Question: Quite often you speak of "light". What is it exactly?

Sri Chinmoy: In a very broad sense you can call light a divine gift. Everything good, in fact, is a divine gift. From the spiritual point of view, everything that a seeker has and is, is a divine gift — an unconditional gift from the transcendental Supreme.

When I say light, I am speaking about illumination. This illumination will first take place in the realm of the God-manifesting soul. Next it will take place in the aspiring heart, then in the searching mind, then in the dynamic vital and, finally, in the wakeful body. When you can open your third eye — the eye of inner vision — at your sweet will, you can not only see light but also grow into light and spread it around the globe.

Although light is the most needed spiritual quality of all, unfortunately it is the least wanted. Very often seekers invoke joy, peace or power, but very rarely do they aspire for light. Instead of feeling that the divine light will illumine them, they mistakenly identify with their own limitations and imperfections, and feel that they are going to be exposed. But the divine light is not going to expose them. On the contrary, light embraces humanity with all its imperfections and tries to illumine human ignorance so the human life can be elevated into the divine life.