The coronation ceremony of HH Swami Vidyadhishananda celebrating His Holiness’s ascension as Head Pontiff of Sri Paramananda Ashram Trust Consortium (SriPAT) took place on Thursday, 23 February 2023 at the Sri Paramananda Maṭha campus, among the oldest institutions in the holy city of Prayagraj in Uttar Pradesh, India.

Monks and pontiffs from local ashrams, temples, monasteries and maṭha (monastically led schools with a Sanskrit curriculum) along with leaders from many esteemed institutions of other distant cities came together for this resplendent function to honour His Holiness and offered their obeisance.

This ceremony represents the culmination of the transition of leadership following the untimely passage of revered monk and head pontiff HH Swami Sharadananda Giri.

In attendance during the at-capacity event were Vedic school students, Vedic priests, scholars, professors, governmental heads, and an international delegation of pilgrims (representing 12 countries).

There were 42 monks, saints, and heads of institutions who draped His Holiness with their ceremonial-shawls to honour the coronation. More than 1100 guests including over 250 local community members partook of a full meal at the end of the ceremony and more than 800 of the guests were felicitated with gifts by the ashram.

Our beloved His Holiness Swami Vidyadhishananda is now ceremonially installed as the head pontiff and president of a consortium of five institutions in addition to being the President of both Hansavedas in the USA and its direct sister institution, Vedanidhi in India.

In this role as a head pontiff and a spiritual advisor of dharma, His Holiness represents our entire international sangha to various other institutions of academic repute and spiritual antiquity.

News coverage of the event has circulated widely. You are welcome to view this video news coverage with highlights of the 6-hour long proceedings which lasted from 8 am to 2 pm. You can appreciate the long-standing tradition by seeing the attending monks conferring ordination shawls to the successor monk, His Holiness Swami Vidyadhishananda, during the ceremony.

Called pattabishekam, this was the high point of the ceremony along with the sprinkling of holy water taken from the sangam, the confluence of the rivers Ganga and Yamuna near the ashram which was further energized ceremonially. This confluence is the setting for the world’s largest spiritual gathering attracting some 50 to 70 million pilgrims once every few years to Prayagraj. The next Kumbha-mela will take place here in February 2025.

During Kumbha-mela, the Paramananda Ashram prepares food for over 2000 pilgrims every day for a month. On the day before the coronation, a Bhandara team (expert cooks who were hired for mass feeding) were working late into the night to prepare food for a gathering of 1200 guests. Students from the school and helpers served the multitude of guests who lined the courtyards and corridors of the ashram after the ceremony.

We share our soulful gratitude for your participation and presence during 2022 – a year when the Nonprofit has been rebuilding the foundation of its mission: in-person fellowships.

For the first time since 2019 we were able to host His Holiness Swami Vidyadhishananda at fellowships outside of Santa Barbara, including Houston, San Antonio, Austin, and
Carmichael in Northern California. Sadhvi Girija taught in-person workshops on Himalayan breathing in Santa Barbara and Houston. We appreciate that so many of you joined
us for this more intimate return to in-person fellowships.

In September we released a meditation e-course, Learn Mindfulness Meditation on Udemy.com, a global learning platform. This coursework’s high quality along with
its ratings have earned it a place in the Udemy Business Collection, a privilege reserved for the top 3% of courses.

His Holiness and Sadhvi Girija visited Northern California in November to look at potential properties and an offer was made on one property. While the purchase did not go through, this recent experience prepares us for swift action in 2023 as more properties come to market.

Your physical presence means so much as we continue rebuilding our in-person programming. Please save these dates for a return to in-person retreats in 2023:

1. Guru Purnimā Retreat – Camarillo, CA | 1st – 4th July
2. Initiation Meditation Retreats – Nevada City, CA | 10th Sept – 7th Oct

Our Nonprofit remains ever steadfast in its commitment to your spiritual wellbeing. May you keep this organization in your prayers. Thank you for your continuing support.

We could only relate through our mother – what would mom think? – until we became independent thinkers. Milk was ready as we tried to open our eyes. We clung to our mother when we tried to hide from facing the world. We cried out loud and we were pacified by our mothers. We shared our bodies with our mothers for several months while in the womb and extracted the potent lifeforce śakti from her that embellished us with ojas energy.

During our innocent years, we relied on our mothers for every bit of warmth and solace. Her touch gave us the force to build upon our ideals and conceptions. We grew in strength and force so that we could be ready for voluntary action. That force we gathered through the gift of motherhood enabled us to cultivate our own energy śakti for all the creativity we could muster.

We grow up building and fortifying what motherhood’s feminine force gifted to us. Mothering gave us the nurturing that served to cushion all our future actions with emotional support. That emotional reserve was also the āhlādinī–śakti which was borrowed from the unalloyed motherly love. Thus mother is hailed as the first guru, mātridevo-bhava, and it is a huge debt that motivates us to serve and practice.

Whether embroiled or relatively free, once encumbered, the tentacles of duties cannot be avoided. Just like the sacrifice of the mother, we can only serve by discharging our duties as spiritual penance and lovingly offer the fruits of hard work to the creator that exercised supreme śakti in this creation. Ultimately only the creator can protect us from the imbalance of adversity and prosperity. Feminine force is the instrument and the material cause of our lives and success. Without the support of that śakti we cannot excel in our lives.

Unwittingly we invite challenges from uninvited situations our way due to the very urge that initiated this life. We chose our mom through our father. Our innocence gave way to the understanding of the momentum of past actions and the grip of karma. We understood the value of correct knowledge in overcoming the shackles of ignorance, and the role of voluntary actions and its adhering virtues.

Freedom is not attained until the full quota of contingent satisfactions from the momentum of karma get exhausted, which may take lifetimes of striving and adhering misery. Therefore wisely proactive voluntary actions are needed to rectify and set things right by using that resource of śakti in every step of our lives.

A famous Vedanta verse proclaims that our immortal essence cannot be introspected by those who are physically weak (nāyāmātmā balahinena labhya). Thus a mindful seeker considers the gift of a healthy body as the most important support for introspective contemplation. Such a seeker understands that the body is like wet earth (or soil). Vibrant cruelty-free food organically grown on this Mother Earth is what sustains the original motherly śakti. Sustainable living is unapproachable without healing Mother Earth. Verily, Earth is the mother of our community, and she bears the burden of plundering, cruelty, exploitation and atrocities.

Honouring motherhood is a daily duty but during four navarātri periods each year motherhood is honoured through a targeted spiritual penance. These time periods are considered to be the ideal times to participate in healing the earth through the meditation and worship of the Divine Mother – the great śakti.

Meditation mass and fellowship services invoking the Divine Mother honour motherhood, reciprocate the sacrifices made for us and heal mother earth. Vedic fire ceremonies (Homa) are typically offered as an immense promise of reciprocation.

Those who sacrifice for the greater cause have truly understood the core principles and spiritual values that guide our service. It is not enough to seek personal benevolence for oneself from the Divine Mother. It is better still to undertake genuine spiritual practices and service that elevate our minds and fulfil our hearts without wanting anything in return. After all, a mother wants hardly anything from the child!

The Sanskrit text Mahākāla Saṃhitā declares that four nine-night periods, based on the soli-lunar calendar, are deemed especially auspicious for the worship of the great śakti in veneration of the Divine Mother. Each of these four periods are popularly celebrated as navarātri, which is a literal translation of ‘nine-nights’ with each period starting the day after a New Moon. The duration of each auspicious period is determined by the duration of a lunar day and its overlap with the sunrise time. Thus, in rare situations, one navarātri period may span as few as eight and as many as ten solar days.

In spiritual traditions, these four nine-night periods are celebrated by practicing varying degrees of contemplation, introspection, meditation, austerity, rituals, and by launching meaningful ventures. The culmination of this nine-night period ushers in daśamī or the tenth day of the ascending cycle of the Moon. It bears great significance for bringing to fruition a special personal triumph. Single days of special prayers related to the splendorous aspects of the Divine Mother divide the nine days (and nights) or navarātri meditation or worship.

caitre āśvine tathāṣāḍhe māghe kāryo-mahotsavaḥ
navarātre mahārāja pūjā kāryā viśeṣataḥ

The four auspicious time periods in 2023 for the US Pacific Time Zone are calculated below, as per the Sanskrit verse mentioned above:

Note: even though in Pacific Time Zone nine lunar nights span only eight solar days in the January 2023 Navarātri period, in which case those aspirants should not skip a day but rather conclude their 10 days of spiritual practice only on 31st January. This situation may not apply elsewhere outside of the western part of the USA.

Note: even though in the Pacific Time Zone nine lunar nights span nine solar days in the March 2023 Navarātri period, this may not apply elsewhere outside of the western USA, in which case those aspirants should conclude their ten days of spiritual practice as per local soli-lunar coordinates.

Note: even though in the Pacific Time Zone nine lunar nights span ten solar days in the June 2023 Navarātri period, this may not apply elsewhere outside of the western USA, in which case those aspirants should not add a day but rather conclude their ten days of spiritual practice as per local soli-lunar coordinates.

