The knowledge as the inner light is latent in all of us. But it is lost in the chaos of our worldly life. We can try to understand inner light with an analogy of laser light, which is effectively no different from ordinary light except with the special property of being extremely focused, technically termed as coherent. Likewise, the mind that perceives everything has to be freed from all worldly distractions that is being fed to it by the sense organs. In another scientific illustration, tuning into this subtle world requires a ‘spiritual antenna’, that is, our sixth sense needs to be awakened. In radio physics the device used to capture invisible radio signals propagating in space is termed as an antenna. Meditation is the way to develop a spiritual antenna, though in the early stages, meditation is a struggle due to distracting thoughts.
Yet another way of understanding this is as in the process of crystallisation: when the relevant solution is supersaturated with the constituent material, a tiny seed crystal acts as the outside instigator to facilitate the growth of a full crystal. Swami Vivekananda said about knowledge: ‘All knowledge that the world has ever received comes from the mind; the infinite library of the universe is in your own mind. The external world is simply the suggestion, the occasion, which sets you to study your own mind, but the object of your study is always your own mind.’
The journey back to this inner world involves reversal of the current of psychical energy flowing out through the extroverted mind and senses. This requires self-control and withdrawal of the mind from sense objects by discerning the eternal from the ephemeral. It is therefore a combination of the powers of dispassion, concentration, and discrimination through meditation.