October 22, 2025
yad ādityagataṁ tejo jagad bhāsayate ’khilaṁ
yac candramasi yac cā ’gnau tat tejo viddhi māmakaṁ (XV-12)
XV/12. That light which, residing in the sun, illumines the whole world,
that which is in the moon and in the fire – know that light to be mine.
Swamiji's Commentary
The self-realized yogi is not a nose-gazer nor does he live a life confined to the cave, forest or monastery. God is the indwelling light, but he is also the light in the sun, the moon, the stars and the fire.
This and the following two verses establish an intimate relation between man and God. Man is filled with the light of God; he is surrounded by the light of God. Once the cataract of ignorance is removed, he shall see God everywhere – God and nothing but God.
Even so is it said in the Holy Bible: “And they shall see his face; and his name shall be in their foreheads. And there shall be no night there; and they need no candle, neither light of the sun; for the Lord God giveth them light; and they shall reign for ever and ever”. (Revelations 22:4,5).
When it is said that God gives them light, it does not mean that the scientist’s discoveries are untrue. The scriptural testimony only provides a clue to the ultimate mystery which science has still to approach. Whilst accepting the validity of the scientist’s explanations of the principle of combustion in the sun, its reflection in the moon, and the clash of gasses that keeps the fire burning, the scripture goes one step further, suggesting who ordained the law that all these obey, who limits their powers so that they do not cause a universal holocaust. All wise men admit that there is some law and an intelligent administrator of that law. To that power, that cosmic intelligence, the scriptures give an indicative name – God and its equivalent in other languages.
Read with verse 6, this verse reminds us that in the cosmos, the sun and heavenly bodies; and in the individual, the mind and intellect, are like mirrors reflecting God’s light. God is not the subject projecting an object, nor an object which can be seen by the subject. God is the all. No part of the all can become aware of the totality – only the all can be aware of itself.