Note: even though in Pacific Time Zone nine lunar nights span only eight solar days in the October 2023 Navarātri period, in which case those aspirants should not skip a day but rather conclude their 10 days of spiritual practice only on 24th October. This situation may not apply elsewhere outside of the western USA.

A typical nine-night period may last an extra day or lose a day thereby making the time-period span either 10 solar days or 8 solar days, respectively. If the lunar nine-night navarātri spans 10 solar days, then practice the spiritual routine for 11 days and conclude the entire practice on the 11th day. Conversely, if the nine-night navarātri spans only 8 solar days instead of the typical 9 solar days, then add two extra days and conclude the practice on the 10th solar day.

Those adhering to a daily routine of spiritual practices (or vows), such as meditation, sublime recitations, or community service (sevā) can structure their time equally into ten days of steady participation. One tenth of all spiritual practices is deemed a correction. Therefore, nine consecutive days of practice must be followed by a tenth portion, which is the correction, in addition to any corrective measures taken during any individual practice session. While evening time or even midnight time meditation is acceptable for the nine nights, the tenth concluding session can be finished before noon.

Feel free to explore the links below (at the risk of seeing ads unless you enable your ad blocker) if you wish to further study the transition of dates for your own area (local latitude and longitude). The calculations are fairly reliable even though the original Vedic or Sanskrit significance might not be detailed. Please remember to use your local city for the correct results of applicable daybreaks or transitions.

Using the links below, please scroll down to the list of four Navarātri time periods and use your local coordinates (latitude and longitude are automatically populated based on the name of your city/state/country etc.) to find the correct span of days applicable to you:

Navarātri Calendar

Please adjust the local coordinates by typing in your city or locale to find the exact days applicable to you.

A reliable website that is a good resource for relevant celestial events and is also worth studying:

timeanddate.com/astronomy

The history of the modern calendar is complex, comprised of several past simplifications and periodic adaptations. There are many pitfalls and the Julian/Gregorian calendars have been mired with errors and corrections. The current Nirayaṇa sidereal system of a soli-lunar calendar, even though deviated from the corrective calculations of Vedaṇga-Jyotiṣa, invokes the timing of auspicious transitions. This calculation yields a dynamic calendar with some checkpoints for adjustments already built in (through intricacies of the Ayanāmśa calculations). Modern astronomy confirms the validity and accuracy of this dynamic calendar, wherein every soli-lunar month ends on a New Moon (Āmanta).

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. At such junctures, the meditator is now ready for the perception of the light of consciousness in the heart, having conquered not only the emotional and physical disturbances but also the remaining subtle desires.

A deep meditator who becomes completely absorbed (samādhi) and attains higher realization is known in Sanskrit as muni. This 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.

Seekers of truth continually search for higher wisdom in an effort to establish deeper spiritual practices that in turn greatly enrich their lives. Though every moment is momentous for such a seeker, special time periods within our daily calendar are recognized to be especially conducive to our practices and participation. As our biorhythms and diurnal cycles are in synergy with and related to the soli-lunar calendar, so too are the relationships manifested between us and higher worlds during specific time periods.

These transitions are based on the rhythms of nature and cycles of time as they relate to the relative movement of celestial bodies, including lunar asterisms and 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.

Spiritual resolutions and the attendant disciplines are 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, notably related to the rotation of earth.

In other words, the soli-lunar calendar is based on a continuous mapping of the relative positions of celestial 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 (life-force energy) calendar maps the biorhythms influencing us through the cosmic motion of luminaries and planets. We can make affirmations become more meaningful at these auspicious times once we are equipped with an understanding of these transitions of key space-time coordinates.

The Sanskrit conception of elapsed time is an elaborate framework that cyclically connects past efforts with future momentum via the momentous ‘present’ and as the inevitable kāla, or the eater of all. These space-time concepts are further amplified by the nuances of the soli-lunar calendar wherein complicated rhythms of the heavenly bodies are mapped, with respect to both the Sun and the Moon, onto our biorhythms and daily routines. Following the traditional ‘auspiciousness’ of periods and days is captured in a unit of ‘proper time’ known as a muhurta or two units of 24 minutes, totaling 48 minutes. Sometimes an entire day is considered favourable depending upon the chores and ceremonies that define the range of activities.

While personal meditation practices or mental affirmations are rarely constricted by the dynamic components of the calendar, professional and ceremonial activities related to work and service are brought under a purview of the ‘right time’ for starting in order to gain momentum. There are also special days based on immensely significant events deemed divine and awe-inspiring, thereby evoking reverence and enumeration by devotees who adore such happenings.

The Sanskrit-based calculation and ethos is based on a cycle of 60 as per the sexagesimal system. Our resting heartbeat of one beat per second is considered to be the rhythm at the root of this system. The number 60 has 12 factors (the total number of constellations in the zodiac that the Sun traverses in a year) and is the smallest number divisible by every number from 1 to 6.

While 6 breaths span on average 24 seconds, 360 breaths usually take 24 minutes or 1/60th of a day, and 21,600 human breaths take 24 hours or a full day. 360° of sky-arc pass over the horizon in one day. 1/60 of 360° = 6° = 360 minutes of arc. Thus 360 breaths cover 360 minutes of arc in space. Therefore, during one breath, the heavenly bodies move in space by one minute of arc. Hence our breathing patterns and heartbeat rhythms are mapped and connected to the macrocosm through the process of evolution.

The Moon covers the same 360° of the sky in one synodic lunar month (the time it takes the moon to go from one new moon to the next) that the Sun covers during one sidereal year (the time it takes the sun to pass through all 12 constellations of the zodiac). The Sun’s 360° cycle is divided into 12 months of 30° each whereas the Moon’s cycle is divided into 30 days of 12° each. A lunar month is thus a mirror image of the solar year. An average soli-lunar year (based on a mean of 365.26 days of the solar sidereal year and 354.37 days of the lunar synodic year) is also about 360 days consisting of 40 nine-day/night periods (navarātri) and 9 forty-day periods (each such 40-day period is a mandala).

Wisdom teachings from the Sanskrit heritage guide the seeker towards a daily meditation practice that transcends the barriers of emotional remnants from performing prescribed duties and voluntary activities. Herein, meditation mends the mind by overcoming emotional and physical disturbances. However, the greater virtue of meditation lies in the continuous purification of the chitta (mind, ego and intellect) in the subtle heart. Sanskrit texts define this subtle heart as the soul, which can be seen in deep meditation (seeing without the use of subtle sense organs).

Practising daily mindfulness with breath awareness brings about an understanding 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 (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 extant Sanskrit philosophical literature, 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.

Affirmations, spiritual vows and daily meditation based on this greater synchronization are necessary until living liberation is attained. Those joining the path of inner awakening or 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. 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. If voluntary action (purushakāra) is guided towards a profound meditation practice, a seeker may obtain liberation in a single birth. Such is the promise of Sanskrit wisdom.

Remnant oral history storylines surviving since the Mahābharata times in India uphold that the last day of a yuga (era) during Rigvedic times occurs when a New Moon coincides with the winter solstice. The cycle of this yuga takes 19 years to complete on such an occurrence. This yuga duration of 19 years is corroborated by calculations based on the astronomy detailed in the original version of Rig-vedāṇga-Jyotiṣa (RVJ). This extant Sanskrit literature demonstrates how the number of lunations (synodic months) were systematically parsed out in a soli-lunar cycle of years by Vedic astronomers.

As mentioned in the Yajur-vedāṇga-Jyotiṣa, simplification evolved into a 5-year cycle where the 6th year had to have an adjustment made. This Yajus-cycle thus uses an adjustment on the 6th, 12th and 18th year to catch up with the 19 years of a Rig-cycle. Reference of this Yajus-cycle calculation is mentioned in the Shantiparva section of Mahābharata.

Even though solar parameters are stated for mathematical correlations, solar months are not used for calculating auspicious times for festivals, ceremonies or ablutions. Both Vedāṇga-Jyotiṣa and the classical texts of Ayurveda instead use soli-lunar months and seasons (r̥tucarya) for determining timing of festivals and seasonal healthful regimens, respectively.

For example, the winter solstice (solar uttarāyana) is not used as the starting point for a month or year in the Jyotiśa system that was prevalent over 5000 years ago. In this system, the months, the seasons and the year did not start, for example, on the 21st of a solar month calibrated against the equinox or the solstice. Instead, meaningful auspicious times are calculated from the first day after the New Moon (śukla pratipāda) or the first day in the ascending cycle of the moon, considered the anchor point for the start of the months and seasons.

Rig-vedāṇga-Jyotiṣa considered the first day of the ascending cycle of the Māgha (Tapas) soli-lunar month as the first day of a new year starting a 19-year yuga cycle, which may not be exactly coinciding with the currently observed sidereal Māgha. This is because the corrections for the lunar months matching the number of solar months in a given yuga period were inserted differently during the Rigvedic times compared with the current practice of adding a rotating intercalary lunar month after every three solar years.

The thirteenth intercalary month, known in Sanskrit as the Adhikamāsa, used to be added at appropriate intervals just before the winter or summer solstice at the end of a six-month period. This retained synchronicity of soli-lunar months with seasonal variations. During a 19-year yuga cycle, intercalary months were inserted on the 3rd, 6th, 9th, 11th, 14th, 17th and 19th year, thus adjusting 7 times.

