--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: There is a light within each person, and…" description: "\"There is a light within each person, and it lights up the whole universe. If it does not shine, there is darkness.\" — Elaine Pagels" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/599/elaine-pagels-8423_darkness_there-is-a-light-within-each-person-and_2790830.jpg" --- # There is a light within each person, and it lights up the… ![“There is a light within each person, and it lights up the whole universe. If it does not shine, there is darkness.” quote by Elaine Pagels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/599/elaine-pagels-8423_darkness_there-is-a-light-within-each-person-and_2790830.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/599/elaine-pagels-8423_darkness_there-is-a-light-within-each-person-and_2790830.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/599/elaine-pagels-8423_darkness_there-is-a-light-within-each-person-and_2790830.jpg) > “There is a light within each person, and it lights up the whole universe. If it does not shine, there is darkness.” [Elaine Pagels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elaine-pagels/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Each person holds an inner light that can illuminate the world; without it, darkness prevails **In simple terms:** Inner light brightens the world Key Takeaway Cultivate your inner light Themes spirituality humanity potential Mood hopeful encouraging Type inspirational reflective When to use this quote - creative work - leadership - community building - personal growth Key Concepts philosophy psychology Questions to Reflect On - What practices nurture your inner light? - How can you share it with others? A Different Perspective Inner light can be suppressed by fear or doubt ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Darkness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/darkness/) [Light](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/light/) [Light within](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/light-within/) [Shining](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shining/) [Universe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/universe/) ## Related quotes > [A bore is a person who lights up the room simply by leaving it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurence-j-peter/a-bore-is-a-person-who-lights-up-the-room-simply-by-leaving-it/) [Laurence J. Peter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurence-j-peter/) > [Looking back, now, I realize that you only ever need one person who lights up that way when you enter a room. One person…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adriana-trigiani/looking-back-now-i-realize-that-you-only-ever-need-one-person-who/) [Adriana Trigiani](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adriana-trigiani/) > [The literary world is made up of little confederacies, each looking upon its own members as the lights of the universe; and considering all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/washington-irving/the-literary-world-is-made-up-of-little-confederacies-each-looking/) [Washington Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/washington-irving/) > [The real tragedy of life is when men are afraid of the light.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/the-real-tragedy-of-life-is-when-men-are-afraid-of-the-light/) [Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) > [That's what I want to do with my life. Be a good person when all the lights are off. When everybody doesn't need to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jabari-parker/that-s-what-i-want-to-do-with-my-life-be-a-good-person-when-all-the/) [Jabari Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jabari-parker/) > [“Whever I came into the room, she'd light up, so happy to see me. No one ever in the course of my entire life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adriana-trigiani/whever-i-came-into-the-room-she-d-light-up-so-happy-to-see-me-no-one/) [Adriana Trigiani](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adriana-trigiani/) > [Look what we are trying. You call it dharma, but it is not. What we are trying is to come together; come together to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harbhajan-singh-yogi/look-what-we-are-trying-you-call-it-dharma-but-it-is-not-what-we-are/) [Harbhajan Singh Yogi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harbhajan-singh-yogi/) > [From within or from behind, a light shines through us upon things, and makes us aware that we are nothing, but the light is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/from-within-or-from-behind-a-light-shines-through-us-upon-things-and/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [Meanwhile someone is shining my head to get it dry to attach my top-hat to my head with toupee tape. I get into microphone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tituss-burgess/meanwhile-someone-is-shining-my-head-to-get-it-dry-to-attach-my-top/) [Tituss Burgess](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tituss-burgess/) > [“When we begin to shine, the darkness of ignorance will disappear from our society.