Uttarayana - the day of Gods begins

There is a Rhythm in life, in nature. everything ebbs and flows. Understanding these ebbs and flows should help us to understand when to be dynamic and when to hold back. Like inhalation and exhalation, day and night, life and death, we have on annual basis Uttarayana and Dakshinayana.  One human year is one day for the Gods, the day bit is the Uttarayana and the night bit Dakshinayana. Scientifically speaking starting from Uttarayana, earth starts moving closer and closer to the sun and in dakshinayana - away from the sun. As life reverberates with the sun - uttarayana is filled with prosperity, aliveness, increased mood and high energy. It is also said that most enlightenments happen in Uttarayana. All Kumbh Melas are held during this phase. It is the period of harvest or Siddhi or reaping the fruits of one’s Tapas. Uttarayana starts with Sankaranti and ends around Guru Poornima

Dakshinayana on the other hand stands for the night  of the Devas - characterised by darkness, hibernation, rest and Tamas. The unwise get lost in the darkness and experience the effects of low energy while the wise use this period to go inwards and focus on intense Sadhana. To support this, the ancient Rishis developed the concept of the Holy 4 months or Chaturmaas to do Sadhana towards different energies. Also as this was the rainy season and spiritual people could not continuously move in this time, they would set up retreat camps at one place. The 4 lunar months that occur in Dakshinayana include Shravana (dedicated to Shiva), Bhadrapada (Ganesha), Ashwija ( Devi) and Karthika (Shiva and Vishnu). Winter starts after Karthika. Dhanurmasa is the solar month also representing the last month of the Dakshinayana - the month of utter darkness or maximum Tamas. If unaware, many misconceptions, misunderstandings and conflicts can happen during this phase. That is why the wise called this the Shunya masa - the Zero month when no major decisions are to be taken, but dedicated to increasing awareness and doing intense Sadhana. People usually wake up before sunrise, take cold water bath and stick to austerities during this month. This is also the month of hibernation for plants and animals. Immediately following Dhanurmasa is the Uttarayana - the time to reap the harvest of Sadhana. Dakshinayana is for Sadhana while Uttarayana is for Siddhi. Spring starts with Sankranti and summer with Shivaratri.

Purpose of pain

I caught a virus whilst in India this time and ended up having one of the most painful after effects - sore joints- not one but many - sometimes all together and other times one after the other. I also had to take time off work, stop exercising, could drive my car and at time couldn't do simple things like open a bottle cap or lock the door or lift my laptop. This has been going on for 3 months now. Though the severity of the pain has come down, I am still going through phases of pain limiting my activity. During these times, I have asked myself more than once - What is the purpose of pain? These are some of the things that occurred to me

• While joy brings expansion, pain brings depth and focus. It brings you back into the present moment. Just think about when you had a toothache. you whole consciousness was concentrated on one tooth.
• Pain helps us to appreciate the pain-free moments of life
• Pain tests your faith and strength, it challenges your Tamas. you can either complain and slip into deeper inertia or take it as a challenge and rise up.
• Nothing including pain lasts forever. you need patience and prayer to go through it
• Going through a painful phase is burning some negative Karma. If on the spiritual path and you are going through pain, know that nature is trying to clear off a big chunk of your Karmic debt. Realise that you are getting rid of some unwanted stuff and be grateful. This is the time for intense Sadhana. Sadhana brings you strength and surrender helps you not to blame, but let go
• Know that you are beyond pain and pleasure. Pain and pleasure are intense sensations. They are two sides of the same coin and come in equal dosages. The wise treat both similarly.
• Remember what Buddha said - Pain is inevitable, but suffering in optional

Mantras

Mantras – Mantra literally means that which protects on repetition - Mananam Trayate Iti. Mantras are powerful sounds that was heard or experienced by people in higher states of consciousness. They also realised that repeititon of these sounds in a respectful and sincere manner (chanting) recreated that state of consciousness. These sages left these sounds to the sincere seekers to experience the higher levels of consciousness. Why sound? Of the five senses, sound is the most ancient faculty. It is the first sense to develop before birth and the last sense to disappear before death or sleep or anesthesia. It is said that the first there was silence, then there was sound and then everything else. In Rudram there is a chant which says from nothing there was one, one became three, three became five and so on. From silence there was OM then it became the three syllables of AUM and then it became the 5 sounds of Na-Mah-Shi-Va-ya and from these the five elements were born and from the five elements everything else manifested. Although there are many mantras some are worth noting especially for their profound effects.

Om Namah Shivaya – first mentioned in the Rudram (Yajurveda) represents the 5 elements. Any disturbance we experience is due to jmbalance among the 5 elements. This mantra is said to rectify the imbalance and restore harmony. This is said to be given by Shiva himself when he did the first ever Rudra Yagna at Srikalahasti after destroying the demon Bhasmasura with the help of Vishnu as a means to vent his pent up energy for the welfare of humanity.

Om Namo Bhagavate Vasudevaya – given by Vishnu to Narada and from Narada to Dhruva. Vasudeva is the God of Prana or life energy. When Prana is high, all positive things are experienced in life – bliss, enthusiasm, love, compassion. When the prana goes down, you experience boredom, tastelessness, apathy, anger, frustration and depression. By elevating the Prana, this Mantras keeps you away from delusion and enhances well being.

