Earth 30
Nutrition for Conscious Living (Part 1)
Self-Healing, Higher Awareness, Cruelty Free Living, Power –Nutrition, Physical Body Wellness, Food as Medicine, Living your highest
Written by Sameera Khan
In this monthly Pure Jovial Series of Nutrition for Conscious Living, we welcome you on an important yet exciting expedition into the world of awareness, maintenance, prevention and cure through something we all love and need – our Food!
Now before we head into the exciting world of Food, let us begin with what actually Conscious Living is. Perhaps you are considering a more Conscious lifestyle or have made the decision to become a more Conscious Being, but what exactly is i tand does this mean only your dietary intake, going plant based or is there more under the surface? Let’s take a closer look.
What Is Conscious Living/ Living in Awareness?
As much as this term is widely used by many individuals searching for a higher awareness based living, it has more of a deeper meaning than just living plant based – food purchasing choices and health is the main context of the first Pure Jovial Series and so we will be focusing predominantly on awareness in purchasing decisions.
If you look at most humans today, most of the time we are living unconsciously, what does this even mean? If you have a look around, you may see challenges facing people today, this could be in the areas of mental health, relationships, or perhaps our physical health is not as we would ideally want it to be. Financial awareness also matters. All this being said, we can conclude that these are the effects of Unconscious living- Unaware thoughts, words and actions with corresponding effects.
So how does one move toward being more conscious and how can this benefit life for all living species on earth?
Everyone is indeed on their own path but these are the common factors when increasing your awareness levels – Various practices such as prayer, meditation, connection to your Guru/Divine in your own way, and even more simply, using your intellect. You can ask yourself these 4 simple questions before you act on a thought or word, this will help you raise your awareness levels and become more conscious.
1: How is this thought, word and/action affecting me (Spiritually, emotionally and physically)
2: How is this thought, word and/or action affecting the people around me?
3: How is this thought, word and/or action affecting the species around me?
4: How is this thought, word/ and/or action affecting our planet earth?
If you are not sure how your thoughts, words and actions affect the above, call upon your intellect to determine if this is causing DAMAGE, VIOLENCE or HARM in all 4 areas mentioned above. This will help you make the Conscious decision pertaining to any area of your life and build up your level of will power in order to make the best choices more often than not.
Benefits of Living Consciously
Being aware of every thought, word and action that emanates from us gives us the power to become more conscious beings, but how does this tie in with our dietary intake and the rest of our lifestyle choices, and why is it important?
Let us look at the benefits of truly living in awareness as this can affect the choices you make whether this is in the area of your nutrition, personal care and other consumables that you use on a regular basis.
1: You are not harming your Physical Body
Numerous studies, not sponsored by businesses directly or indirectly involved in the nutrition arena (Be it vegan businesses or those who are in animal product commerce) conducted and peer reviewed by independent researchers and scientists expose the detrimental effects on the physical body, of consuming animal products. These studies have uncovered a higher risk of illness especially to the heart and its related complications, other inflammatory conditions, auto immune imbalances, endocrine disruption and toxicity levels. One of these studies has revealed that plant based consumers were associated with a lower systolic and diastolic blood pressure than consumers of animal based products. Another has found that plant based eaters had a 24% reduction in Ischemic Heart disease compared with non – vegans. There are many such studies with substantial findings and if this interests you further, you can refer to pure-jovial.com for a full understanding of the science behind it.
When we also refer to the physical body and its conscious care, we will also be referring to what is applied externally to our biggest organ – the Skin. Many Synthetic Chemicals, and even toxic carcinogens (cancer causing molecules) and endocrine disruptors are used in almost all the goods manufactured by major fast moving consumer goods companies today. This is something we need to be aware of and will also be covering in the near future. In all, physical illness is something everyone would like to avoid as much as possible, and this can be significantly reduced by making more Conscious choices in ones life.
2: You are not harming your Emotional Body
It is important to also consider your mental health when it comes to physical health as many of us ignore this major contributor to physical manifestation of disease. Let us understand this better.