Thus the Rig-vedāṇga-Jyotiṣa methods of corrections were executed to make sure that the Māgha (Tapas) soli-lunar month occurred near the actual winter solstice. Māgha is referred to as the first soli-lunar month and śiśira (late winter) in several Pourānic Sanskrit literatures. This determination points to the importance of seasons in timing Vedic fire ceremonies and as a starting point for vows during periods of important festivals.

The New Moon of 21st January 2023 (mounī-āmāvasyā) may be deemed as the last day of the year if one accepts the integrity of these oral traditions, matches them with the correct interpretation of the Rig-vedāṇga-Jyotiṣa and correlates them with the current sidereal soli-lunar month Māgha. This particular new moon is considered the last day of every sidereal soli-lunar year, in absence of a 19-year yuga cycle and with the current method of inserting the intercalary month. The New Moon of inner silence will be observed in 2023 on 21st January.

Traditional lineages of Jyotiṣa recite from memory the verse related to the birth of our Sun to provide a unique perspective for fresh pupils and novices. The verse indicates that the Sun was born on the seventh day of the soli-lunar month Māgha, on a Sunday posited in the constellation of Aries in the lunar asterism (naxatra) of Aśvinī. In the context of the New Moon and the New Year mentioned above, our Sun was thus born on the seventh day of the New Year during the ascending cycle of the moon. Even the Sanskrit name of the year corresponding to the 60-year cycle of the years is indicated by this verse. A relevant portion of the verse is presented here

māgha-māse śukla-paxe saptamyām bhānu-vāsare prabhāvādi nāma saṃvatsare aśvinī naxatra jātaṃ

The traditionists of course rely on the antiquity and the continuity of the soli-lunar calendar, including its use as the basis for the seven-day week. However, some mathematical adjustments to Indic sidereal calendar with respect to the older Vedāṇga-Jyotiṣa calculation have not received the universal acceptance from mathematicians and astronomers who study Jyotiṣa.

It is believed that the water of the sacred confluence of Ganga and Yamuna turns into nectar on the New Moon of silence. The day is upheld as the important last day of the year when, through ablutions, an aspirant would be able to absolve of the demerits accrued over the entire year – a last chance, so to speak. Thus the New Moon of inner silence is traditionally the most important day to take a holy dip. On this day pilgrims practice fasting by not uttering a word throughout the day in addition to taking cleansing ablutions.

Many pilgrims are aware of the world’s largest holy bathing congregations known as Kumbha-Melā, the most well-known of such gatherings that take place in Prayagraj. This grand event spanning over a month is the largest open-air gathering for masses of pilgrims, saints, hermits, mendicants and siddhas, attracting myriads of devotees from within India and around the world. The energy in the mela grounds is palpably intense and spiritually charged. There is the sparkle of spiritual aspiration that is the guiding light amidst the waves of rolling dust whirling in from the sand and silt at the confluence of riversides.

Monks and pontiffs take their bath through a collective procession based on their order or affiliation and pre-assigned times for their own councils and consortiums. Thereafter, the brave devotees take their much-awaited dips by plunging into the waters with deep faith while putting aside concerns about being caught in a stampede.

The unbroken tradition provides detailed guidance about these occasions when waters will be charged with the subtle blessings. However, this holy bathing has more to do with one’s own subtle vows and affirmations than just a mad rush to forsake all demerits! Bathing in this elixir is akin to a refreshing restart, a rejuvenation that symbolizes the washing away of obstacles by effecting a subtle mental purification. This contemplative new moon is the special day for those gallant souls who are brave enough to practise the tradition literally.

Heartiest blessings on this auspicious Victory Day – globally celebrated this year on 4th/5th October as per the Sanskrit soli-lunar calendar (coinciding with Yom Kippur). Known as Vijaya Dasami in Sanskrit (lit. victory on the tenth lunar day), this ancient tradition of commemoration is hailed for the victory of truth, and conquest over external and internal adversaries. May you become victorious on the path of your noble pursuits and the related earnest exertions without inculcating anxiety or fear.

Your inspiration might be somewhat dampened by the challenging times around the world and nearer to home, and you might be waiting for the triumph of truth. The theme of Victory Day guides us that spiritual solace is dependent upon your moral strength and patience. Due to several external factors related to karma (momentum of action), noble seekers often appear to be suffering and wicked schemers seem to be gloating, yet the triumph of virtue is measured in spiritual depth instead of in material terms.Victory Day is a reminder that ultimately truth prevails and if the process is excruciating in the interim, it is only for the sake of burning the pending karma. Faith grows through revealing experiences and by the support of an inspiring learning environment, thereby building virtuosity in a step-by-step manner. During that process of growth, there is no need to thrive on disbelief. Just as we cannot deny our existence or even ignore our subtle feelings, we should allow our beliefs to lean on truthfulness.

There is no way to truth, truthfulness is the way. This aphorism is verily a reality. It is difficult to perceive absolute truth, for its revelation depends on the transparency of our own internal instruments of knowledge (layers that conceal pure perception) and the degree of perseverance. Moreover, the right vision is often clouded. Triumph over ignorance is a real victory, even if outwardly one might appear to be marginalized.

Events arise surrounding and impacting one’s life due to the urges that initiated this life, set into motion from a greater momentum of karma that is not so obvious. Since pursuit of truth depends on deepening meditative insight – a maturing of inner vision that is ultimately instantaneously clear, one could resort to the following three cardinal aphorisms on truth during the maturing process.

(A) Contemplation of the absolute truth verily chastises impure formulations in the mind (even if that absolute truth is in itself not crystal clear). (B) Loyalty to truth is the ultimate penance (for truth is your essential being and not worth forsaking due to infatuation with egoism or greed). (C) Devotion to truth leads to sanctity in the heart; thus sanctified, one can win back truth from the clutches of time (for even the sense of time rides on the principle of truth, and truth is never lost even if time has passed).

In the practical world, success and happiness are attained temporarily through a combination of earned merits based on acquired knowledge, practical experience, strength, commitment, and reliability mixed with limiting qualities such as desire for material pleasures, hankering for fame, selfishness (as opposed to compassion).

Spiritual virtues do not necessarily enable one to get such material success – they do help one to overcome the causes of pain and misery. As a result of this spiritual insight into pain and sources of anxiety or fear, there is the erosion of suffering – the ultimate goal of internal victory. A balance needs to be employed to achieve both internal and external victory. Herein the internal victory ushers in the moral strength to bring about external victory in the practical world (albeit without succumbing to worldliness).

Practising virtue in the face of surrounding ignoble events may not bring about happiness promptly. It is necessary to be happy through inner work first and then tackle duties with patience. Seekers who are attempting to overcome violent thoughts or negative feelings in their heart experience the consequent pain of that violence inwardly. When that shackle of subtle imprints of violence is shattered, they can be happy.

The effort involved in overcoming the violence within can be painful. However, if those violent impressions are allowed to fructify, the consequence would perhaps be much more painful than the effort to overcome those impressions. Victory Day beckons us to effect this inner work first so that we can be happy before executing our duties. There is no way to happiness, but happiness is the way. There is no way to love, love is the way.

We convey our heartfelt gratitude to you, our donors and well-wishers, and acknowledge your unwavering support. This Annual Gratitude Report has been prepared in a new format for the first time this year with the goal of giving you a visual understanding of our Nonprofit’s impact.

Much like in 2020, our ability to host in-person events this past year was severely limited. We appreciate that so many of you joined us in fellowship online. Our Academy app and Sambhala ecoursework curriculum continued their rapid development despite the untimely loss of our beloved head of the monastic council, His Holiness Swami Sharadananda Giri.

As your participation binds us together and builds momentum in 2022, let us nurture our Nonprofit in the following ways:

1. Remember our noble Nonprofit in your prayers
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We could only relate through our mother – what would mom think? – until we became independent thinkers. Milk was ready as we tried to open our eyes. We clung to our mother when we tried to hide from facing the world. We cried out loud and we were pacified by our mothers. We shared our bodies with our mothers for several months while in the womb and extracted the potent lifeforce śakti from her that embellished us with ojas energy.

During our innocent years, we relied on our mothers for every bit of warmth and solace. Her touch gave us the force to build upon our ideals and conceptions. We grew in strength and force so that we could be ready for voluntary action. That force we gathered through the gift of motherhood enabled us to cultivate our own energy śakti for all the creativity we could muster.

We grow up building and fortifying what motherhood’s feminine force gifted to us. Mothering gave us the nurturing that served to cushion all our future actions with emotional support. That emotional reserve was also the āhlādinī–śakti which was borrowed from the unalloyed motherly love. Thus mother is hailed as the first guru, mātridevo-bhava, and it is a huge debt that motivates us to serve and practice.

Whether embroiled or relatively free, once encumbered, the tentacles of duties cannot be avoided. Just like the sacrifice of the mother, we can only serve by discharging our duties as spiritual penance and lovingly offer the fruits of hard work to the creator that exercised supreme śakti in this creation. Ultimately only the creator can protect us from the imbalance of adversity and prosperity. Feminine force is the instrument and the material cause of our lives and success. Without the support of that śakti we cannot excel in our lives.

