The last light of the day was leaving the sky, and Ravi stood at the edge of
the field, unsure. He had been sent to the far well, and now the way home ran
through the dark mango grove, where the paths crossed and crossed again and a
boy could easily take the wrong turn.
He ran back to Nani, a little ashamed. "I'm not sure which way to go," he
admitted. "In the daylight I know the path. But in the dark all the turnings
look the same, and I'm afraid I'll choose wrong."
Nani did not laugh at him, and she did not tell him to just guess. She went
inside and came back with a small clay lamp, its flame cupped behind her hand
so the evening breeze would not blow it out.
"Here," she said, placing it gently in his hands. "When the way is clear, you
walk by your own good sense. But when you cannot see — when the turnings all
look the same and your own eyes are not enough — you do not stop, and you do
not guess. You carry a light, and you let the light show you the next step."
Ravi held the little flame. In its glow, the first stretch of path appeared,
plain and certain.
"This," said Nani softly, "is what the old, wise teachings are for. They are
not there to stop you from walking. They are a lamp. When you are not sure
whether a thing is right to do or not — when your own wanting is pulling you
one way and you cannot quite see the path — you do not have to decide alone in
the dark. You hold up the steady light of good teaching, and it shows you the
next right step. And then you walk. You still do the walking, Ravi. The lamp
only shows the way."
Ravi went out into the grove. He did not see the whole path at once — no one
ever does. He saw only as far as the lamp reached. But that was enough. Step
by step, turning by turning, the small flame showed him the way, and he came
home safe, his face bright in the dark.
Krishna ended his teaching to Arjuna in just this way. Let the wise teaching
be your lamp, he said, for deciding what to do and what not to do. Then go —
out into the real world, with all its crossing paths — and do your work well.
You will not always see the whole road. You only need to see the next step.
Carry the light, and walk.