Starting with the animal itself, remember animals have more of an awakened 6th sense than some of us and can intensely feel the heavy emotions of fear, helplessness, trauma and pain among others. These emotions being felt by the being becomes a part of them, engrained deeply in their mental and physical body. A human upon consuming the flesh of this being, then also absorbs these emotions into their cells, thus further contaminating his/own emotional body.
Why is this also important to consider? Some may consider this not as important as the physical body; however a large percentage of disease initially begin in the mind. In Ayurvedic practice our emotions are connected to various parts of the body, for example, the spleen is linked with the feeling of worry, the liver with anger, the colon with letting go and so on. What we store in our emotional body is inexorably linked with our physical body. Contaminating our mind can have disastrous consequences not only on ourselves but on others too, let’s continue…
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You are not harming your intellectual Body
Choosing to be conscious really filters out to your entire human constitution and this includes your intellectual body/wisdom body. Being aware of what you expose yourself to on a daily basis can either benefit or contaminate your intellectual body. Concepts, ideologies and conditionings that imprint qualities of judgement, prejudice, insensitivity, non-compassion, indifference, ignorance, selfishness, betrayal, manipulation, violence, comparisons, greed, and others are considered as contamination of one’s Intellectual body. Be aware of sources of intellectual contamination such as books, print, radio, television, social media and people that are unconsciously selling you contamination. Choosing more Conscious sources of media such as your chosen divine scriptures, higher frequency music and entertainment, and the people you surround yourself with, will aid you in living more consciously.
4: You are not harming others:
Conscious living/ living with Awareness is based on the premise of not causing pain or harm to others.This is one question that you can ask yourself when faced with any situation and can help clear out any uncertainty in this area: “Do I want to be the cause of pain of another?” Your answer will then help you make the appropriate decision when it comes to any area of your life including your meal choices.
5: You are not causing harm to Mother Earth:
When we make smarter, more compassionate and healthier choices by not causing harm to ourselves and others, we are at the same time not causing harm to our home- Planet Earth. It’s a win-win situation all round! Let’s look at some of the effects caused by Unconscious Living on our planet Earth.
All of the resources used in the animal agriculture industry are now under scrutiny for contributing to severe greenhouse gas emissions (obliterating our ozone layer), animal waste contamination affecting millions of litres of water in freshwater ways every day, burning of our precious forests such as the Amazon to make room for more animal agriculture, and energy wastage.
Statistics also show that around 821 Million humans do not have basic fresh water and food to survive on a daily basis, while just the grain in the United States alone used to feed livestock can be used to easily feed our fellow humans in famine stricken countries, something Governments and leaders have been trying to figure out for decades.
It becomes even more concerning when we see how other limited resources such as fossil fuel and worrying amounts of fresh water is used in the business of animal agriculture. The former – Fossil Fuel is meant to remain in our Earth’s core, lubricating the Earth and not used in the way that we see it being used today. It has recently become clear to us that approximately 100 000 litres of water is being used to produce 1kg of Beef (considering transportation, animal consumption and so on) whereas 900 litres is used to grow 1kg of wheat and 500 litres for 1kg of Potatoes – some food for thought here!
These are just some of the effects of recent unconscious thoughts, words and actions on ourselves, others and our planet. When one considers the all-round benefits of living a Higher Awareness Life, it is not difficult to see how just one person can make a huge difference for themselves, others and our planet. It iswithin our reach and is possible right here, right now. All we need is AWARENESS and the rest will follow☺
Sameera Khan, owner of Pure Jovial
{Pure Jovial is here to support as many people as possible with their all-round Conscious Living choices. Please visit www.pure-jovial.com for more info coming soon! }
Introduction to Homeopathy – Part 01
Written by Dr. Izabela Jovovic
Believe it or not, homeopathy is the second most used medicine in the world,
the first is Chinese medicine, and in the third place, allopathy – modern medicine.
Why is Homeopathy so popular today?
Maybe because homeopathy can be used by babies, children, all people no matter how old are they. It is a very gentle medicine, with no side effects. Homeopathy is very successful in treating all kinds of diseases, including not only the physical level but also the mental and emotional level of one person. Very often my homeopathic colleagues and I hear questions – ‘You are a homeopathic doctor, but for what?’ Or, ‘Are working with adults only, or you are working only with children?’
