Ideology of darkness

It was upon a summer's day when seated in the garden did one of my pupils approach me.

'Master' he enquired, 'of the altar yonder I hear some say it is a power of light and yet some say it is a power of darkness. Can these not both be true?'

It was not without coincidence that I had spent much of the previous day pondering this very same conundrum as the subject had arisen in lectures and so I had expected this question in the forthcoming days. I replied. 'To answer that question, you must first decide what is light and what is darkness.'

'I see master,' said my student. I interrupted quickly as I expected this response. 'Do you really see? With light you can see, but with darkness you cannot see. How can you answer the question when half of it remains hidden?'

My student looked puzzled. 'Master, if half of it remains hidden I must look harder to see if I can see the other half.'

'That is correct, and how will you look for what is hidden?'

'I must search harder for what I seek, Master, and continue until I find it.'

'But,' I replied, 'If the darkness is too great you will be searching as a blind man without a stick, that will ultimately lead you to failure.'

'Then I must find a stick, Master.'

'What would be better than finding a stick?' I prompted.

'To not be blind, master.'

I felt that we were nearing the end of our conversation, stood and walked towards a grove of trees. My student followed.

'And how would you not be blind in the darkness?' I asked.

'I would bring a light, my master.'

'And how would you find a light?'

'Master, I would search for the light and when I found the light I would be able to search for what is hidden in the darkness.'

For many students I have seen, they would have finished at this point, realising the revelation they had reached. However, this student was very thoughtful and his next question continued the conversation.

'But Master, if I have a light and find what is hidden in the darkness it is no longer hidden, or in darkness.'

'That is correct,' I confirmed, 'so how does that relate to your original question of whether altar yonder is of light or darkness?'

'Master, I believe I understand now.'

He left the garden with his lesson learnt and the darkness in his mind now light.