MANILA, Philippines?When the light of Cory Aquino?s life, flickering as it had been, in the final, painful, month of her hospital seclusion, was finally extinguished, the country had been, in a sense, expecting it. Yet the news was still received with shock; and grief has settled over the nation, uniting rich and poor, old and young, partisan and the apathetic, men and women, soldiers and civilians.

Unity is a rare thing in our country; we have it now; and adding to the feelings of grief is the wistful realization that it took the passing of Cory to reunite a divided nation.

With trembling voice, Jawaharlal Nehru in 1948 had informed his people of the passing of Mahatma Gandhi with these immortal words: "The light has gone out of our lives and there is darkness everywhere." There was no single great national figure to inform the country of Cory's passing; instead, a quiet announcement came from her grief-stricken son, and there began the passing on of the news, and the sharing of fond memories.

It is only fitting that the Filipina who tried to institutionalize active non-violence in our bloodstained political culture inspired a similar sense of loss among Filipinos as that expressed by Nehru. Gandhi inspired Cory's husband; and what Ninoy set out to do, she continued after his cruel murder. Non-violence has been, ever since, the dominant means to accomplish change in our country?a revolution in thought, accomplished by prayers, marches, candlelight vigils.

?The light that has illumined this country for these many years will illumine this country for many more years,? Nehru went on to say, ?and a thousand years later, that light will be seen in this country and the world will see it and it will give solace to innumerable hearts.?

What was that light? It was the small but steady flame of personal conviction and conscience that never flickered even when the country and those she considered her nearest and dearest shunned her?ignoring her, even castigating her, because her husband chose to endure imprisonment rather than submit to the dictator.

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