So, for answering these questions, first I need to explain the basis of homeopathy and how homeopathic remedies work. The Father of homeopathy, Christian Friedrich Samuel Hahnemann, was a German physician, best known for creating the pseudoscientific system of alternative medicine called homeopathy. Dr. Hahnemann had mastery over seven languages namely, German, Italian, Spanish, French, English, Latin, and Greek. He gained further proficiency in Arabic, Syrian, Chadian, and Hebrew. 
He had a reputation as a clinician as wells as being an acclaimed chemist of his time. One of his hobbies was to translate medical books from one language to other.
He is called the Father of Experimental Pharmacology because he was the the first physician to prepare medicines in a specialized way; proving them on healthy human beings, to determine how the medicines acted to cure diseases. Before Hahnemann, medicines were given based on speculative indications, mainly based on authority without experimental verification.
Hahnemann discovered the remedial powers of drugs and inert substances such as gold, platinum, silica, vegetable charcoal, lycopodium, etc., by preparing the medicines through potentization, these inert and insoluble substances became soluble in alcohol or water and were charged with medicinal force. Dr. Hahnemann espoused the law of cure known as “Similia Similibus Curentur”, or “Like Cures Like”. This means that a remedy that produces symptoms in a healthy person will cure those same symptoms when manifested by a person in a diseased state.
After giving up his practice around 1784, Hahnemann made his living chiefly as a writer and translator, also resolving to investigate the causes of medicine’s alleged errors. While translating William Cullen’s book, A Treatise on the Materia Medica, Hahnemann encountered the claim that cinchona, the bark of Peruvian tree, was effective in treating malaria, the footnote to this attributed the effectiveness to the severe bitterness. Hahnemann believed that other astringent substances are not effective against malaria and began to research the effect of Cinchona on the human body by self-application. Noting that the drug-induced malaria-like symptoms in himself, he concluded that it would do so in any healthy individual. This led him to postulate a healing principle: “That which can produce a set of symptoms in a healthy individual can treat a sick individual who is manifesting a similar set of symptoms.” This principle of like cures like, became the basis for an approach to medicine to which he gave the name Homeopathy. This law of cure has been verified by millions of homeopaths all over the world since the time of Hahnemann.
Homeopathy is AHIMSA, the most nonviolent medicine in the world. There are no testing homeopathic remedies on animals or humans. Also, remedies are pills or water dilutions with different potencies of different materials in nature, so they are not harmful. They can be from mineral vibrations, plant or animal vibrations or nosodes…
Before giving the homeopathic remedy, the homeopathic doctor conducts an interview with the patient, because of a holistic approach to every individual (we are all unique). During the interviews discussion revolves around issues (physical, mental-emotional), habits, dreams, and hobbies. Successful treatment needs to have a very open talk between doctor and patient, based on this information, a homeopath will decide what remedy will give and in what potency.
Good homeopathic doctors have to be able to treat all kinds of issues no matter if there is a baby or grown-up person.
To be continued…
Dr. Izabela Jovovic
Fruit Tree Plantation Drive
Written by Sanja Stankovic
We all want to end the hunger in the world but the main question is what are we doing about it?
Few global charity organizations decided to ACT and reduce the hunger worldwide and they inspire people all over the word to join their initiative – The Fruit Tree Plantation Drive.
Guided and inspired by Mohanji, an internationally renowned humanitarian and philanthropist, Ammucare Charitable Trust (India), Mohanji Foundation and ACT Foundation are dedicated to the drive of planting fruit bearing trees under the movement of sustenance for all beings beyond species. The reason why those organizations decided to plant the fruit bearing trees is because they will not just provide shelter and green cover to Mother Earth, but also provide food to all beings – human, animals, birds, free food for hungry and continue to serve generations to come.
