message nava rat ri 2015

7/24/2019 Message Nava Rat Ri 2015

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Content © 2015 Swami Vidyadhishananda Giri. All rights reserved.

Self Enquiry Life Fellowship • PO Box 30627, Santa Barbara, CA 93130 • [email protected] of 4

Auspicious nine-night periods

by Swami Vidyadhishananda

Spiritual rejuvenation with Navarātri

Devotees and seekers of truth continually search for higher applicable philosophical

principles in an effort to establish deeper spiritual values which in turn enrich their lives. If

one were to ask spiritually alert seekers what is most precious in their lives, the promptanswer might be ‘time’ itself. Sanskrit spiritual philosophy teaches us to live every moment

fully. For an aspirant, each moment is momentous. In meditation, our sense of time is lost

and there is the mending of the mind. Relief comes in as a flood of peace overcoming the

internal chatter. The awareness regains its unbounded freedom. A natural pure state of

mind is reclaimed and calmness prevails. Therefore, seekers who have had experiences of

tranquility always affirm the preciousness of time in daily life and wish not to fritter away

the power of mindfulness.

Though every moment is momentous for a spiritual seeker, special time periods are

recognized within our daily calendar to be especially conducive to our practices and

participation. We embrace prayerfully special times of the year which are deemed

auspicious. As our biorhythms and diurnal cycles are in synergy with and related to the

Vedic soli-lunar calendar ( jyotisha calculations), so are the relationships manifested

between us and higher worlds during specific time periods. The Sanskrit literature

elucidates on how these relationships are more meaningful at certain specific time periods.

Four nine-night time periods right after four new moons are celebrated in spiritual

traditions by invoking varying degrees of contemplation, introspection, meditation,

austerity and rituals, and also by launching new ventures. The culmination of this nine-

night period ushers in dashami or the tenth day of victory. Victory Day on the tenth day of

the ascending cycle of the Moon bears a great significance for bringing to fruition a special

personal triumph. The navarātri meditation or worship of nine days (and nights) is of

course divided into single days of special prayers and additionally into three three-dayperiods related to the trinity of Shakti (splendorous aspects of the Divine Mother). The

invocation of the three primary Vedic Sanskrit scriptures is related in the following way –

Rigveda with MahāK āli for the first three days, YajurVeda with MahāLaxmi for the middle

three days and SāmaVeda with MahāSaraswati for the last three days, respectively.

Four Navarātri periods in 2015 based on Pacific Time in the USA

19th January New Moon mouni-āmāvasyā

20th – 28th Jan 9 days (or nights) mā gha-gupta-navarātri

29th January 10th day dashami

19th March New Moon chaitra-āmāvasyā

20th – 28th Mar 9 days (or nights) vasanta-navarātri

29th March 10th day dashami

20th March 1st day of the Vedic soli-lunar year

15th July New Moon āshāra-āmāvasyā

16th – 25th July 9 lunar nights over 10 solar days āshāra-gupta-navarātri

26th July 10th lunar day dashami





12th October New Moon āshwin-āmāvasyā

13th – 21st Oct 9 soli-lunar day/night shāradiyā-navarātri

22nd October 10th lunar day vijayā-dashami

Those practising a daily routine of meditative penance, sublime recitations or community

sevā can structure their time equally into ten days of steady participation. One tenth of all

spiritual practices are deemed as a correction! Therefore nine days (or nights) of practices

must be followed by the tenth portion of correction in addition to any corrective measures

taken to avoid distraction from mindfulness during any individual practice session. Whileevening time or even midnight time meditation is acceptable for the nine nights, the tenth

concluding session should ideally be finished before dark on the tenth day (vijayā-dashami).

