LIGHTING THE PATH FOR CHILDREN

In the Chandogya Upanishad, a 
story is told about Indra, who is 
seeking to learn about the Atman, 
the Self or eternal nature of each 
one of us. He questions Prajapati, his 
teacher, who uses the metaphor of 
sky and clouds to describe the nature 
of our true Self. 

Our essential nature dwells in 

each of us just like the radiance of 
the sun. It is the light that shines in 
the eternal blue sky of our existence. 
Because all beings come from the 
Source of the light, all contain that 
light within. This light is called Atman, 
the eternal spirit and light within 
each one of us, the Self. 

At times, clouds can obscure our 

light and distract us from knowing 
and experiencing our true radiant 
nature. Our minds become intrigued 
with the clouds, and we become 
involved in stories. These stories can 
sometimes cause us to feel unhappy, 

scared, sad, lonely, or angry. They 
can also cause us to feel happy and 
joyful. However, these feelings are 
not lasting, as clouds move on and 
the story changes. True, lasting joy 
comes from relating with the Atman, 
the light. Our practice is to ignore the 
clouds, and to focus our attention 
on the clear sky and the light of the 
Self. We do this during meditation. 

As we focus, the clouds naturally go 

away on their own. In this way, our 
light is magnified, and we feel the 
peace and joy within. From this place 
of peacefulness, we are free to act in 
accord with our inner wisdom  
in whatever circumstance comes  
our way. 

One way to help children realize 

this teaching is to create artwork 
together that describes the relation-
ship between Atman—the Self—and 
our body-mind experiences in life.

 

28

Enlightenment Journal | Spring 2013

The Light Within

There is a Light that shines beyond all things on earth, beyond us all,

beyond the heavens, beyond the highest, the very highest heavens.  

This is the Light that shines in our heart.

 

— Chandogya Upanishad