How do we utilize the light of consciousness, the knowing faculty of the soul? We can describe the ways that the light of pure consciousness manifests and grows in “terms of enlightenment.”
First of all, the soul, as God in man, is Pure Consciousness, Suddha Chaitannya. Our soul is from the Light which illumines the whole universe. In its power of self-awareness the soul is pure light. When we speak of consciousness, we usually refer to the buddhi, the knowing faculty of the soul, and the various ways in which the spirit manifests and grows in light.
Intelligence is that light of consciousness which is engaged in the world of name and form. It is the power of knowing which “forms” the infant from his birth, showing as his curiosity, his recognition and his assimilation of what he knows throughout life.
With the light of intelligence one builds his character: Some people’s character lacks lustre—because the quality of materiality of what their intelligences builds makes the mind itself dull (“tamasic”). With others, the light of their intelligence is more active, generating continuous movement of mental power with a sense of continual change, but with no peace or depth. (Their mind is “rajasic.”) In some, the light of their intelligence seems to gather and build a character that is harmonious and luminous, and their minds attain a clear, peaceful (“sattvic”) state.
Ignorance, spiritually speaking, is the mind in darkness. Buddha called ignorance sin, because in ignorance man behaves oblivious to the sacred life of the soul. Christ called the unawakened or ignorant “the dead,” because, unaware of the life of the soul they suffer death. Fearing mortality, the ignorant choose the vain over the real.
Wisdom: Contrary to knowledge, it is the opening of the inner eye to the light of the soul. Intelligence projects the light of the soul into the external world, seeing diversity, name and form. The light of wisdom, however sees unity. Wisdom is illumination by the light within. It permeates the spirit of things, finding the essence of harmony. It ascends to the Truth and the Beauty of God.
There are other terms that belong to the light of wisdom, such as inspiration, intuition, vision and revelation.
Inspiration is the light which arises in purity and joy from the depth of the heart. That light manifests as creations of harmony and beauty in the works of art, literature, music and science—in any work in which one concentrates with great love.
Intuition is the direct light of truth perceived by the mind independent of the processes of logic or reason. Sometimes an object or condition from the external world will trigger the flash of intuition that the mind receives as the direct guidance. All souls are potentially intuitive, but in many the faculty is dormant and undeveloped. Without confidence in the exercise of intuition, many people go against this capacity of wisdom and become closed to its wonderful light. There is a fineness and spiritual responsiveness in those souls who have developed their power of intuition.
Vision is the light-beam of wisdom which peers into the unfolding cosmic plan. Its focus is directed by the ideal of Perfection which sees limited conditions as they exist in Truth. Vision has a purely beneficent power to influence the course of unfolding life.
Revelation is the illumination of soul entirely from within. It is a light entirely unknown, lost, to the external world. For this light alone, the soul has come. To lift the veil of creation and to disclose pure light our soul has come.
From The Mystic Cross
By Swami Kamalananda