If you wish to further study the transition of dates for your own area (local latitude and

longitude), feel free to explore these links at your own risk. Even though the original Vedic

or Sanskrit significance might not be available, the calculations are fairly reliable.

http://www.mypanchang.com/

http://www.drikpanchang.com/

A reliable website that is a good resource for relevant dates, such as eclipses in your area, isalso worth studying.

http://www.timeanddate.com/astronomy/

Practical implementation of Navarātri

Vedanta philosophy proclaims that the immortal essence or the consciousness cannot be

mindfully introspected by those who are physically weakened (nāyāmātmā balahinena

labhya). The mindful seeker then considers the gift of a healthy body as a venerable

support for introspection and thereby offers sevā for the healing of the Earth by recognizing

that the body is like wet earth (or soil) in subtle balance with the oxygen and prāna of thehigher quarters above Earth. The breath of life and vibrant nonviolent food is very much

dependent on a clean environment and sustainable living. N avarātri is then an ideal time

to participate in healing our relationship with the Earth through the meditative and

spiritual worship of the divine mother or shakti. Many seekers consider affirmations

related to targeted community service, such as planting trees or working alongside farmers

as meaningful service to honour the greater motherhood.

An ardent seeker is not focused on personal gains from giving charity and spiritual

offerings, but is more inclined to share resources through mindful practices and meditation

that is a compassionate healing to the earth (bhudevi). It is no longer possible to take our

lives on earth for granted. Our environment has become impacted due to careless pollution

and mindless experimentation motivated by power and greed. Seekers feel concern abouttheir own families or are hesitating about starting a family. The thriving prāna of micro-

hydrated water and oxygenated breath is verily rare. Any mindful prayer or meditative

reflection rests upon able-bodied application of intellectual force which in turn is sustained

by clean water and fresh air alongside sustainable natural food. Now the prāna or energy

resources required for prānāyāma breathing techniques themselves need replenishment!

The meditative worship during navarātri often includes venerable nurturing of Mother

Earth, without which our bodies cannot sustain the spiritual practices. Those who sacrifice

for the greater cause have truly understood the core principles and spiritual values that














guide our service or sevā. It is not enough to seek benevolence for oneself by breaking

coconuts and offering valuables to the altars, but better still to undertake genuine spiritual

practices of honouring and serving that elevate our minds and fulfill our hearts without

wanting anything in return. After all, a mother wants hardly anything from the child! A

genuine seeker of truth will contemplate on the greater realms and reach out to the core of

motherhood and Mother Earth, and mindfully recognize the grace of this life and plenitude.

Affirmations based on the prāna calendar

The history of the calendar is long, requiring arduous study of past simplifications and

periodic adaptations. There are many pitfalls, and to that effect, calendar making over a

couple of thousand years ago had been mired with errors and corrections. There is,

however, the ancient system from Vedic antiquity, which invokes the Sanskrit tradition of

soli-lunar calendar calculation to determine the passing of the year and the timing of

auspicious transitions. This calculation yields a dynamic calendar with several checkpoints

for adjustments already built in (through intricacies of the a yanāmsha calculations).

Modern astronomy confirms the validity and accuracy of this dynamic calendar.

Nevertheless, with respect to our modern solar calendar, this soli-lunar dynamic time

frame keeps on shifting. Thus the new year start date varies based on the position of a

particular new moon. For example, one year it may fall in the month of March and anotheryear in the month of April with reference to the solar calendar with which we are familiar.

The Vedic New Year begins with the first soli-lunar day of the ascending cycle of the Moon

immediately after the new moon when the Sun is in Pisces. In 2015 the first day of the

Vedic soli-lunar year is on 20th March. This day is known as the chaitra-shukla- pratipāda

or the first day of the lunar ascending cycle when the Moon is posited in the lunar asterism

(naxatra) of Revati. This significant cosmic transition is captured by the Sanskrit word

yugādi or the start of an era. It represents an opportunity to renew our affirmations for the

coming times. For meditators, this is an ideal transition period to revive their daily

spiritual practices (sādhanā).

This transition is based on the rhythms of nature and cycles of time as they relate to therelative movement of heavenly bodies, including lunar asterisms and the constellations.

