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 Years ago,
I lit a lamp to conquer
the darkness within.
I believed anger, greed,
attachment and hatred
were enemies to be defeated.
But time and understanding
have taught me—
Darkness has no existence of its own.
It is simply the absence of light.
Temptation awakens desire—
which, left misunderstood, allows
fear to take root,
greed to flourish, and
hatred to disturb the balance.
Yet desire is not the enemy.
It asks to be understood,
not conquered.
Awareness does not wage war.
It simply reveals:
To be conscious is to be in equilibrium—
attentive in thought,
graceful in action,
generous in sharing.
And so, this Diwali, I shall light a lamp—
not to defeat the darkness,
but to celebrate the light
that always was.
A continuation of the contemplation
expressed in Illumination (2001), revisited twenty-five years later.
Illustration courtesy: rajGuru Notes
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