Light, even in its metaphorical sense doesn’t always have to be a burst of supernatural, cosmic energy. I believe I’m following the light when I look after my health, when I’m watchful of my actions and when I carry out acts of charity. I’m following the light when I appreciate silence with a cup of tea, when I quell irrational thoughts and when I read books that educate me. I can’t find the correct definition of divine light because there are too many theories and too many ways to move towards it. Yet, I do know how it feels when it’s growing dim and when I seem to be entering a tunnel that darkness brings.

Some or other major hurdle unsettles the best of us. We give up on the light and permit darkness to take over. The desire to be in the light has brought us to despair so we find ourselves embracing darkness instead. Darkness, dreadful though it may be, begins to soothe us. It sucks us deeper and deeper into it until we grow familiar, even attached to it. Just as the light kept filtering in when we were hopeful and happy, the same way darkness keeps closing in when we are anxious and shaken. There are few among us who have not been down these spirals.

I have realized that the way to prevent darkness from enveloping us is to stop seeking it out. Yes, the light falters every now and then but moving towards it is our task. We are actively looking for darkness when we say “Things are not going to get better,” and “It’s a hopeless situation.” If we stop all attempts to seek the light, we are more likely to stall in the dark. It’s when we say ‘People are rotten,” and “The world is a messed-up place,” that we go further away from the light. Because as we all know, yes, the world can be wretched but it can also be a wonderful place and sometimes we need to keep sight of that. It’s when we soldier on with a few beliefs instead of losing them in the dark that we find our way out.

The advent of the postmodern world filtered out many religious and social practices that were harmful to society but on the other hand the performance of customs became perfunctory and stopped bringing emotional relief. Most people began to veer between belief and logic without recognizing that rituals are only symbolic of one’s connection to the eternal elements in nature. The debate between blind faith versus contemporary ideas grew and gave birth to restlessness. Inevitably, everyone needs a way to escape their negative thoughts, and it is not for everyone to focus on an intellectual activity. Some people need idols, chants and congregations to channelize their energies. A ritual is nothing more than a physical action to find inner peace.

The carrying out of customs used to be the most accepted way of following the light. They were passed down to keep the family rooted to a purpose. The attention to detail that a ritual required occupied the mind and kept a vacuum from forming. It ensured that (in happy times or sad times) family members remained part of a system with a role to play. Be it prayer or ritual, people emulated former generations without expecting their faith to bring miraculous results. It ensured self-discipline and consistency in character through life’s tragedies and triumphs.

Today, we live in a time where it is perfectly acceptable to find one’s own way towards the light. It could be a plant we water every day. A pet we are responsible for. A family who depends on us. A commitment we have made to a cause. It could be the chanting of hymns or the practice of self-care. We can pursue the light through knowledge or seek strength from the voices of our loved ones. The main objective is to believe in it the most when it is at its faintest. All that matters really is that we acknowledge the presence of a force greater than us or else the individualism we so cherish may lead us into the black hole of our own narrow existences. We owe it to ourselves to keep following the light and letting it in.