Unwittingly we invite challenges from uninvited situations our way due to the very urge that initiated this life. We chose our mom through our father. Our innocence gave way to the understanding of the momentum of past actions and the grip of karma. We understood the value of correct knowledge in overcoming the shackles of ignorance, and the role of voluntary actions and its adhering virtues.

Freedom is not attained until the full quota of contingent satisfactions from the momentum of karma get exhausted, which may take lifetimes of striving and adhering misery. Therefore wisely proactive voluntary actions are needed to rectify and set things right by using that resource of śakti in every step of our lives.

A famous Vedanta verse proclaims that our immortal essence cannot be introspected by those who are physically weak (nāyāmātmā balahinena labhya). Thus a mindful seeker considers the gift of a healthy body as the most important support for introspective contemplation. Such a seeker understands that the body is like wet earth (or soil). Vibrant cruelty-free food organically grown on this Mother Earth is what sustains the original motherly śakti. Sustainable living is unapproachable without healing the Mother Earth. Verily, Earth is the mother of our community, and she bears the burden of plundering, cruelty, exploitation and atrocities.

Honouring motherhood is a daily duty but during four navarātri periods each year motherhood is honoured through a targeted spiritual penance. These time periods are considered to be the ideal times to participate in healing the earth through the meditation and worship of the Divine Mother – the great śakti.

Meditation mass and fellowship services invoking the Divine Mother honour motherhood, reciprocate the sacrifices made for us and heal the mother earth. Vedic fire ceremonies (Homa) are typically offered as an immense promise of reciprocation.

Those who sacrifice for the greater cause have truly understood the core principles and spiritual values that guide our service. It is not enough to seek personal benevolence for oneself from the Divine Mother. It is better still to undertake genuine spiritual practices and service that elevate our minds and fulfil our hearts without wanting anything in return. After all, a mother wants hardly anything from the child!

The Sanskrit text Mahākāla Saṃhitā declares that four nine-night periods, based on the soli-lunar calendar, are deemed especially auspicious for the worship of the great śakti in veneration of the Divine Mother. Each of these four periods are popularly celebrated as navarātri, which is a literal translation of ‘nine-nights’ with each period starting the day after a New Moon. The duration of each auspicious period is determined by the duration of a lunar day and its overlap with the sunrise time. Thus, in rare situations, one navarātri period may span as few as eight and as many as ten solar days.

In spiritual traditions, these four nine-night periods are celebrated by practicing varying degrees of contemplation, introspection, meditation, austerity, rituals, and by launching meaningful ventures. The culmination of this nine-night period ushers in daśamī or the tenth day of the ascending cycle of the Moon. It bears great significance for bringing to fruition a special personal triumph. Single days of special prayers related to the splendorous aspects of the Divine Mother divide the nine days (and nights) or navarātri meditation or worship.

The four auspicious time periods in 2022 for the US Pacific Time Zone are calculated below, as per this Sanskrit verse:

caitre āśvine tathāṣāḍhe māghe kāryo-mahotsavaḥ
navarātre mahārāja pūjā kāryā viśeṣataḥ

Note: even though in the Pacific Time Zone nine lunar nights span ten solar days in the April 2022 Navarātri period, this may not apply elsewhere outside of the western USA, in which case those seekers should not add a day but rather conclude their ten days of spiritual practice as per local soli-lunar coordinates.

Note: even though in the Pacific Time Zone nine lunar nights span ten solar days in the June – July 2022 Navarātri period, this may not apply elsewhere outside of the western USA, in which case those seekers should not add a day but rather conclude their ten days of spiritual practice as per local soli-lunar coordinates.

Note: even though in Pacific Time Zone nine lunar nights span only eight solar days in the September – October 2022 Navarātri period, in which case those seekers should not skip a day but rather conclude their 10 days of spiritual practice only on 5th October. This situation may not apply elsewhere outside of the western USA.

A typical nine-night period may last an extra day or lose a day thereby making the time period span either 10 solar days or 8 solar days, respectively. If the lunar nine-night navarātri spans 10 solar days, then practice the spiritual routine for 11 days and conclude the entire practice on the 11th day. Conversely, if the nine-night navarātri spans only 8 solar days instead of the typical 9 solar days, then add two extra days and conclude the practice on the 10th solar day.

Those adhering to a daily routine of spiritual practices (or vows), such as meditation, sublime recitations or community service (sevā) can structure their time equally into ten days of steady participation. One tenth of all spiritual practices is deemed a correction. Therefore, nine consecutive days of practices must be followed by a tenth portion, which is the correction, in addition to any corrective measures taken during any individual practice session. While evening time or even midnight time meditation is acceptable for the nine nights, the tenth concluding session can be finished before noon.

Feel free to explore the links below (at the risk of seeing ads unless you enable your ad blocker) if you wish to further study the transition of dates for your own area (local latitude and longitude). The calculations are fairly reliable even though the original Vedic or Sanskrit significance might not be detailed. Please remember to use your local city for the correct results of applicable daybreaks or transitions.

Using the link below, scroll down to the list of four Navarātri time periods and use your local coordinates (latitude and longitude are automatically populated based on the name of your city/state/country etc.) to find the correct span of days applicable to you:

Navarātri Calendar or Navarātri Information

A reliable website that is a good resource for relevant celestial events and is also worth studying:

timeanddate.com/astronomy

The history of the modern calendar is complex, comprised of several past simplifications and periodic adaptations. There are many pitfalls and the Julian/Gregorian calendars have been mired with errors and corrections. The current Nirayaṇa sidereal system of a soli-lunar calendar, even though deviated from the corrective calculations of Vedaṇga-Jyotiṣa, invokes the timing of auspicious transitions. This calculation yields a dynamic calendar with some checkpoints for adjustments already built in (through intricacies of the Ayanāmśa calculations). Modern astronomy confirms the validity and accuracy of this dynamic calendar, wherein every soli-lunar month ends on a New Moon (Āmanta).

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. At such junctures, the meditator is now ready for the perception of the light of consciousness in the heart, having conquered not only the emotional and physical disturbances but also the remaining subtle desires.

A deep meditator who becomes completely absorbed (samādhi) and attains higher realization is known in Sanskrit as muni. This 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.

Seekers of truth continually search for higher wisdom in an effort to establish deeper spiritual practices that in turn greatly enrich their lives. Though every moment is momentous for such a seeker, special time periods within our daily calendar are recognized to be especially conducive to our practices and participation. As our biorhythms and diurnal cycles are in synergy with and related to the soli-lunar calendar, so too are the relationships manifested between us and higher worlds during specific time periods.

These transitions are based on the rhythms of nature and cycles of time as they relate to the relative movement of celestial 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.

Spiritual resolutions and the attendant disciplines are 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, notably related to the rotation of earth.

In other words, the soli-lunar calendar is based on a continuous mapping of the relative positions of celestial 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 (life-force energy) calendar maps the biorhythms influencing us through the cosmic motion of luminaries and planets. We can make affirmations become more meaningful at these auspicious times once we are equipped with an understanding of these transitions of key space-time coordinates.

The Sanskrit conception of elapsed time is an elaborate framework that cyclically connects past efforts with future momentum via the momentous ‘present’ and as the inevitable kāla, or the eater of all. These space-time concepts are further amplified by the nuances of the soli-lunar calendar wherein complicated rhythms of the heavenly bodies are mapped, with respect to both the Sun and the Moon, onto our biorhythms and daily routines. Following the traditional ‘auspiciousness’ of periods and days is captured in a unit of ‘proper time’ known as a muhurta or two units of 24 minutes, totaling 48 minutes. Sometimes an entire day is considered favourable depending upon the chores and ceremonies that define the range of activities.

While personal meditation practices or mental affirmations are rarely constricted by the dynamic components of the calendar, professional and ceremonial activities related to work and service are brought under a purview of the ‘right time’ for starting in order to gain momentum. There are also special days based on immensely significant events deemed divine and awe-inspiring, thereby evoking reverence and enumeration by devotees who adore such happenings.

The Sanskrit-based calculation and ethos is based on a cycle of 60 as per the sexagesimal system. Our resting heartbeat of one beat per second is considered to be the rhythm at the root of this system. The number 60 has 12 factors (the total number of constellations in the zodiac that the Sun traverses in a year) and is the smallest number divisible by every number from 1 to 6.

While 6 breaths span on average 24 seconds, 360 breaths usually take 24 minutes or 1/60th of a day, and 21,600 human breaths take 24 hours or a full day. 360° of sky-arc pass over the horizon in one day. 1/60 of 360° = 6° = 360 minutes of arc. Thus 360 breaths cover 360 minutes of arc in space. Therefore, during one breath, the heavenly bodies move in space by one minute of arc. Hence our breathing patterns and heartbeat rhythms are mapped and connected to the macrocosm through the process of evolution.

The Moon covers the same 360° of the sky in one synodic lunar month (the time it takes the moon to go from one new moon to the next) that the Sun covers during one sidereal year (the time it takes the sun to pass through all 12 constellations of the zodiac). The Sun’s 360° cycle is divided into 12 months of 30° each whereas the Moon’s cycle is divided into 30 days of 12° each. A lunar month is thus a mirror image of the solar year. An average soli-lunar year (based on a mean of 365.26 days of the solar sidereal year and 354.37 days of the lunar synodic year) is also about 360 days consisting of 40 nine-day/night periods (navarātri) and 9 forty-day periods (each such 40-day period is a mandala).

