Light: The Holy Grail
What is true has always been true. We need air to breathe, food to eat, shelter, and the ability to learn. It is the same with religion and spirituality. To grow as a human, there are many teachings—Greek and Roman mythology, Christianity, Buddhism, the Egyptians, and Hinduism—that help us. They have all been taught similar things for millennia. Jesus of Nazareth was not a revolutionary figure. He taught the same values and ideals as all that came before him. Since Jesus, psychologists have joined the fray by examining the human psyche and soul. So, it is wrong to attach yourself completely to one religion and think that it is the only one, the right one because if you do, you don’t understand the true meaning of them. All religions and spiritual teachings are much the same if you look deeply enough. Because what is true has always been true—light is universal consciousness and awareness.
The most common thread between religions is light. Many civilizations worshipped the sun, the source of light. They include the Egyptians, who worshipped the god Ra, who represented life, warmth, and growth. Light is used to symbolize God, faith, and holiness throughout Scripture. Christians are called to not only walk in the light but to be the light for others.
There were, and still are, many sun gods that are loved and worshipped around the world. The Persian (and later Roman) god Mithra was called the Mediator. Mithra was also the god of the sun, of the shining light that beholds everything, and, hence, was invoked in oaths. The Greeks and Romans considered Mithra a sun god. He was probably also the god of kings. Apollo was worshipped by Italians and Greeks. The Incas worshipped Inti, the all-powerful god of their culture, and built temples and monuments to him everywhere. In Hindu traditions, the sun god Surya travels across the sky in a chariot pulled by either seven horses or a single seven-headed horse. The chariot driver is Aruna, the personification of dawn. In Hindu mythology, they fight the demons of darkness.
The direct link between the sun and light is a strong foundation for most religions, including Christianity, which was created by the Roman emperor Constantine, who worshiped Mithra. What I find fascinating is the term “enlightenment,” which embodies many religious and spiritual teachings as the pinnacle of spiritual attainment, and this is why I am writing this book. I have also had direct experience with “enlightenment,” which will be infused with the pages of history—being able to corroborate what others have written. My experience with enlightenment is like a key that unlocks the true meanings of all the references to light in the Bible and other spiritual teachings. A good starting point is the Old Testament, in Genesis. Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters. And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. God saw that the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness. God called the light “day,” and the darkness he called “night.” And there was evening, and there was morning—the first day. And God said, “Let there be lights in the expanse of the sky to separate the day from the night, and let them serve as signs to mark seasons, days, and years, and let them be lights in the expanse of the sky to give light on the earth.” And so it was. God made two great lights—the greater light to govern the day and the lesser light to govern the night. He also made the stars. God set them in the expanse of the sky to give light on the earth, govern the day and the night, and separate light from the darkness. In the beginning, there was the Word. The word was with God, and the word was God. He was with God in the beginning. All things were made by him, and nothing was made without him. In him there was life, and that life was the light of all people. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overpowered it. There was a man named John who was sent by God. He came to tell people the truth about the light so that, through him, all people could hear about it and believe. John was not the light, but he came to tell people the truth about the light. The true light that gives light to all was coming into the world! The Word was in the world, and the world was made by him, but the world did not know him. Light can calm the mind allowing universal consciousness to be present.
