From Darkness to Light
The whole of spiritual life is one prayer: lead me from the unreal to the real, from darkness to light.
असतो मा सद्गमय। तमसो मा ज्योतिर्गमय। मृत्योर्मा अमृतं गमय॥
Asato mā sad gamaya, tamaso mā jyotir gamaya, mṛtyor māmṛtaṃ gamaya
Lead me from the unreal to the real, from darkness to light, from death to immortality.
तेषामेवानुकम्पार्थमहमज्ञानजं तमः। नाशयाम्यात्मभावस्थो ज्ञानदीपेन भास्वता।।10.11।।
teṣhām evānukampārtham aham ajñāna-jaṁ tamaḥ nāśhayāmyātma-bhāva-stho jñāna-dīpena bhāsvatā
Out of mere compassion for them, I, dwelling within their selves, destroy the darkness born of ignorance with the luminous lamp of knowledge.
ਸਭ ਏਕਾ ਜੋਤਿ; ਜਾਣੈ ਜੇ ਕੋਈ ॥
sabh ekaa jot; jaanai je koee |
Punjabi
ਸਾਰਿਆਂ ਅੰਦਰ ਇੱਕ ਸੁਆਮੀ ਦਾ ਪਰਕਾਸ਼ ਹੈ, ਜੇਕਰ ਕੋਈ ਪ੍ਰਾਣੀ ਇਸ ਨੂੰ ਅਨੁਭਵ ਕਰੇ।
English
The One Light is all-pervading; only a few know this.
Common thread
Light is never made, only uncovered — lift the veil and it was always shining.
Echo
The Upanishad's “tamaso mā jyotir gamaya” and the Gita's lamp of knowledge that destroys the darkness of ignorance meet the Guru's one Light that pervades all and is known by a few.
📖 A story to understand
One morning Nanak entered the river Bein and slipped beneath its waters. For three days all believed him drowned. He rose again radiant, and his first words were, “There is no Hindu, no Muslim” — meaning all are children of one God. The darkness within him had turned wholly to light.
Traditional sakhi / story (simplified retelling)