The synergy effects make it pertinent that we synchronize our affirmations and routines

based on the cosmic time calendar given to us by the extant Sanskrit literature and its

calculations. The spiritual resolutions and the attendant disciplines can be felt closely

connected with the energy coordinates within our bodies and around us. The soli-lunar

calendar maps the diurnal rhythms with respect to luminaries and planets in deep space

while the movement of these heavenly bodies retains a relationship with our breath. During

one regular breath by a human being, the heavenly bodies move in space by one minute of

arc, obviously related to the rotation of the earth (for a comprehensive study on prānic

lifeforce biorhythms and harmonious lifestyle, please see the Lifeforce + Lifestyle –

Workbook available at publications.hansavedas.org for more details).

In other words, the Vedic soli-lunar prāna (lifeforce energy) calendar is based on a

continuous mapping of the relative positions of heavenly bodies within our solar system and

with reference to the lunar mansions farther out into space from Earth. Here on Earth,

according to the geographic coordinates where we are located, this daily prāna calendar

maps the biorhythms influencing us through the cosmic motion of luminaries and planets.

Equipped with an understanding of these transitions of key space-time coordinates, we can

make affirmations at these auspicious times that become more meaningful.

http://teachings.swamahiman.org/








New moon of silence

On a new moon, the Sun and the Moon are overlapping and aligned with respect to the

Earth, signifying the imbuing of light in the emptiness of the mind so that the

consciousness can be revealed. The meditator is now ready for the conception of the light of

consciousness in the heart having conquered not only the emotional and physical

disturbances but also the remaining subtle desires.

In some traditions the new year starts on a new moon known in the Vedic Sanskrittradition as the mouni-āmāvasyā or the new moon of inner silence. In 2015, this new moon

is on the evening of 19th January in the USA. A deep meditator who becomes completely

absorbed (samādhi) and attains higher realization is known in Sanskrit as muni. This root

word transforms into mouni or the great silence of deep meditation. When appended with

āmāvasyā, denoting the new moon, this word mouni-āmāvasyā implies the silence of the

great void – a silence attained through deep meditation whereby all remaining internal

chatter and imagery are conquered. In other words, the limit of perception is reached after

overcoming all thought waves from subtle impressions in the heart. Herein the metaphor of

darkness is aptly connected with the mystery of the new moon.

A wise saying declares that invoking a God-centred life brings about fulfillment, such is the

experience. Practising daily mindfulness with breath awareness brings about anunderstanding of the entrapments from expanding the experience of the world. Anchoring

oneself in one's own daily meditation practices defined by structured techniques manifests

the highest purification of internal tendencies and latent impressions lodged in the mind-

stuff (chitta-suddhi). Thereafter, a pure-hearted mind beholds the ultimate knowledge or

realization of being that transcends subtle feelings and the thoughtless void. While the

journey is outlined clearly in Sanskrit, it is helpful to know that our affirmations towards

the goal become more meaningful when we synchronize them closely with a certain cosmic

time-space coordinate based on a proven dynamic calendar from our ancient heritage.

The affirmations, spiritual vows and daily meditation based on this greater synchronization

are necessary until living liberation is attained. Those joining the path of inner awakeningor just starting on this journey of mindfulness often wonder how the liberated souls or

enlightened beings can remain silent for so long or do not get bored without doing

something or other. Most who cannot relate to the validity of spiritual discipline and the

transcendental states of being attained thereafter may even conceive of God as being

occupied with puny activities.

A liberated being has no sense of time to feel bored and moreover by anchoring in the inner

silence they become mighty performers and a noble wish in such a case fructifies easily.

Such free beings do not cultivate ‘wishful thinking’ or get unnecessarily busy with the

world. Virtues cling to them on account of their tranquil mind. Hence it is no surprise that

the new year in most traditions begins at a point of transition based on a new moon; herein

a new moon is symbolic of no mind or no thoughts and no mental images. If voluntaryaction ( purushakāra) is guided towards a profound meditation practice, a seeker may

obtain liberation in a single birth. Such is the promise of Sanskrit wisdom.

message nava rat ri 2015

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