When the Light Comes

Topic: Truth, Law, & Principle

I am blind and do not see the things of this world; but when the light comes from above, it enlightens my heart and I can see, for the Eye of my heart sees everything; and through this vision I can help my people. The heart is a sanctuary at the center of which there is a little space, wherein the Great Spirit dwells, and this is the Eye. This is the Eye of the Great Spirit by which He sees all things, and through which we see Him. If the heart is not pure, the Great Spirit cannot be seen…

Black Elk [Heȟáka Sápa]

Heȟáka Sápa, commonly known as Black Elk, was born in December 1863 along the Little Powder River in what is now Wyoming. He was a member of the Oglala Lakota (Sioux) and a second cousin to the renowned war leader Crazy Horse. From a young age, Black Elk experienced profound spiritual visions that would shape his life and destiny. At the age of nine, during a severe illness, he had a vision in which he encountered the Six Grandfathers, spiritual beings who bestowed upon him gifts and powers, including the ability to heal. This vision set him on the path to becoming a wičháša wakȟáŋ, or holy man, a role he embraced throughout his life.

Black Elk's life was marked by significant historical events and personal transformations. He participated in the Battle of the Little Bighorn in 1876 and witnessed the tragic Wounded Knee Massacre in 1890. In the late 1880s, he traveled to Europe with Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show, where he sought to understand the ways of the white people. Upon returning to the United States, he became involved in the Ghost Dance movement, which aimed to restore the Native American way of life. Despite the suppression of this movement, Black Elk continued to serve his people as a healer and spiritual leader, blending traditional Lakota practices with his later conversion to Catholicism in 1904. He became a catechist, teaching Christianity while maintaining his Lakota spiritual beliefs.

Black Elk's legacy extends beyond his lifetime through his contributions to literature and spiritual teachings. His autobiographical accounts, shared with poet John G. Neihardt and anthropologist Joseph Epes Brown, were published in the influential works "Black Elk Speaks" and "The Sacred Pipe." These books have inspired generations and contributed to the revival of Native American culture and spirituality. Black Elk's ability to integrate his Lakota heritage with his Christian faith exemplifies his resilience and adaptability. His life and teachings continue to resonate, symbolizing a bridge between cultures and a testament to the enduring spirit of the Lakota people.

(1863-1950) Native American Religions

Wilson, Andrew, editor. World Scripture II. Universal Peace Federation, 2011, p. 329 [Black Elk (Heȟáka Sápa)].

Black Elk [Heȟáka Sápa]

Theme: The Light of Truth

About This Black Elk Quotation [Commentary]

Black Elk (Heȟáka Sápa) begins with a reversal: “I am blind and do not see the things of this world; but when the light comes from above, it enlightens my heart and I can see.” The movement is clear. Sight does not begin with “the things of this world,” but with “the light” that “enlightens my heart.” Then “the Eye of my heart sees everything.” In this way, The Light of Truth is not outer sight alone. It is an inward light that makes seeing possible.

Black Elk then says, “The heart is a sanctuary,” and at its center is “a little space, wherein the Great Spirit dwells, and this is the Eye.” The order matters: the light comes from above, the heart is enlightened, and through that inner Eye one can see. “This is the Eye of the Great Spirit by which He sees all things, and through which we see Him.” The heart, then, is not only the place of feeling, but the sacred center where the Great Spirit dwells and where human beings are given to see.

The passage also makes clear that this vision depends on purity: “If the heart is not pure, the Great Spirit cannot be seen.” Black Elk continues, “you must be pure and good, and live in the manner that Wakan-Tanka has taught us.” So this seeing is not separate from the way one lives. The heart must be made ready for the light it receives. That is why Black Elk can say, “through this vision I can help my people.” In the light of The Light of Truth, true vision is both inward and shared: it sees through the heart, sees the Great Spirit, and serves others from that holy center.

Joseph Epes Brown: Black Elk [An augmented version of the above-quoted passage]

“I am blind and do not see the things of this world; but when the Light comes from Above, it enlightens my heart and I can see, for the Eye of my heart (Chante Ista) sees everything; and through this vision I can help my people. The heart is a sanctuary at the center of which there is a little space, wherein the Great Spirit (Wakan-Tanka) dwells, and this is the Eye (Ista). This is the Eye of the Great Spirit by which He sees all things, and through which we see Him. If the heart is not pure, the Great Spirit cannot be seen, and if you should die in this ignorance, your soul shall not return immediately to Wakan-Tanka, but it must be purified by wandering about in the world. In order to know the center of the heart in which is the Mind of Wakan-Tanka, you must be pure and good, and live in the manner that Wakan-Tanka has taught us. The man who is thus pure contains the Universe within the Pocket of his heart (Chante Ognaka).”

—Black Elk [Schuon, Frithjof. “The Sacred Pipe,” in The Feathered Sun: Plains Indians in Art and Philosophy (Bloomington, IN: World Wisdom Books, 1990)] p.51, and [The Spiritual Legacy of the American Indian: Unpublished Letters of Joseph Epes Brown] p.106.

Additional Black Elk Quotes

“The first peace, which is the most important, is that which comes within the souls of people when they realize their relationship, their oneness, with the universe and all its powers, and when they realize that at the center of the universe dwells Wakan-Tanka (the Great Spirit) and that this center is really everywhere, it is within each of us.
This is the real peace, and the others are but reflections of this. The second peace is that which is made between two individuals, and the third is that which is made between two nations. But above all you should understand that there can never be peace between nations until there is known that true peace, which, as I have often said, is within the souls of men.”

—Black Elk [The Sacred Pipe: Black Elk’s Account of the Seven Rites of the Oglala Sioux (1953), as told to Joseph Epes Brown].

“I cured with the power that came through me. Of course, it was not I who cured, it was the power from the Outer World, the visions and the ceremonies had only made me like a hole through which the power could come to the two-leggeds. If I thought that I was doing it myself, the hole would close up and no power could come through. Then everything I could do would be foolish.”

—Black Elk [The Sacred Pipe: Black Elk’s Account of the Seven Rites of the Oglala Sioux (1953), as told to Joseph Epes Brown].

When the Light Comes

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