Friday, October 28th, is the Vedic festival of Dhanteras, which always falls in Oct-Nov. on the thirteenth day of the Moon’s dark fortnight. This auspicious day marks the beginning of the five-day Festival of Lights known as Diwali which has the significance much like our Western Christmas/New Years time period. We will write more on it later.
My friend Juliana Swanson notes that today “Dhanteras is a very significant day on which to invoke blessings of health, and it is especially important for those in the Ayurveda world. This day is actually named “National Ayurveda Day” in India: “Dhanvantari is an avatar of Vishnu in the Vedic culture. He appears in the Vedas and Puranas as the physician of the gods, and the god of Ayurveda.” So it is a good day to be grateful for the health you have been given, to donate to health charities and to help those in need with health.
Back in 1976, I found a book on Ayurveda called Dhanvantari and was fascinated by all the ancient lore on how to take care of diet and lifestyle and have been involved in Ayurveda since 1983 and it has enhanced my life. If you have not received the blessings of Ayurveda, today would be an auspicious day to pick up the book by Dr. Vasant Lad, Ayurveda: Science of Life or give it to a friend.
Personally, I am very grateful today for the blessings of my good health over the last 3 years after many years of challenges. Wishing you blessing for your health and reach out to bless others in need. Special thanks to Juliana Swanson for drawing this to my attention and writing about it so eloquently.