Om Namo Narayanaya – given by Vishnu himself in his incarnation as Narayana in Badrinath. Narayana is the one who has mastered the nervous system or in simple terms - the senses. What drains us most is indulgence in sensory pleasures. Ability to master the senses and not be tempted by them is a great achievement and helps our energy to move upward. This mantra is said to greatly enhance the process of managing the senses.

Gayatri mantra – given by Vishwamitra. It is said that there are living beings in 13 planes. They include beings such as Yakshas, kinnaras, asuras, pishacha etc. all these co exist with us at this point in time. As the awareness increases you will be able to experience the presence of these different beings. It is said that when Viswamitra through his Sadhana reached this state where he could experience all the 13 planes of being – Gayatri emerged out of him. Regular chanting of Gayatri is said to sharpen the intellect and enhance your perception of the world.

Lalitha Sahasranama – given to Agasthya by Hayagreeva (Vishnu) at Kumbakonam. Lalitha was invoked to kill Bhandasura – the demon of impotence (Tamas), who himself was born out of the ashes of Manmatha. Devi or Shakti indicates Prana and one aspect of thee Devi is said to reside in every part of the body. When the demon of impotence or Tamas occupies our system, in spite of all the potential, we don’t perform to our ability. Lalitha by destroying the demon (Tamas) enhances our ability in all spheres of life.

Vishnu Sahasranama – composed by Vedavyasa and given by Bheeshma to Yudhisthira in the Anushasana Parva of Mahabharatha. Said to calm the restless mind, provide freedom from stress and bestow eternal knowledge. Along with Om namah shivaya, it is said to relieve one from planetary afflictions.

Purusha Sukta – Rigveda – source of all knowledge of creation

Durga Sukta – Taittreya Upanishad – mainly the invoking the God of Fire to burn down all obstacles. Most verses are derived from the Rigged

Mantra Pushpa - Yajurveda - invoking the God of Water to complete all events in an auspicious manner

Nothing Matters

What is important in life? Really nothing is important. As Osho says – Life is utterly meaningless. Trying to find a purpose in life is futile. Life is only to be lived – to be explored, to be experienced. Actions or their results are unimportant, but from where the actions are done, from what state of mind we do what we do is very important. This awareness when it dawns we move from being a doer to to being a witness. This is big jump and when it dawns you don’t get caught up in action. Krishna’s words of "you are entitled only to actions but not to the results" starts making sense as you relax in your actions fully aware that whether the results are facourable or not is unimportant. All great innovations in life have happened not in a state of contstant doing or thinking state but in a state of utter relaxation or let go. That’s why coffee room meetings are so much more useful than board room ones!

Pleasure and Pain

Know that pleasure and pain is built into every event in equal proportions. They are like two sides of the same coin. If we seek pleasure, we need to be ready for an equal amount of pain. Life is beyond pleasure and pain. Life is an experience, pleasure and pain are just intense sensations.

Dhanurmasa - the (Tamasic) month of the year

Dhanurmasa - month of sagittarius- is the darkest month of the year. It starts in mid December & ends with Sankranti (Pongal) usually on 14 January. Just like "Shravana" is the month of prosperity and contentment, Dhanurmasa is the month of inertia, lethargy and negativity. Laziness, accidents, low mood, misunderstandings & unnecessary conflicts are commonplace during this month. Energy is inherently low during this month. This is also called the Shunya Masa or the Zero month - a month when no major decisions are taken, no new initiatives are started.  Plants and animals hibernate at this time. It also includes the longest night in Dec 21.

Bheeshma  in Mahabharata even postponed his death until the month was over. Usually people wake up before sunrise and do regular Poojas. An effective way to stay away from the negativity is to keep up with Sadhana. Maintain Silence. Shravan is the month dedicated to Shiva, while Dhanurmasa is dedicated to Vishnu or Narayana - the God of Prana. Vishnu Sahasranama was given by Bheeshma to Yudhistira during this period. 

This month also marks the end of Dakshinayana and the imminent arrival of Uttarayana. Dakshinayana which signifies earth moving away from the sun is the negative phase and is very conducive to Sadhana. Uttarayana is the positive phase as the earth moves closer to the sun. This is the time to reap the fruits of the Sadhana

Chanting "Om Namo Bhagavate Vasudevaya" is recommended during Dhanurmasa

Love

Love is the strongest thing on this planet, yet it makes you utterly weak. What everyone wants is to love and be loved and yet love is the root cause of most problems. Strange but true!! Love usually starts as an attraction. In most cases this love very soon turns into hate or attachment or jealousy or fear or greed (possessiveness). This then leads to exclusion, delusion, loss of freedom, confusion, stress and misery. In a minority of cases, the same love turns into surrender and devotion. This type of love brings freedom, commitment, servitude and joy.  Why do we get caught up in delusion. It is ignorance of the nature of our own self and what strengthens this ignorance is our ego – our own sense of identity (albeit a false one!). Have you noticed, when you are in the presence of a Master or in a place of worship, automatically you kneel down or bow down or stand up with out being told to. The ego just vanishes and the Higher Prana takes over.