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Auspicious nine-night periods

by Swami Vidyadhishananda

Spiritual rejuvenation with Navartri


Devotees and seekers of truth continually search for higher applicable philosophical
principles in an effort to establish deeper spiritual values which in turn enrich their lives. If
one were to ask spiritually alert seekers what is most precious in their lives, the prompt
answer might be time itself. Sanskrit spiritual philosophy teaches us to live every moment
fully. For an aspirant, each moment is momentous. In meditation, our sense of time is lost
and there is the mending of the mind. Relief comes in as a flood of peace overcoming the
internal chatter. The awareness regains its unbounded freedom. A natural pure state of
mind is reclaimed and calmness prevails. Therefore, seekers who have had experiences of
tranquility always affirm the preciousness of time in daily life and wish not to fritter away
the power of mindfulness.
Though every moment is momentous for a spiritual seeker, special time periods are
recognized within our daily calendar to be especially conducive to our practices and
participation. We embrace prayerfully special times of the year which are deemed
auspicious. As our biorhythms and diurnal cycles are in synergy with and related to the
Vedic soli-lunar calendar (jyotisha calculations), so are the relationships manifested
between us and higher worlds during specific time periods. The Sanskrit literature
elucidates on how these relationships are more meaningful at certain specific time periods.
Four nine-night time periods right after four new moons are celebrated in spiritual
traditions by invoking varying degrees of contemplation, introspection, meditation,
austerity and rituals, and also by launching new ventures. The culmination of this ninenight period ushers in dashami or the tenth day of victory. Victory Day on the tenth day of
the ascending cycle of the Moon bears a great significance for bringing to fruition a special
personal triumph. The navartri meditation or worship of nine days (and nights) is of
course divided into single days of special prayers and additionally into three three-day
periods related to the trinity of Shakti (splendorous aspects of the Divine Mother). The
invocation of the three primary Vedic Sanskrit scriptures is related in the following way
Rigveda with MahKli for the first three days, YajurVeda with MahLaxmi for the middle
three days and SmaVeda with MahSaraswati for the last three days, respectively.

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


19th January
20th 28th Jan
29th January

New Moon
9 days (or nights)
10th day

mouni-mvasy
mgha-gupta-navartri
dashami

19th March
20th 28th Mar
29th March

New Moon
9 days (or nights)
10th day

chaitra-mvasy
vasanta-navartri
dashami

20th March

1st day of the Vedic soli-lunar year

15th July
16th 25th July
26th July

New Moon
9 lunar nights over 10 solar days
10th lunar day

shra-mvasy
shra-gupta-navartri
dashami

Content 2015 Swami Vidyadhishananda Giri. All rights reserved.


Self Enquiry Life Fellowship PO Box 30627, Santa Barbara, CA 93130 quest@swamahiman.org

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12th October
13th 21st Oct
22nd October

New Moon
9 soli-lunar day/night
10th lunar day

shwin-mvasy
shradiy-navartri
vijay-dashami

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


sev can structure their time equally into ten days of steady participation. One tenth of all
spiritual practices are deemed as a correction! Therefore nine days (or nights) of practices
must be followed by the tenth portion of correction in addition to any corrective measures
taken to avoid distraction from mindfulness during any individual practice session. While
evening time or even midnight time meditation is acceptable for the nine nights, the tenth
concluding session should ideally be finished before dark on the tenth day (vijay-dashami).
If you wish to further study the transition of dates for your own area (local latitude and
longitude), feel free to explore these links at your own risk. Even though the original Vedic
or Sanskrit significance might not be available, the calculations are fairly reliable.
http://www.mypanchang.com/
http://www.drikpanchang.com/
A reliable website that is a good resource for relevant dates, such as eclipses in your area, is
also worth studying.
http://www.timeanddate.com/astronomy/

Practical implementation of Navartri


Vedanta philosophy proclaims that the immortal essence or the consciousness cannot be
mindfully introspected by those who are physically weakened (nymtm balahinena
labhya). The mindful seeker then considers the gift of a healthy body as a venerable
support for introspection and thereby offers sev for the healing of the Earth by recognizing
that the body is like wet earth (or soil) in subtle balance with the oxygen and prna of the
higher quarters above Earth. The breath of life and vibrant nonviolent food is very much
dependent on a clean environment and sustainable living. Navartri is then an ideal time
to participate in healing our relationship with the Earth through the meditative and
spiritual worship of the divine mother or shakti. Many seekers consider affirmations
related to targeted community service, such as planting trees or working alongside farmers
as meaningful service to honour the greater motherhood.
An ardent seeker is not focused on personal gains from giving charity and spiritual
offerings, but is more inclined to share resources through mindful practices and meditation
that is a compassionate healing to the earth (bhudevi). It is no longer possible to take our
lives on earth for granted. Our environment has become impacted due to careless pollution
and mindless experimentation motivated by power and greed. Seekers feel concern about
their own families or are hesitating about starting a family. The thriving prna of microhydrated water and oxygenated breath is verily rare. Any mindful prayer or meditative
reflection rests upon able-bodied application of intellectual force which in turn is sustained
by clean water and fresh air alongside sustainable natural food. Now the prna or energy
resources required for prnyma breathing techniques themselves need replenishment!
The meditative worship during navartri often includes venerable nurturing of Mother
Earth, without which our bodies cannot sustain the spiritual practices. Those who sacrifice
for the greater cause have truly understood the core principles and spiritual values that
Content 2015 Swami Vidyadhishananda Giri. All rights reserved.
Self Enquiry Life Fellowship PO Box 30627, Santa Barbara, CA 93130 quest@swamahiman.org

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guide our service or sev. It is not enough to seek benevolence for oneself by breaking
coconuts and offering valuables to the altars, but better still to undertake genuine spiritual
practices of honouring and serving that elevate our minds and fulfill our hearts without
wanting anything in return. After all, a mother wants hardly anything from the child! A
genuine seeker of truth will contemplate on the greater realms and reach out to the core of
motherhood and Mother Earth, and mindfully recognize the grace of this life and plenitude.

