Hymn of the Light That Remains

XVI. The Hymn of the Light That Remains The final invocation — Aham Prakāśa and the unresolved wholeness of existence Verse I Before the first and after last, Beyond the future and the past, Beyond the stories I have told, And all the things I sought to hold, There shines a light that asks no name, That neither grows nor seeks acclaim, And through the worlds that rise and fall, Its presence never leaves at all. Verse II I thought that I must overcome, The darkness before I could become A being worthy of the day, Whose every fear had passed away, But now I see that light can shine, Through wounds that never fall in line, And wholeness need not mean release, From every contradiction's grief. Verse III The wound and whole, the dark and bright, The finite day, the endless night, The love that gives, the loss that stays, The countless forms of changing days, Are not a ledger to complete, Nor enemies that must retreat, But life in all its restless art, That finds its way through every heart. Verse IV And if tomorrow breaks apart, The fragile shelter of my heart, I shall not ask the stars to swear, That nothing precious disappears, For what is loved need not remain, To make its passing free from pain, And what has passed need not be lost, To make its living moment count. Verse V Aham Prakāśa, I am Light, Not as a conqueror of night, Nor as a separate, perfect flame, That claims the universe by name, But as the ground in which things rise, The seeing through which worlds arise, The living presence, clear and free, In which the whole appears to be. Verse VI So let me walk the world again, Through changing joy and honest pain, Let me embrace the things that grow, And bless the things that must let go, Let me create without a throne, And love without possessing my own, For I have found no final shore, And yet I need not search for more. Grand Final Refrain Glory to the light that shines, Through every form and changing time, Glory to the life that dares To meet the world without its snares, Glory to the heart that sees, Beyond its fears and guarantees, For in the silence, deep and bright, There is nothing beyond the Light. Aham Prakāśa — I am Light.