natures, a higher and a lower. The higher leads to inner strength, vision, peace, and love, the lower to weakness, narrow-mindedness, instability, and egoism. We create knots in our heart by shutting out our higher nature and following the desires of the lower one.
The ancients spoke about the perfection of man and symbolized the complexity of our nature in many ways. The Greeks compared man to Apollo playing his seven-stringed lyre, Apollo himself symbolizing the highest principle. The Hindus compared man to a charioteer, the horses symbolizing his lower desires, the mind the reins, the driver the higher self, and the chariot the body. In folklore the higher self is often represented by a princess who must be rescued from selfish powers by a prince, the spiritual warrior in us. In Chinese traditions the two inner forces are symbolized by two dragons reaching for a ball of fire centered above them. We are this ball of fire! We can choose between focusing our attention on one dragon or the other.
To live for humanity accords with the pure light of the highest self which is the source of every being: As from a fire fully ablaze, sparks that are akin to the fire fly off in their thousands, even so . . . many kinds of beings issue forth from the Immutable and return to It again. — Mundaka Upanishad II.i.1
We are each a spark from this blazing fire, and it is our sacred duty to kindle this divine spark within. It will enable us to give more light and warmth to others, who in their turn will burn brighter. We can start by giving of ourselves in a humble and simple way. Each time we choose to offer others a little encouragement, without thinking of our own interests, we take a step in this direction.
Ancient legends of the "golden age" report that once upon a time people lived more harmoniously with each other. The future holds the promise of another golden age — not the same as in the past but on a higher level, since evolution follows a spiral course. According to Hindu teachings on cycles, this age will not flower for another 427,000 years. Satya yuga, as they call this "age of truth," may appear far away, but such time spans mean little to the ever-evolving self within us. We can start now to herald its dawn.
Our present age — kali yuga, the most material of the four Brahmanical ages — provides great opportunities for growth and finally will bring forth a satya yuga. No one can say that he or she does not have the strength, wisdom, or goodness to help because these qualities are present in every human heart. All of us can do our share to help realize universal brotherhood — which is already an inner fact as well as the basis of outer nature — by loosening the knots of our hearts and by so much shedding light and peace over the globe. And why stop there? These sparks of light will illumine the very depths of a universe filled with beings, all evolving into something greater.
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Ideals are like stars; you will not succeed in touching them with your hands. But like the seafaring man on the desert waters, you choose them as your guides, and following them you will reach your destiny. — Carl Schurz
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