EYE ON SPIRITUALITY: SHEDDING THE PAST YEAR AND MOVING INTO A NEW ONE AND SPIRITUAL REBIRTH
We are moving toward the New Moon on Tuesday, March 21st and an important Vedic Holiday of the Spring Navarati and the start of the New Vedic year on March 22nd in the United States although in other countries it will start slightly at a different time.
Whereas western culture delights in January New Year predictions, the Vedic New Year calendar is often run for the new Moon in March after the spring solstice for the capital city of a country. The new moon is at 1:23 EDT in New York on March 21st but because it happens after Sunrise, the ruler of the Year will be Mercury for Wednesday for the next day.
My friend Juliana Swanson of Astral Harmony notes that “
In this last waning week of the old year, our life force may feel quite tired. …. Now and through this week will be a good time to rest and turn attention inward to reflect and recharge our energies. This is an important week in which to contemplate where we’ve been and what we have accomplished in the past lunar year. Now is a great time to do some cleansing and clearing rituals. Make a gratitude list and honor your preceptors and give thanks for all your amazing experiences which have illuminated your path. Don’t forget to offer appreciation for the challenging experiences and lessons as well, since they are probably the greatest teachers of all. Then on March 18th, the energy will be ripe for establishing new intentions for your new lunar year ahead.”
So all the traditional New Year’s resolutions that one usually does Jan. 1st are really meant to happen the next few days. My own experience has been reflecting on the maya of my existence and peeling off old skin and looking at deep patterns and relflecting on who I really am and really want to be. As my colleague Darinka note: “Keep questioning and investigating your basic assumptions about life. Much growth occurs out of the instability of chaos, so don’t be afraid to challenge yourself,” We have to remember that difficult malefic influences from Mars, Saturn, Rahu and Ketu spur us to break out of comfort zone and move toward a new life.
I have been blessed this past year with very deep spiritual experiences and glimpses of my inner Divinity and have been getting weakly dharshan and daily blessings to move me toward enlightenment. It is a bit scary to let go of the ego and who we think we really are but it is absolutely necessary if we are to become much bigger. My first guru, used to tell the story of the hermit on the beach who was invited to the castle by the King but he would hold on and lament, “My hut, my hut.” There are bigger things waiting for you. I do feel very blessed this year and am waiting to go to the castle.
I will leave you with a beautiful quote from one of the great spiritual teachers from my spiritual tradition, Swami Brahmanada Saraswati Jagaguru Bhadvan Shankaracharaya of Jyoti Math:
To get a human body is a rare thing. Make full use of it. There are four million kinds of lives which a soul can gather. After that, one gets a chance to be human. To get a human body, therefore, one should not waste the chance. If you don’t value this, then you will be left with nothing in hand and you will weep in the end.
Because you are human, God has given you the power to think and decide good and bad. Therefore you should never consider yourself a weak or fallen creature. Whatever may have happened up to now may because you didn’t know, but now be careful…after getting human, if you don’t reach God, then you have sold a diamond for the price of spinach.
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