Wisdom teachings from the Sanskrit heritage guide the seeker towards a daily meditation practice that transcends the barriers of emotional remnants from performing prescribed duties and voluntary activities. Herein, meditation mends the mind by overcoming emotional and physical disturbances. However, the greater virtue of meditation lies in the continuous purification of the chitta (mind, ego and intellect) in the subtle heart. Sanskrit texts define this subtle heart as the soul, which can be seen in deep meditation (seeing without the use of subtle sense organs).

Practising daily mindfulness with breath awareness brings about an understanding 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 (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 extant Sanskrit philosophical literature, 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.

Affirmations, spiritual vows and daily meditation based on this greater synchronization are necessary until living liberation is attained. Those joining the path of inner awakening or 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. 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. If voluntary action (purushakāra) is guided towards a profound meditation practice, a seeker may obtain liberation in a single birth. Such is the promise of Sanskrit wisdom.

Remnant oral history storylines surviving since the Mahābharata times in India uphold that the last day of a yuga (era) during Rigvedic times occurs when a New Moon coincides with the winter solstice. The cycle of this yuga takes 19 years to complete on such an occurrence. This yuga duration of 19 years is corroborated by calculations based on the astronomy detailed in the original version of Rig-vedāṇga-Jyotiṣa (RVJ). This extant Sanskrit literature demonstrates how the number of lunations (synodic months) were systematically parsed out in a soli-lunar cycle of years by Vedic astronomers.

As mentioned in the Yajur-vedāṇga-Jyotiṣa, simplification evolved into a 5-year cycle where the 6th year had to have an adjustment made. This Yajus-cycle thus uses an adjustment on the 6th, 12th and 18th year to catch up with the 19 years of a Rig-cycle. Reference of this Yajus-cycle calculation is mentioned in the Shantiparva section of Mahābharata.

Even though solar parameters are stated for mathematical correlations, solar months are not used for calculating auspicious times for festivals, ceremonies or ablutions. Both Vedāṇga-Jyotiṣa and the classical texts of Ayurveda instead use soli-lunar months and seasons (r̥tucarya) for determining timing of festivals and seasonal healthful regimens, respectively.

For example, the winter solstice (solar uttarāyana) is not used as the starting point for a month or year in the Jyotiśa system that was prevalent over 5000 years ago. In this system, the months, the seasons and the year did not start, for example, on the 21st of a solar month calibrated against the equinox or the solstice. Instead, meaningful auspicious times are calculated from the first day after the New Moon (śukla pratipāda) or the first day in the ascending cycle of the moon, considered the anchor point for the start of the months and seasons.

Rig-vedāṇga-Jyotiṣa considered the first day of the ascending cycle of the Māgha (Tapas) soli-lunar month as the first day of a new year starting a 19-year yuga cycle, which may not be exactly coinciding with the currently observed sidereal Māgha. This is because the corrections for the lunar months matching the number of solar months in a given yuga period were inserted differently during the Rigvedic times compared with the current practice of adding a rotating intercalary lunar month after every three solar years.

The thirteenth intercalary month, known in Sanskrit as the Adhikamāsa, used to be added at appropriate intervals just before the winter or summer solstice at the end of a six-month period. This retained synchronicity of soli-lunar months with seasonal variations. During a 19-year yuga cycle, intercalary months were inserted on the 3rd, 6th, 9th, 11th, 14th, 17th and 19th year, thus adjusting 7 times.

Thus the Rig-vedāṇga-Jyotiṣa methods of corrections were executed to make sure that the Māgha (Tapas) soli-lunar month occurred near the actual winter solstice. Māgha is referred to as the first soli-lunar month and śiśira (late winter) in several Pourānic Sanskrit literatures. This determination points to the importance of seasons in timing Vedic fire ceremonies and as a starting point for vows during periods of important festivals.

The New Moon of 31st January 2022 (mounī-āmāvasyā) may be deemed as the last day of the year if one accepts the integrity of these oral traditions, matches them with the correct interpretation of the Rig-vedāṇga-Jyotiṣa and correlates them with the current sidereal soli-lunar month Māgha. This particular new moon is considered the last day of every sidereal soli-lunar year, in absence of a 19-year yuga cycle and with the current method of inserting the intercalary month. The New Moon of inner silence will be observed in 2022 on 31st January.

Traditional lineages of Jyotiṣa recite from memory the verse related to the birth of our Sun to provide a unique perspective for fresh pupils and novices. The verse indicates that the Sun was born on the seventh day of the soli-lunar month Māgha, on a Sunday posited in the constellation of Aries in the lunar asterism (naxatra) of Aśvinī. In the context of the New Moon and the New Year mentioned above, our Sun was thus born on the seventh day of the New Year during the ascending cycle of the moon. Even the Sanskrit name of the year corresponding to the 60-year cycle of the years is indicated by this verse. A relevant portion of the verse is presented here:

māgha-māse śukla-paxe saptamyām bhānu-vāsare prabhāvādi nāma saṃvatsare aśvinī naxatra jātaṃ

The traditionists of course rely on the antiquity and the continuity of the soli-lunar calendar, including its use as the basis for the seven-day week. However, some mathematical adjustments to Indic sidereal calendar with respect to the older Vedāṇga-Jyotiṣa calculation have not received the universal acceptance from mathematicians and astronomers who study Jyotiṣa.

The currently used pancāṇgaṃ calendar published by institutions and universities in India, such as those in Varanasi, have found utility by correctly predicting the onset of seasons, including monsoon rain, heat spike, crop damage and harvest times. However, the tropical solar calendar cannot be used with much success with predictions about the onset of seasonal changes. The tropical solar calendar is useful in mundane astrology.

The soli-lunar new year in 2020 was particularly fortuitous due to the concurrent Saturn transit into its own home constellation Capricorn, which took place on this New Moon of 24th January in 2020. Based on the approximate five-year transit of Saturn in its two home constellations, it heralded a new era, somewhat similar to the concept of time cycles in Vedāṇga-Jyotiṣa.

It is believed that the water of the sacred confluence of Ganga and Yamuna turns into nectar on the New Moon of silence. The day is upheld as the important last day of the year when, through ablutions, an aspirant would be able to absolve of the demerits accrued over the entire year – a last chance, so to speak. Thus the New Moon of inner silence is traditionally the most important day to take a holy dip. On this day pilgrims practice fasting by not uttering a word throughout the day in addition to taking cleansing ablutions.

Many pilgrims are aware of the world’s largest holy bathing congregations known as Kumbha-Melā, the most well-known of such gatherings that take place in Prayagraj. This grand event spanning over a month is the largest open-air gathering for masses of pilgrims, saints, hermits, mendicants and siddhas, attracting myriads of devotees from within India and around the world. The energy in the mela grounds is palpably intense and spiritually charged. There is the sparkle of spiritual aspiration that is the guiding light amidst the waves of rolling dust whirling in from the sand and silt at the confluence of riversides.

Monks and pontiffs take their bath through a collective procession based on their order or affiliation and pre-assigned times for their own councils and consortiums. Thereafter, the brave devotees take their much-awaited dips by plunging into the waters with deep faith while putting aside concerns about being caught in a stampede.

The unbroken tradition provides detailed guidance about these occasions when waters will be charged with the subtle blessings. However, this holy bathing has more to do with one’s own subtle vows and affirmations than just a mad rush to forsake all demerits! Bathing in this elixir is akin to a refreshing restart, a rejuvenation that symbolizes the washing away of obstacles by effecting a subtle mental purification. This contemplative new moon is the special day for those gallant souls who are brave enough to practise the tradition literally.

Venerable Friends and Adorable Seekers,

Time does not move, only we are moving to the end of our allotted time! Many blessings and much love on this Yugadi – today marks the beginning of a yuga in the cycle of four yuga periods as per the soli-lunar calendar of the ancient Sanskrit tradition. May you all utilize this auspicious time juncture to renew and refresh your spiritual affirmations for the coming times.

The current times are indeed erasing the pause for reflection and impacting the very organic continuity of goodwill. For some who are pushed to the limit, the situation is putting faith in God to the test. Spiritual anchoring and fear-free living envisioning a life bereft of the thrusted pressures of general dread have perhaps never been more important in our lives.

If you are feeling the subtle force of accelerated times, you are among the many who are observing the most traumatic phase of humankind’s evolution spanning multiple eras. The end of Kaliyuga is here to bear down upon us the crushing pressure from those who are manipulating to control resources. Unfortunately, this maneuvering has been curtailing basic freedom of those who wish to live naturally with the wellness of earth wisdom.

Many are aware of the diverse agendas – whether mainly commercial or partly political. An alert seeker can feel the decadence of governance aided by a lack of visionary leadership. We are witnessing how good science is getting usurped by mainstream media and bigoted political narrative. Further we have also been experiencing the hidden clash of ideologies which bear the power to make any nation bipolar.

