Only light can illuminate others || Acharya Prashant, on Lao Tzu (2015)
The flame that burns twice as bright burns half as long.
– Lao Tzu
Speaker: Nothing can be looked at in isolation. (Pointing at the photo of a candle) You have a flame on the cover page of that calendar there.There is that flame. What else do you see there? There is a book, there is light falling on the book, and there is space around the flame. Right? And there must be other candles as well. Right?
It is only because of the misplaced personal kind of individuality, that we pay too much attention to the personal flame. We are concentrating on the personal flame and disregarding what is happening in total. Yes, the flame is burning twice as bright, so its own personal life-span might get reduced. But what is this flame doing to its environment? What is it doing to rest of the candles? Even after its own personal self is gone, would it still not be present?
Yes, a Buddha burning brightly may take a load upon his personal health. But how does it matter? If his personal self still matters, then is he a Buddha? Then what is the meaning of ‘*anatta‘? The very meaning of ‘being a flame’ means- I am light; total, undivided. And it doesn’t matter that this single, particular flame will be gone. Flames don’t matter, ‘light’ does*. Even if this flame is gone, it would have brought to life a thousand other flames. ‘Light’ will be alive, the flame might be gone.