Affirmations based on the prna calendar


The history of the calendar is long, requiring arduous study of past simplifications and
periodic adaptations. There are many pitfalls, and to that effect, calendar making over a
couple of thousand years ago had been mired with errors and corrections. There is,
however, the ancient system from Vedic antiquity, which invokes the Sanskrit tradition of
soli-lunar calendar calculation to determine the passing of the year and the timing of
auspicious transitions. This calculation yields a dynamic calendar with several checkpoints
for adjustments already built in (through intricacies of the ayanmsha calculations).
Modern astronomy confirms the validity and accuracy of this dynamic calendar.
Nevertheless, with respect to our modern solar calendar, this soli-lunar dynamic time
frame keeps on shifting. Thus the new year start date varies based on the position of a
particular new moon. For example, one year it may fall in the month of March and another
year in the month of April with reference to the solar calendar with which we are familiar.
The Vedic New Year begins with the first soli-lunar day of the ascending cycle of the Moon
immediately after the new moon when the Sun is in Pisces. In 2015 the first day of the
Vedic soli-lunar year is on 20th March. This day is known as the chaitra-shukla-pratipda
or the first day of the lunar ascending cycle when the Moon is posited in the lunar asterism
(naxatra) of Revati. This significant cosmic transition is captured by the Sanskrit word
yugdi or the start of an era. It represents an opportunity to renew our affirmations for the
coming times. For meditators, this is an ideal transition period to revive their daily
spiritual practices (sdhan).
This transition is based on the rhythms of nature and cycles of time as they relate to the
relative movement of heavenly bodies, including lunar asterisms and the constellations.
The synergy effects make it pertinent that we synchronize our affirmations and routines
based on the cosmic time calendar given to us by the extant Sanskrit literature and its
calculations. The spiritual resolutions and the attendant disciplines can be felt closely
connected with the energy coordinates within our bodies and around us. The soli-lunar
calendar maps the diurnal rhythms with respect to luminaries and planets in deep space
while the movement of these heavenly bodies retains a relationship with our breath. During
one regular breath by a human being, the heavenly bodies move in space by one minute of
arc, obviously related to the rotation of the earth (for a comprehensive study on prnic
lifeforce biorhythms and harmonious lifestyle, please see the Lifeforce + Lifestyle
Workbook available at publications.hansavedas.org for more details).
In other words, the Vedic soli-lunar prna (lifeforce energy) calendar is based on a
continuous mapping of the relative positions of heavenly bodies within our solar system and
with reference to the lunar mansions farther out into space from Earth. Here on Earth,
according to the geographic coordinates where we are located, this daily prna calendar
maps the biorhythms influencing us through the cosmic motion of luminaries and planets.
Equipped with an understanding of these transitions of key space-time coordinates, we can
make affirmations at these auspicious times that become more meaningful.

Content 2015 Swami Vidyadhishananda Giri. All rights reserved.


Self Enquiry Life Fellowship PO Box 30627, Santa Barbara, CA 93130 quest@swamahiman.org

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New moon of silence


On a new moon, the Sun and the Moon are overlapping and aligned with respect to the
Earth, signifying the imbuing of light in the emptiness of the mind so that the
consciousness can be revealed. The meditator is now ready for the conception of the light of
consciousness in the heart having conquered not only the emotional and physical
disturbances but also the remaining subtle desires.
In some traditions the new year starts on a new moon known in the Vedic Sanskrit
tradition as the mouni-mvasy or the new moon of inner silence. In 2015, this new moon
is on the evening of 19th January in the USA. A deep meditator who becomes completely
absorbed (samdhi) and attains higher realization is known in Sanskrit as muni. This root
word transforms into mouni or the great silence of deep meditation. When appended with
mvasy, denoting the new moon, this word mouni-mvasy implies the silence of the
great void a silence attained through deep meditation whereby all remaining internal
chatter and imagery are conquered. In other words, the limit of perception is reached after
overcoming all thought waves from subtle impressions in the heart. Herein the metaphor of
darkness is aptly connected with the mystery of the new moon.
A wise saying declares that invoking a God-centred life brings about fulfillment, such is the
experience. Practising daily mindfulness with breath awareness brings about 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 mindstuff (chitta-suddhi). Thereafter, a pure-hearted mind beholds the ultimate knowledge or
realization of being that transcends subtle feelings and the thoughtless void. While the
journey is outlined clearly in Sanskrit, it is helpful to know that our affirmations towards
the goal become more meaningful when we synchronize them closely with a certain cosmic
time-space coordinate based on a proven dynamic calendar from our ancient heritage.
The affirmations, spiritual vows and daily meditation based on this greater synchronization
are necessary until living liberation is attained. Those joining the path of inner 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 and moreover by anchoring in the inner
silence they become mighty performers and a noble wish in such a case fructifies easily.
Such free beings do not cultivate wishful thinking or get unnecessarily busy with the
world. Virtues cling to them on account of their tranquil mind. Hence it is no surprise that
the new year in most traditions begins at a point of transition based on a new moon; herein
a new moon is symbolic of no mind or no thoughts and no mental images. If voluntary
action (purushakra) is guided towards a profound meditation practice, a seeker may
obtain liberation in a single birth. Such is the promise of Sanskrit wisdom.

Content 2015 Swami Vidyadhishananda Giri. All rights reserved.


Self Enquiry Life Fellowship PO Box 30627, Santa Barbara, CA 93130 quest@swamahiman.org

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