LIGHT & DARKNESS🔗

Kṛṣṇa says that according to the Vedas, there are two ways to pass from this world: one in light and one in darkness—śukla-kṛṣṇa gatī hy ete jagataḥ śāśvate mate. When one passes in light, he does not return, but when one passes in darkness, he comes back again ekayā yāty anāvṛttim ananyāvartate punaḥ (8.26). What does Kṛṣṇa mean by light and darkness, śukla-kṛṣṇa? They refer to the levels of consciousness one has reached. If a person leaves the body without knowing what drove him all along—his saṁskāras, his desires, fears, guilt, etc., which we call root thought patterns—then this ignorance is what He refers to as darkness.