Collective karma has arrived at a point of dissonance. The onslaught of neo-feudalism is taking away the joy of sharing and living in harmony with mother earth. These are the times when the income capacity of the collective economy is at stake. Should we wait for the global reset with the hope of somehow surviving this turmoil? Or are these times calling for a greater devotional surrender unto God? What should we tell our children who cannot play freely while their smiles are muffled by masks that take their breath away?

No, we cannot blame the planets – they compound what is set into motion by the will of the people. We are already born with planetary energies embedded in us and hence we are somewhat propelled to act accordingly. Further, God, the Lord of the universe neither induces people to act nor dispenses the fruits of karma. Consequences naturally flow from our own karma. The ultimate responsibility of decision-making rests upon our mental clarity and the goodwill of our intellect.

Those who are gullible and naïve will suffer the consequences of their ill-advised decision making. And yet those who truly seek the path of spiritual solace with fortitude, riding on patience and making prudent decisions with clear conviction, will come out stronger from these confusing times. Giving into fear-inducing manipulation is the very opposite of self-empowering spirituality.

I share this message on occasion of the second Navaratri period of 2021, which begins on Monday, 12th April in the Western part of the world and on Tuesday, 13th April in the Eastern nations. These nine-night periods are deemed especially auspicious for the worship of the great shakti in veneration of the Divine Mother, as well as for contemplation, meditation, and service. Please read my full article linked below. Anyone looking for spiritual solace and meaningful opportunities to create breakthroughs can embrace the theme of this article:

Healing Mother Earth with Four Navarātri Periods in 2021

I inspire you to implement the message of this article for all-around healing during these challenging and confusing times in the world. May you build your moral strength through personal discipline and compassionate serving.

With the blessings of God and Satguru,
Swami Vidyadhishananda

Milk was ready as we tried to open our eyes. We clung to our mother and tried to hide from facing the world. We cried out loud and we were pacified by our mothers. We shared our bodies with our mothers for several months while in the womb and extracted the potent lifeforce śakti from her that embellished us with ojas energy. We could only relate through our mother – what would mom think? – until we became independent thinkers.

During our innocent years, we relied on our mothers for every bit of warmth and solace. Her touch gave us the force to build upon our ideals and conceptions. We grew in strength and force so that we could be ready for voluntary action. That force we gathered through the gift of motherhood enabled us to cultivate our own energy śakti for all the creativity we could muster.

We grow up building and fortifying what motherhood’s feminine force gifted to us. Mothering gave us the nurturing that served to cushion all our future actions with emotional support. That emotional reserve was also the āhlādinī–śakti which was borrowed from the unalloyed motherly love. Thus mother is hailed as the first guru, mātridevo-bhava, and it is a huge debt that motivates us to serve and practice.

Whether embroiled or relatively free, once encumbered, the tentacles of duties cannot be avoided. Just like the sacrifice of the mother, we can only serve by discharging our duties as spiritual penance and lovingly offer the fruits of hard work to the creator that exercised supreme śakti in this creation. Ultimately only the creator can protect us from the imbalance of adversity and prosperity. Feminine force is the instrument and the material cause of our lives and success. Without the support of that śakti we cannot excel in our lives.

Unwittingly we invite challenges from uninvited situations our way due to the very urge that initiated this life. We chose our mom through our father. Our innocence gave way to the understanding of the momentum of past actions and the grip of karma. We understood the value of correct knowledge in overcoming the shackles of ignorance, and the role of voluntary actions and its adhering virtues.

Freedom is not attained until the full quota of contingent satisfactions from the momentum of karma get exhausted, which may take lifetimes of striving and adhering misery. Therefore wisely proactive voluntary actions are needed to rectify and set things right by using that resource of śakti in every step of our lives.

A famous Vedanta verse proclaims that our immortal essence cannot be introspected by those who are physically weak (nāyāmātmā balahinena labhya). Thus a mindful seeker considers the gift of a healthy body as the most important support for introspective contemplation. Such a seeker understands that the body is like wet earth (or soil). Vibrant cruelty-free food organically grown on this Mother Earth is what sustains the original motherly śakti. Sustainable living is unapproachable without healing the Mother Earth. Verily, Earth is the mother of our community and she bears the burden of plundering, cruelty, and atrocities.

Honouring motherhood is a daily duty but during four navarātri periods each year motherhood is honoured through a targeted spiritual penance. These time periods are considered to be the ideal times to participate in healing the earth through the meditation and worship of the Divine Mother – the great śakti.

Meditation mass and fellowship services invoking the Divine Mother honour motherhood, reciprocate the sacrifices made for us and heal the mother earth. Vedic fire ceremonies (Homa) are typically offered as an immense promise of reciprocation.

Those who sacrifice for the greater cause have truly understood the core principles and spiritual values that guide our service. It is not enough to seek personal benevolence for oneself from the Divine Mother. It is better still to undertake genuine spiritual practices and service that elevate our minds and fulfil our hearts without wanting anything in return. After all, a mother wants hardly anything from the child!

The Sanskrit text Mahākāla Saṃhitā declares that four nine-night periods, based on the soli-lunar calendar, are deemed especially auspicious for the worship of the great śakti in veneration of the Divine Mother. Each of these four periods are popularly celebrated as navarātri, which is a literal translation of ‘nine-nights’ with each period starting the day after a New Moon. The duration of each auspicious period is determined by the duration of a lunar day and its overlap with the sunrise time. Thus, in rare situations, one navarātri period may span as few as eight and as many as ten solar days.

In spiritual traditions, these four nine-night periods are celebrated by practicing varying degrees of contemplation, introspection, meditation, austerity, rituals, and by launching meaningful ventures. The culmination of this nine-night period ushers in daśamī or the tenth day of the ascending cycle of the Moon. It bears great significance for bringing to fruition a special personal triumph. Single days of special prayers related to the splendorous aspects of the Divine Mother divide the nine days (and nights) or navarātri meditation or worship.The four auspicious time periods in 2021 for the US Pacific Time Zone are calculated below, as per this Sanskrit verse:

The four auspicious time periods in 2021 for the US Pacific Time Zone are calculated below, as per this Sanskrit verse:

caitre āśvine tathāṣāḍhe māghe kāryo-mahotsavaḥ
navarātre mahārāja pūjā kāryā viśeṣataḥ

Note: even though nine lunar nights span ten solar days in the Pacific Time Zone during the April 2021 Navarātri period, this may not apply elsewhere outside of the western USA, in which case those seekers should not add a day but rather conclude their ten days of spiritual practice as per local soli-lunar coordinates.

Note: even though nine lunar nights span only eight solar days in the Pacific Time Zone in the October 2021 Navarātri period, this may not apply elsewhere outside of the western USA, in which case those seekers should not skip a day but rather conclude their 10 days of spiritual practice only on 15th October.

A typical nine-night period may last an extra day or lose a day thereby making the time period span either 10 solar days or 8 solar days, respectively. If the lunar nine-night navarātri spans 10 solar days, then practice the spiritual routine for 11 days and conclude the entire practice on the 11th day. Conversely, if the nine-night navarātri spans only 8 solar days instead of the typical 9 solar days, then add two extra days and conclude the practice on the 10th solar day.

Those adhering to a daily routine of spiritual practices (or vows), such as meditation, sublime recitations or community service (sevā) can structure their time equally into ten days of steady participation. One tenth of all spiritual practices is deemed a correction. Therefore, nine consecutive days of practices must be followed by a tenth portion, which is the correction, in addition to any corrective measures taken during any individual practice session. While evening time or even midnight time meditation is acceptable for the nine nights, the tenth concluding session can be finished before noon.

Feel free to explore the links below (at your own risk) if you wish to further study the transition of dates for your own area (local latitude and longitude). The calculations are fairly reliable even though the original Vedic or Sanskrit significance might not be detailed. Please remember to use your local city for the correct results of applicable daybreaks or transitions.

Please scroll down to the list of four Navarātri time periods:
drikpanchang.com/navratri/navratri-calendars.html

A reliable website that is a good resource for relevant celestial events and is also worth studying: timeanddate.com/astronomy

The history of the modern calendar is complex, comprised of several past simplifications and periodic adaptations. There are many pitfalls and the Julian/Gregorian calendars have been mired with errors and corrections. The current Nirayaṇa sidereal system of a soli-lunar calendar, even though deviated from the corrective calculations of Vedaṇga-Jyotiṣa, invokes the timing of auspicious transitions. This calculation yields a dynamic calendar with some checkpoints for adjustments already built in (through intricacies of the Ayanāmśa calculations). Modern astronomy confirms the validity and accuracy of this dynamic calendar, wherein every soli-lunar month ends on a New Moon (Āmanta).

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. At such junctures, the meditator is now ready for the perception of the light of consciousness in the heart, having conquered not only the emotional and physical disturbances but also the remaining subtle desires.

A deep meditator who becomes completely absorbed (samādhi) and attains higher realization is known in Sanskrit as muni. This 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.

Seekers of truth continually search for higher wisdom in an effort to establish deeper spiritual practices that in turn greatly enrich their lives. Though every moment is momentous for such a seeker, special time periods within our daily calendar are recognized to be especially conducive to our practices and participation. As our biorhythms and diurnal cycles are in synergy with and related to the soli-lunar calendar, so too are the relationships manifested between us and higher worlds during specific time periods.

