Light in your winter

Most religions have a festival of lights. In Christianity this is Christmas. It started only in 381 when they fixed the birthday of Jesus on 25th of December. The actual celebration was actually a much older feast of non christians. But very clevery they kept the midwintercelebration while converting the "pagans". The Joelcelebration is still celebrated in the Scandinavian countries, but has now a christian meaning.
Anyhow, people want to be enlighten in the darkness. People are everywhere the same. So everybody try to brighten the heart of wintertime.
And isn't our word guru, not of the same origine. Gu is darkness, Ru is light. He/she who guides you from the darkness to the light, is the GURU.
So i hope for everyone:

" May there be light in your winter"

(and i mean divine light and your winter is just a methaphore for any kind of darkness.)

This reminds me of something else i want to share. I am a great artlover. Finding my way through most of the classics, i try to understand modern art. Very often, i think it is not very artistic (in terms of skills), but it definetly makes you think about our reality.

Last summer we had a large exhibition in my hometown, with several new quick rising young artist. They were from different eurpean backgrounds, many of them never heard about sikhism. So i took a few of them to Gurdwara and gave them a brief introduction. One of them, Dirk Braeckman, he is a Belgian very famous photographer, wanted to create "something" with sikhism. I was very afraid of course, knowing how sensitive the sikhcommunity is about their relgion. One way or another i trusted the artist as being respectful. He was especially interested in Operation Blue Star and ask to borrow one of the photographs of a young martyr which was hanging in the gurdwarahall.

The exhibition was on several different locations. Dirk's masterpiece was installed in the intact crypt of the old abbeye, which burnt down in 1975. It was pitchdark in there (aha, finally i come to the reason of this story), one comes from broad daylight into this dark space. Every person immediately stops until his eyes got used to the darkness. This time the artist guided us, because in the back you could see some pale light. Slowly step by step the visitor moved to this light and then he could see the enlarged photograph of the young martyr. Only in black and white, i think ( sorry if i am wrong, but this was my impression) about 2 metres on 4 metres. The photograph was draped on a "table", so it gave the impression of a tomb. Like a last and just tribute for this man who gave his life for his faith. It was very quiet there, it smelled like a grave, but it was not frighting. And suddenly in the face of this young martyr i saw the face of Jesus. I mean the archetype of Jesus, because lately they discovered that Jesus looked completely diffferent from the archetype we believed he looked like. The beard, the long hair, the half smile on his face, the half closed eyes. Suddenly i understood the artist when he said to me that he was fascinated by this young religion in a town with this very old relgion (roman catholic). The face of the young sikhmartyr was a universal image for all the brave in the world who laid their life for their faith. I was very moved, understanding by modern art that all was in everyone and everyone in all.

On one of the earthen walls Dirk Braeckman made a video screen and slowly he went with a camera in full detail over the sikhmartyr's face. One could see lines, but not recognise anything. Like if he wanted to say, look at the details of every human, whether he is sikh or any other religion. Don't stare at the generalisations because this way you do not see these beautiful people.

And isn't he right? Do we really, really see to other people? Do we use the light to notice other people? And do we use the light to see Him in everyone?

I hope we do...

Happy Newyear!!!