Walking in the Light this New Year

Today we celebrate the dawn of a new year. As the light of morning shines upon the Nation it is important to take stock of the past year and look forward with hope towards the new one. Light and darkness are ancient themes used by the sages through the centuries to describe the good and the bad of life.


On a date as significant as the first day of the year it is imperative to shine a light on our lives and the events that are happening around us. If we cast our minds back to a time 50 years hence, we see a Nation and a people who knew how to identify good things and persons as light and bad things and evil persons as bad. A phase often used by people of that time was to ‘call a spade a spade’ or in today’s language deal directly with the truth.

Today we see great subterfuge being practiced by all and sundry, from the highest echelons to the lowest beggar on the street. People stirred, tormented and demented by greed, lust and the desire for riches and honour going to any lengths and falling to any level to achieve their aims.

The real danger of this situation is that this demented pursuit and greed is cleverly hidden in hyperbole as an angel of light! Many who practice these dark arts of lying, cheating, stealing , bribery and corruption also speak loudly of religion, values, right living, human rights and loving your neighbour.

We are sending a terrible message to our younger generation. We are telling them that living an immoral and sinful life is all right, as long as you can cover it up with a lot of balderdash spoken and shown to the rest of the world! Light has been overcome by darkness and darkness now masquerades as light!

What is the cost of continuing in this unbridled way? Not only will the next generation accept it as the normal way of life, it will have far greater consequences deep within the psyche of the people. When we break the natural principles of Right Living enshrined in every major religion, it brings disastrous consequences with it. As a person once said "we don't break the commandments but rather we break ourselves against them." Breakdown of Law and Order is the obvious consequence. But unseen within the hearts of people lurk discontentment, loss of self respect and absence of peace.

What is the answer? Let us begin the new year by heeding the call to return to the core values of the major religions of our nation such as the 'Panchasila' and the 'Ten Commandments' that helped to form civilization as we know it.

These proven and unchanging principles will not only restore society but also give us the authentic happiness and fulfillment deep within, which our hearts thirst for. When we truly experience that doing the right thing and doing it the right way and looking out for the welfare of others is a better way to happiness, peace and contentment, it will become a way of life and the model for our next generation. Let us make a new year resolution today to see light as light and darkness as darkness and to walk in the light of right living.