These transitions are based on the rhythms of nature and cycles of time as they relate to the relative movement of celestial 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.

Spiritual resolutions and the attendant disciplines are 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, notably related to the rotation of earth.

In other words, the soli-lunar calendar is based on a continuous mapping of the relative positions of celestial 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 (life-force energy) calendar maps the biorhythms influencing us through the cosmic motion of luminaries and planets. We can make affirmations become more meaningful at these auspicious times once we are equipped with an understanding of these transitions of key space-time coordinates.

The Sanskrit conception of elapsed time is an elaborate framework that cyclically connects past efforts with future momentum via the momentous ‘present’ and as the inevitable kāla, or the eater of all. These space-time concepts are further amplified by the nuances of the soli-lunar calendar wherein complicated rhythms of the heavenly bodies are mapped, with respect to both the Sun and the Moon, onto our biorhythms and daily routines. Following the traditional ‘auspiciousness’ of periods and days is captured in a unit of ‘proper time’ known as a muhurta or two units of 24 minutes, totaling 48 minutes. Sometimes an entire day is considered favourable depending upon the chores and ceremonies that define the range of activities.

While personal meditation practices or mental affirmations are rarely constricted by the dynamic components of the calendar, professional and ceremonial activities related to work and service are brought under a purview of the ‘right time’ for starting in order to gain momentum. There are also special days based on immensely significant events deemed divine and awe-inspiring, thereby evoking reverence and enumeration by devotees who adore such happenings.

The Sanskrit-based calculation and ethos is based on a cycle of 60 as per the sexagesimal system. Our resting heartbeat of one beat per second is considered to be the rhythm at the root of this system. The number 60 has 12 factors (the total number of constellations in the zodiac that the Sun traverses in a year) and is the smallest number divisible by every number from 1 to 6.

While 6 breaths span on average 24 seconds, 360 breaths usually take 24 minutes or 1/60th of a day, and 21,600 human breaths take 24 hours or a full day. 360° of sky-arc pass over the horizon in one day. 1/60 of 360° = 6° = 360 minutes of arc. Thus 360 breaths cover 360 minutes of arc in space. Therefore, during one breath, the heavenly bodies move in space by one minute of arc. Hence our breathing patterns and heartbeat rhythms are mapped and connected to the macrocosm through the process of evolution.

The Moon covers the same 360° of the sky in one synodic lunar month (the time it takes the moon to go from one new moon to the next) that the Sun covers during one sidereal year (the time it takes the sun to pass through all 12 constellations of the zodiac). The Sun’s 360° cycle is divided into 12 months of 30° each whereas the Moon’s cycle is divided into 30 days of 12° each. A lunar month is thus a mirror image of the solar year. An average soli-lunar year (based on a mean of 365.26 days of the solar sidereal year and 354.37 days of the lunar synodic year) is also about 360 days consisting of 40 nine-day/night periods (navarātri) and 9 forty-day periods (each such 40-day period is a mandala).

Wisdom teachings from the Sanskrit heritage guide the seeker towards a daily meditation practice that transcends the barriers of emotional remnants from performing prescribed duties and voluntary activities. Herein, meditation mends the mind by overcoming emotional and physical disturbances. However, the greater virtue of meditation lies in the continuous purification of the chitta (mind, ego and intellect) in the subtle heart. Sanskrit texts define this subtle heart as the soul, which can be seen in deep meditation (seeing without the use of subtle sense organs).

Practising daily mindfulness with breath awareness brings about an understanding 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 (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 extant Sanskrit philosophical literature, 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.

Affirmations, spiritual vows and daily meditation based on this greater synchronization are necessary until living liberation is attained. Those joining the path of inner awakening or 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. 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. If voluntary action (purushakāra) is guided towards a profound meditation practice, a seeker may obtain liberation in a single birth. Such is the promise of Sanskrit wisdom.

Remnant oral history storylines surviving since the Mahābharata times in India uphold that the last day of a yuga (era) during Rigvedic times occurs when a New Moon coincides with the winter solstice. The cycle of this yuga takes 19 years to complete on such an occurrence. This yuga duration of 19 years is corroborated by calculations based on the astronomy detailed in the original version of Rig-vedāṇga-Jyotiṣa (RVJ). This extant Sanskrit literature demonstrates how the number of lunations (synodic months) were systematically parsed out in a soli-lunar cycle of years by Vedic astronomers.

As mentioned in the Yajur-vedāṇga-Jyotiṣa, simplification evolved into a 5-year cycle where the 6th year had to have an adjustment made. This Yajus-cycle thus uses an adjustment on the 6th, 12th and 18th year to catch up with the 19 years of a Rig-cycle. Reference of this Yajus-cycle calculation is mentioned in the Shantiparva section of Mahābharata.

Even though solar parameters are stated for mathematical correlations, solar months are not used for calculating auspicious times for festivals, ceremonies or ablutions. Both Vedāṇga-Jyotiṣa and the classical texts of Ayurveda instead use soli-lunar months and seasons (r̥tucarya) for determining timing of festivals and seasonal healthful regimens, respectively.

For example, the winter solstice (solar uttarāyana) is not used as the starting point for a month or year in the Jyotiśa system that was prevalent over 5000 years ago. In this system, the months, the seasons and the year did not start, for example, on the 21st of a solar month calibrated against the equinox or the solstice. Instead, meaningful auspicious times are calculated from the first day after the New Moon (śukla pratipāda) or the first day in the ascending cycle of the moon, considered the anchor point for the start of the months and seasons.

Rig-vedāṇga-Jyotiṣa considered the first day of the ascending cycle of the Māgha (Tapas) soli-lunar month as the first day of a new year starting a 19-year yuga cycle, which may not be exactly coinciding with the currently observed sidereal Māgha. This is because the corrections for the lunar months matching the number of solar months in a given yuga period were inserted differently during the Rigvedic times compared with the current practice of adding a rotating intercalary lunar month after every three solar years.

The thirteenth intercalary month, known in Sanskrit as the Adhikamāsa, used to be added at appropriate intervals just before the winter or summer solstice at the end of a six-month period. This retained synchronicity of soli-lunar months with seasonal variations. During a 19-year yuga cycle, intercalary months were inserted on the 3rd, 6th, 9th, 11th, 14th, 17th and 19th year, thus adjusting 7 times.

Thus the Rig-vedāṇga-Jyotiṣa methods of corrections were executed to make sure that the Māgha (Tapas) soli-lunar month occurred near the actual winter solstice. Māgha is referred to as the first soli-lunar month and śiśira (late winter) in several Pourānic Sanskrit literatures. This determination points to the importance of seasons in timing Vedic fire ceremonies and as a starting point for vows during periods of important festivals.

The New Moon of 11th February 2021 (mounī-āmāvasyā) may be deemed as the last day of the year if one accepts the integrity of these oral traditions, matches them with the correct interpretation of the Rig-vedāṇga-Jyotiṣa and correlates them with the current sidereal soli-lunar month Māgha (in 2021 it begins with Friday, 12th February in Western part of the USA). This particular new moon is considered the last day of every sidereal soli-lunar year, in absence of a 19-year yuga cycle and with the current method of inserting the intercalary month. The New Moon of inner silence will be observed in 2021 on 11th February.

Traditional lineages of Jyotiṣa recite from memory the verse related to the birth of our Sun to provide a unique perspective for fresh pupils and novices. The verse indicates that the Sun was born on the seventh day of the soli-lunar month Māgha, on a Sunday posited in the constellation of Aries in the lunar asterism (naxatra) of Aśvinī. In the context of the New Moon and the New Year mentioned above, our Sun was thus born on the seventh day of the New Year during the ascending cycle of the moon. Even the Sanskrit name of the year corresponding to the 60-year cycle of the years is indicated by this verse. A relevant portion of the verse is presented here:

māgha-māse śukla-paxe saptamyām bhānu-vāsare prabhāvādi nāma saṃvatsare aśvinī naxatra jātaṃ

The traditionists of course rely on the antiquity and the continuity of the soli-lunar calendar, including its use as the basis for the seven-day week. However, some mathematical adjustments to Indic sidereal calendar with respect to the older Vedāṇga-Jyotiṣa calculation have not received the universal acceptance from mathematicians and astronomers who study Jyotiṣa.

The currently used pancāṇgaṃ calendar published by institutions and universities in India, such as those in Varanasi, have found utility by correctly predicting the onset of seasons, including monsoon rain, heat spike, crop damage and harvest times. However, the tropical solar calendar cannot be used with much success with predictions about the onset of seasonal changes. The tropical solar calendar is useful in mundane astrology.

What made the soli-lunar new year in 2020 fortuitous is the concurrent Saturn transit into its own home constellation Capricorn, which took place on this New Moon of 24th January in 2020. Based on the approximate five-year transit of Saturn in its two home constellations, it heralded a new era, somewhat similar to the concept of time cycles in Vedāṇga-Jyotiṣa.

It is believed that the water of the sacred confluence of Ganga and Yamuna turns into nectar on the New Moon of silence. The day is upheld as the important last day of the year when, through ablutions, an aspirant would be able to absolve of the demerits accrued over the entire year – a last chance, so to speak. Thus the New Moon of inner silence is traditionally the most important day to take a holy dip. On this day pilgrims practice fasting by not uttering a word throughout the day in addition to taking cleansing ablutions.