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sunday-adelaja/when-we-begin-to-shine-the-darkness-of-ignorance-will-disappear-from/) [Sunday Adelaja](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sunday-adelaja/) > [Stars can't shine without darkness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/stars-can-t-shine-without-darkness/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [In order for you to shine your have to get through the darkness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mario-tomasello/in-order-for-you-to-shine-your-have-to-get-through-the-darkness/) [Mario Tomasello](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mario-tomasello/) > [Stars can't shine without some darkness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/stars-can-t-shine-without-some-darkness/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Stars will never shine without darkness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-angelo-de-leon/stars-will-never-shine-without-darkness/) [Michael Angelo De Leon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-angelo-de-leon/) > [Stars can't shine with out darkness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/stars-can-t-shine-with-out-darkness/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More by Elaine Pagels > [“Only the Jews, of all the nations under Roman rule, had won the right to separate their political obligations from religious ones, to obey…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elaine-pagels/only-the-jews-of-all-the-nations-under-roman-rule-had-won-the-right/) [Elaine Pagels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elaine-pagels/) > [ “Even Tacitus admitted that “whatever their origin, \[the Jews’\] observances are sanctioned by their antiquity,”64 and the Romans respected tradition. Christians, however, had no… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elaine-pagels/even-tacitus-admitted-that-whatever-their-origin-the-jews-observances/) [Elaine Pagels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elaine-pagels/) > [There's practically no religion that I know of that sees other people in a way that affirms the others' choices. But in our century…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elaine-pagels/there-s-practically-no-religion-that-i-know-of-that-sees-other-people/) [Elaine Pagels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elaine-pagels/) > [He's an intimate betrayer. That's what's so troubling. Judas turned in his own teacher.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elaine-pagels/he-s-an-intimate-betrayer-that-s-what-s-so-troubling-judas-turned-in/) [Elaine Pagels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elaine-pagels/) > [The Antichrist is often identified with the second beast in the Book of Revelation that arises from the land, the beast that tries to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elaine-pagels/the-antichrist-is-often-identified-with-the-second-beast-in-the-book/) [Elaine Pagels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elaine-pagels/) > [“Jesus—for example, his categorical rejection of divorce, or his statement that “if anyone does not hate his own father and mother and wife and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elaine-pagels/jesus-for-example-his-categorical-rejection-of-divorce-or-his/) [Elaine Pagels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elaine-pagels/) > [The Gospel of Thomas claims to be the secret sayings of Jesus. There are 114 of them, so it says many things, but the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elaine-pagels/the-gospel-of-thomas-claims-to-be-the-secret-sayings-of-jesus-there/) [Elaine Pagels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elaine-pagels/) > [I just have a sense that, you know, I'm curious about what is religion about, you know? Why do some of us still engage…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elaine-pagels/i-just-have-a-sense-that-you-know-i-m-curious-about-what-is-religion/) [Elaine Pagels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elaine-pagels/) > [ “Augustine reflects that “what made me a slave to it was the habit \[consuetudo\] of satisfying an insatiable lust.”31” ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elaine-pagels/augustine-reflects-that-what-made-me-a-slave-to-it-was-the-habit/) [Elaine Pagels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elaine-pagels/) > [Contemporary Christianity, diverse and complex as we find it, actually may show more unanimity than the Christian churches of the first and second centuries.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elaine-pagels/contemporary-christianity-diverse-and-complex-as-we-find-it-actually/) [Elaine Pagels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elaine-pagels/) > [“I beseech you, my lord, why have I been endowed with the power of understanding? For I did not want to ask about heavenly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elaine-pagels/i-beseech-you-my-lord-why-have-i-been-endowed-with-the-power-of/) [Elaine Pagels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elaine-pagels/) > [“thus the story of Eden was made to reinforce the patriarchal structure”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elaine-pagels/thus-the-story-of-eden-was-made-to-reinforce-the-patriarchal-structure/) [Elaine Pagels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elaine-pagels/) > [The author of the Gospel of Judas wasn't against martyrdom, and he didn't ever insult the martyrs. He said it's one thing to die…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elaine-pagels/the-author-of-the-gospel-of-judas-wasn-t-against-martyrdom-and-he/) [Elaine Pagels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elaine-pagels/) > [“gnostics celebrated as proof of spiritual maturity, the orthodox denounced as “deviation”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elaine-pagels/gnostics-celebrated-as-proof-of-spiritual-maturity-the-orthodox/) [Elaine Pagels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elaine-pagels/) > [Startling as the Gospel of Judas sounds, it amplifies hints we have long read in the Gospels of Mark and John that Jesus knew…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elaine-pagels/startling-as-the-gospel-of-judas-sounds-it-amplifies-hints-we-have/) [Elaine Pagels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elaine-pagels/) [Explore all 81 Elaine Pagels quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elaine-pagels/) ## More Darkness quotes > [“Narrative cannot sustain formlessness any more than light can sustain darkness - it is the antithesis of formlessness, and so it can never truly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-krauss/narrative-cannot-sustain-formlessness-any-more-than-light-can-sustain/) [Nicole Krauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-krauss/) > [“Wait here, wait here!" he cried and jumped up and began to run for help toward a cluster of lights he saw in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/flannery-o-connor/wait-here-wait-here-he-cried-and-jumped-up-and-began-to-run-for-help/) [Flannery O'Connor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/flannery-o-connor/) > [Strange - is it not? That of the myriads who Before us passed the door of Darkness through, Not one returns to tell us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace/strange-is-it-not-that-of-the-myriads-who-before-us-passed-the-door/) [Horace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace/) > [When you're scared - and I mean really scared, not just hearing a noise in the night, or standing toe to toe with someone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-gordon-smith/when-you-re-scared-and-i-mean-really-scared-not-just-hearing-a-noise/) [Alexander Gordon Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-gordon-smith/) > [Clear moments are so short. There is much more darkness. More ocean than terra firma. More shadow than form.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-zagajewski/clear-moments-are-so-short-there-is-much-more-darkness-more-ocean/) [Adam Zagajewski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-zagajewski/) > [I even see the cinema itself as a woman, with its alternation of light and darkness, of appearing and disappearing images](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/federico-fellini/i-even-see-the-cinema-itself-as-a-woman-with-its-alternation-of-light/) [Federico Fellini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/federico-fellini/) > [I guess he'll have to figure out someday that he is supposed to have this dark side, that it is part of what it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-lamott/i-guess-he-ll-have-to-figure-out-someday-that-he-is-supposed-to-have/) [Anne Lamott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-lamott/) > [“I promise to respect and protect your aloneness, knowing that everything created must have its period of darkness: child and bulb, poem and personality.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-morrow-lindbergh/i-promise-to-respect-and-protect-your-aloneness-knowing-that/) [anne morrow lindbergh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-morrow-lindbergh/) > [The beauty of darkness is how it lets you see.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adrienne-rich/the-beauty-of-darkness-is-how-it-lets-you-see/) [Adrienne Rich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adrienne-rich/) > [“Even in darkness your lips taste of sunshine”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francesca-lia-block/even-in-darkness-your-lips-taste-of-sunshine/) [Francesca Lia Block](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francesca-lia-block/) > [“Defy me not for gleam can only shine in my existence" said Darkness.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/defy-me-not-for-gleam-can-only-shine-in-my-existence-said-darkness/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“What does he look like? The question was soft- tentative. I knew who he meant. I interlaced my fingers through Rhysand's and squeezed tightly.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-j-maas/what-does-he-look-like-the-question-was-soft-tentative-i-knew-who-he/) [Sarah J. Maas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-j-maas/) > [The dream of coming back is becoming a reality. A lot of the uncertainty about the future has been cleared up. A lot of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-tagliabue/the-dream-of-coming-back-is-becoming-a-reality-a-lot-of-the/) [Paul Tagliabue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-tagliabue/) > [“Life is like coffee, the darker it gets, the more it energizes.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ankita-singhal/life-is-like-coffee-the-darker-it-gets-the-more-it-energizes/) [Ankita Singhal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ankita-singhal/) > [Twinking tears in a sea of black. Soft light in a world of darkness. Tiny wishes in a place of dreams. Do you see…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-gentile/twinking-tears-in-a-sea-of-black-soft-light-in-a-world-of-darkness/) Nicole Gentile [Browse all 8,219 Darkness quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/darkness/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "There is a light within each person, and it lights up the whole universe. 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