तमसो मा ज्योतिर्गमय
09 Jul 2017From Darkness to Light
असतो मा साद गमय, तमसो मा ज्योतिर् गमय, मृत्योर मा अमृतम् गमय
A while back, I used to wake up to this chant : तमसो मा ज्योतिर् गमय , courstesy of a KV school near my house. I later heard that it was my Institute’s motto and when I did realize, I sought to find it’s meaning. Due to some recent events, it’s meaning and significance both have become remarkably clear to me. This is just my attempt to understand the phrase. (Disclaimer: I do not claim to know about religion or anything. Again, just a novice’s speculations. Please treat it as such.)
The entire quote (at the top of this page) is in Sanskrit, also known as the language of the Gods and the mother of all languages. A simple wikipedia search translates it for me:
Here’s my understanding of the first two parts.
Lead us from ignorance to truth. The first thing that comes to mind is a theory that I heard at a Vivekananda Samiti lecture. The theory talked about,among other things, the existence of Brahman, the ultimate reality, and also Maya, the illusion. I’ll be thinking in those terms here. The prayer seems to indicate the desire to escape the clutches of Maya and unite with Brahman. However, not all illusions are unpleasant and in many cases, we stick to illusions if they have the power to comfort and shield us from (seemingly harsh) reality. Going out of that comfort zone takes strength. So it seems to me that the prayer here asks for the strength to accept Brahman(i.e., truth) and deny Maya (i.e., ignorance).
Lead us from darkness to light. My favourite part: the prayer that asks for knowledge. In context, there seems to be a comparison between Maya and Darkness and also between Brahman and Light. To defeat the darkness, you need not only a light source but also the ability to see. And it is this sight that, in my opinion, is representative of knowledge. You can have strength to run from place to place for long, but without sight(knowledge), you might never reach the light. The prayer seems to be a call to see the truth. After all (according to their philosophy), Brahman, the ultimate reality, has always existed. The argument seems that knowledge is a tool that allows you to see Maya and Brahman clearly and different from each other.
What do you think? Honestly, I did not look up the meaning since it’s more fun to speculate anyway. What are your thoughts about the meaning of the phrase? Do let me know.