Many pilgrims are aware of the world’s largest holy bathing congregations known as Kumbha-Melā, the most well-known of such gatherings that take place in Prayagraj. This grand event spanning over a month is the largest open-air gathering for masses of pilgrims, saints, hermits, mendicants and siddhas, attracting myriads of devotees from within India and around the world. The energy in the mela grounds is palpably intense and spiritually charged. There is the sparkle of spiritual aspiration that is the guiding light amidst the waves of rolling dust whirling in from the sand and silt at the confluence of riversides.

Monks and pontiffs take their bath through a collective procession based on their order or affiliation and pre-assigned times for their own councils and consortiums. Thereafter, the brave devotees take their much-awaited dips by plunging into the waters with deep faith while putting aside concerns about being caught in a stampede.

The unbroken tradition provides detailed guidance about these occasions when waters will be charged with the subtle blessings. However, this holy bathing has more to do with one’s own subtle vows and affirmations than just a mad rush to forsake all demerits! Bathing in this elixir is akin to a refreshing restart, a rejuvenation that symbolizes the washing away of obstacles by effecting a subtle mental purification. This contemplative new moon is the special day for those gallant souls who are brave enough to practise the tradition literally.

Adorable families and venerable parents,

I am writing to all those families whose children have been growing up around me during their most formative years rapidly growing into their youthful state. As you know I continue to offer my earnest blessings for your children, while prayerfully guiding in my heart for them to blossom with fortitude into dignified adulthood.

Even as parents of your precious ones you are still my children, and surely enough your own parents are also like children to me even though they are the kindred spirit – as together we are old souls!

I see through your challenges and keep praying for your moral courage to raise your children in this day and age where the societal pressure of disobedience is further compounded by the atmosphere of dishonesty and an absent labour of love. I carry in my heart the silent ruminations of your joy and wish for your contentment in your family while you gain honour in your community.

I thank God for making you find me. God and guru are the ultimate refuge, if indeed the guru is a traditional satguru – a realized divine being who is transparent with the supreme personality of God, and surely capable of parenting you with the highest wisdom. While guru can be of many types and hail from many backgrounds, a satguru is a true representative of the Lord, the supreme personality of God.

Whenever any deep worry was shared with me about your children’s future regarding their health and study, I was there to alleviate your concern. I was able to remove the karmic obstacle to the extent permitted by the Lord’s command and allow you repose in peace so that you did not have to forbear the tribulation all by yourselves. I was there as a spiritual pillar for you to lean on.

I have been teaching to do your best and leave the rest – to God. Rest assured, only a revealed satguru can intervene regarding your children’s dilemmas, guide at the highest level both verbally and silently, and shower blessings so that you gather fresh momentum to maintain internal harmony within your family.

If I can behold how the supreme personality of God descends and what his pastimes are, then surely I can feel and see through both the drama and dharma in your families. I would not be able to initiate anyone into the path of salvation if I could not see the past and future, even while being silently reposed in the present. I am truly blessed by the supreme personality of God, my Iṣta – my Lord, and this grace is my most precious embellishment with which I have been interacting with you ever since you have known me.

It is very important for you all to not forsake or withdraw from the shelter under my umbrella, for this canopy is not held in place by me, but by the invisible power of the supreme Lord from up above. This umbrella is not just a shade but the shelter of a giant peepal tree. You perhaps know that a peepal tree exudes nonstop oxygen day and night. Yes, the shelter of satguru is indeed like oxygen for thriving, especially for the greater family.

My own monastic satguru, Swami Hariharananda Paramahansa, predicted that I will be like a Buddha whose shelter will be filled with the balmy ambience of holy abundance. Why not take the fullest advantage of knowing me in this life and walk with me strides matched together?

One lifetime is indeed a short span and change is the very nature of the world. This world and its sumptuous cushions are constantly slipping away from us. There is no need to look hither thither or be distracted by short term advice. It is not about whether you relate better with simpler handholding. Higher visionary spiritual advice from a siddha monk is rare in this current epoch’s era.

A realized monk is proclaimed to be the most suitable satguru in this yuga. Keep deep spiritual connection with me as this will be the most prudent dharma. I am not the only witness, there are other higher divine arbiters who keep watching over us. Karmic momentum of misfortunes already set into motion are not exhausted by blessings alone. However, there are multiple levels of general protection that is built in when you study with an esteemed meditation lineage which traces back to our Iṣta – the Lord Himself.

Challenges from uninvited situations come our way due to the very urge that initiated this life. Thus it is best to not give sway to either depression or elation. Freedom is not attained until the full quota of contingent satisfactions from the momentum of karma get exhausted, which may take lifetimes of striving and adhering misery. Advice by satguru may not always seem practical but assists in loosening the karmic shackles of affliction when implemented.

This past year I have been sharing with you about the descension of Lord Kalki amongst us – His place of birth and His formation of Sudharmā Mahāsangha for the establishment of dharma on Earth, matching the revelation of Bhagavad Gita 4th chapter. In the lighted depths of my heart, I can see the young Lord Kalki studying with Lord Paraśurāma in the hidden coves and lush enclaves of a mountainous terrain that I am familiar with from my past lives.

As you have felt, the current age is such that negativity spreads faster and grips harder, but these times will change in the foreseeable future when Lord Kalki reveals His full glory. Then the lives of your children will be memorable and spiritually meaningful in every which way. I am just holding the mast and guiding you through these troubled waters. Times are forthcoming in some years that will bear the fruits of our present service and you will be able to overcome the current challenges of civilizational crises.

Whether embroiled or relatively free, once encumbered, the tentacles of duties cannot be avoided. I have always taught you to discharge the duties of life as a spiritual penance and lovingly offer the fruits of hard work to the Lord. Ultimately only the Lord can protect you from the imbalance of adversity and prosperity.

I thank you profusely for reciprocating my compassion with your charity and kindness. Now I urge you to follow my wise words. I see through your lives and hover silently over your children and parents, while I behold Lord Kalki and await His command. I welcome you heartily to secure with me the citadel of solace with rock solid fortification.

With the holy blessings of Lord Kalki,
Swami Vidyadhishananda

Venerable friends and families,

I convey my heartiest wishes and earnest blessings to you during the year-end holidays. May your holidays be instilled with a prayerful and careful attitude. May you embrace unrushed thoughtful decision-making parsing out the confusion while forbearing the tribulation. May your hearts be overfilled with gratitude and kindness.

Year-end is the time for reflection and rumination. How to make these holidays meaningful and uplifting is within the reach of your own affirmations. Change is the nature of the world and it is constantly slipping away from us. Often at the end of an era or a yuga like this, change is accelerated, bringing in a clash of ethos and bipolar ideologies. There is no other option but to face such times with moral strength and practical sense. These situations prompt us to look deeper within and harness the value of dispassion.

Holidays are meant to be holy days of self-reflection and prayer. They are not meant for simply exchanging packages of material objects that please us. Pleasure gathered from the world makes us indebted to the world, and hence there is the remembrance of worldliness. When we retire at night, we must ruminate on the higher goal of human excellence and not be flooded with memories of worldly engagements while mentally unpacking the material gifts that are laced with likes and dislikes.

One is truly peaceful if one is free from fearful living even in the face of a serious crisis of sustainable livelihood. Giving in to the fears and somewhat manifesting the worries is a much lesser way. We are born free and never meant to be wrapped in fear of the unknown or struggle with a daily dose of general dread. Holidays are meant for regaining our confidence and deepen our conviction through faith in God.

Kindness and charity are both exemplary virtues rooted in compassion. This holiday might beckon you toward gifts of kindness wherein your charitable sharing is meaningful and value-added for both the giver and the recipient. We must remember who the real giver is, and that He made sure there is plenitude waiting to be cultivated in some way or other, despite the imbalance from hoarding and greed.

The current age is such that negativity spreads faster and grips harder, but these times will change in the foreseeable future. Times are forthcoming in a few years that will embrace our fortitude toward the current challenges of civilizational crises. Our efforts become value-added through our faith in God, otherwise they are of limited effectiveness. Love is the best gift that honours our innate compassion for humanity.

Our illusory bondage to materialism cannot last long. Challenges from uninvited situations come our way due to the very urge that initiated this life. Thus it is best to not give sway to either depression or elation. The ramparts that hold us captive due to the karmic shackles get shattered faster when we invoke godliness, thereby freeing the soul from the worldly drama. Otherwise freedom is not attained before the full quota of contingent satisfactions from the momentum of karma get exhausted, which may take lifetimes of striving and adhering misery.

Whether embroiled or relatively free, once encumbered, the tentacles of duties cannot be avoided. Therefore it is best to discharge the duties of life as a spiritual penance. Do your best and leave the rest, to God – who will protect you from the imbalance of adversity and prosperity. Only if we are able to submerge in the spiritual refuge unto the supreme personality of Godhead, by following the wise words of wisdom from realized beings who have seen God, there is then the citadel of solace with rock solid fortification.

With the holy blessings of God and Guru,
Swami Vidyadhishananda