There is a light within every soul; it only needs the clouds that overshadow it to be broken for it to beam forth.
Hazrat Pir-o-Murshid Inayat Khan
Related Material by Pir-o-Murshid Inayat Khan
Compiled by Wahiduddin Richard Shelquist – wahiduddin.net
All beings have an individual ego produced from our own illusion. This limits our view which is led in the direction of our own interest, and we judge of good and bad, high or low, right or wrong in relation to ourselves and others, through our limited view, which is generally partial and imaginary rather than true. This darkness is caused by the overshadowing of the soul by the external self. Thus we become blind to our own infirmities as well as to the merits of another, and the right action of another becomes wrong in our eyes and the fault of the self seems right. This is the case with humankind in general, until the veil of darkness is lifted from our eyes.
It is the bodily desires, passion, anger, appetite, all the different desires and needs, that make the mind helpless and make us hold on to them. All the worries, anxieties, depressions, and despairs arise from them. There is not a single moment in which the mind is able to stand aloof so as to reflect the light within, the light of the soul, so limited has it been made by the limited existence on earth. In reality this is the whole tragedy of human life.
The one and only thing that hinders us from advancing spiritually, or at least from advancing towards the goal, for which we are destined, and which we are longing to attain, is this: that the mind is so absorbed by the demands and wants of the physical body that it has hardly a moment to give itself entirely to the reflection of the light of the soul.
( from the Sufi Message Series, Volume VII – In an Eastern Rose Garden: Chapter 22 – The Master Mind )
The difference between scientists and mystics is that the former analyze the things they are interested in, studying them by different methods in order to ascertain as much information about them as they can, the ways in which they can be of any benefit, their uses, and their nature; whereas mystics, though in a way doing the same, first aim at lighting that light within themselves by which they can see in this world of darkness and illusion, instead of using some technical instrument or special scientific process. As it is said, ‘Seek ye first the realm of heaven’, so the mystics’ first task is to light the candle within.
There is a light within every soul. It only needs the clouds, which hide it, to dissolve for it to beam forth. This is the light of revelation. It is like a lantern to us, it lights up every dark corner we wish to examine, and gives an answer to every question we would ask. … There is a beautiful Indian tale that illustrates the meaning of this light. It is said that there is a certain kind of cobra, which has a diamond in its head. When it goes into the jungle, it takes out the diamond and places it on a tree. By means of its light, it searches all it wants, and when it is finished, it puts the diamond back in its head. The cobra represents the soul, and the diamond the light of inspiration guiding it. The same truth is portrayed in the story of Aladdin and his lamp. The lady he loved represented the ideal of his soul. The lamp he had to find was the light of inner guidance, which when found, would lead him to the attainment of his ideal.
Commentary by Murshid S.A.M. (Sufi Ahmed Murad)
Samuel L. Lewis
Clouds are caused by mind, by thought of self and by nothing else. Not those whom we meet, not those who cause us pain, not those who seem to stand in our way, cause this light to be hidden. The light is hidden within the heart of each one and nowhere else. It is awakened by pain, and therefore many of our enemies, many of the obstacles in life, instead of hindering the higher self-expression, do more to enable us to bring it forth than anything else in life. It is only when we escape the bonds of self — either voluntarily and gladly or through pain and tribulation — that this light comes to the surface.