“Fruit tree plantation is not just an act of kindness, it is a social responsibility. This is giving the fruits of kindness to the coming generations beyond species. Fill the forests with fruit trees. Plant more fruit trees in and around your city. It brings sweet grace to our lives beyond time.Planting fruit trees in forest areas, will keep the wild animals in their habitat as they will have enough food and they won’t come to the human areas.” – Mohanji
| About Ammucare |
| Ammucare is a registered non-profit organisation established in India in 2003 by Mohanji. Ammucare provides resources and services such as food, shelter, clothing, medical care, education and other means of support that empower and uplift the helpless and needy. Based out of Palakkad in Kerala, the trust has grown beyond regional barriers. Accepted and encouraged by a wide spectrum of people from different parts of the world, Ammucare now works throughout the world to extend care universally to all the children of Mother Earth. As a charity platform Ammucare presents an opportunity to like-minded people who wish to contribute towards society to channelise their efforts, resources and donations.https://www.ammucare.org/ |
| About ACT Foundation |
| ACT Foundationis a global charity community which operates in a growing number of countries across all five continents of the world. ACT works to serve humanity, help the helpless, give dignity to the poor and give opportunities to the less fortunate.
The MISSION of ACT Foundation is to provide care for the less fortunate, alleviate all forms of poverty and protect the environment through direct action, education, and empowerment.https://actfoundation.org/ |
Worldwide Challenges to Be Tackled
The number of people affected by hunger globally has been on the rise for several years now. According to World Food Program statistics (https://www.wfp.org/),nearly 690 million people are hungry, or 8.9 percent of the world population.Also, low-income countries rely more on staple foods and less on fruits and vegetables than high-income countries. Only in Asia, and globally in upper-middle-income countries, there are enough fruits and vegetables available for human consumption to be able to meet the FAO/WHO recommendation of consuming a minimum of 400 g/person/day. Globally, only one in three children 6 to 23 months of age meets the recommended minimum dietary diversity, with wide variation among the regions of the world and a diet quality is negatively affected by food insecurity. In addition, WFP emphasizes that adoption of plant-based dietary patterns would reduce the social cost of ghg emissions by 41–74 percent in 2030. The Fruit Tree Plantation Drive is dedicated to tackling those issues that are affecting our planet on a global scale.
Target and Expected Impact
This sustenance movement aims to drive an impact on the environment and all the living beings. It is planned for 100.000 trees to be planted globally. Countries that already started with plantation are: India, United Kingdom, USA, Canada, Serbia, Slovenia, Bosnia and many more are starting in September-October like Croatia, Macedonia, Turkey, Colombia and South Africa. Planted trees with various fruits will ensure that food is provided to many future generations. Plantation drive will decrease the harm of the deforestation and mitigate the water scarcity and lack of rainfall issues. Availability of various fruit trees will improve dietary patterns of many people for whom fruits are not available which affects their health severely.
To Ensure Sustainability of Communities
Leaders of the project are planning to provide sustainable contribution to communities that will be included in the project. They plan to search for plantation spaces within schools, pathways, along rivers/canals, boundaries of ponds etc. Also, in rural areas, villagers will get an opportunity to take a part in plantation activities as well as maintenance of the trees afterwards. Of course, they will enjoy the fruits of their work for many years to come.
“The best time to plant a tree is 20 years ago. The second best time is now.” (Chinese proverb)
We asked Subhasree Totungal, a global leader of the Fruit Tree Plantation Drive, how she got inspiration to start this project: “The Fruit
Tree Plantation Drive is unique in many ways. When Mohanji explained us about how it’s not just about providing a green cover to Earth rather facilitating food for all beings for generations to come. Our first thought is always for our mankind. Mohanji talked about birds, about wild animals, who often step out of their habitat to human encroached areas in search of food and often get killed! Allowing the animals to be in their habitat with a constant supply of food. Allowing birds to have their food supply. And of course, the benefit to mankind is multifold. Mohanji’s words touched our soul. The next moment, this became a global drive. In true sense, global. Beyond boundaries, climate, economic situation, many people came forward to join the drive and make a difference to their location, their country. When there is conviction, there is passion and follows the success beating all challenges. And yet another point to share with the readers, Mohanji not only inspires all of us by his words, but also through his actions. He reached Slovenia in end of April and just before there was lock down starting, instead of wasting time, he was at the Slovenia Mohanji Peace Center land, planting some fruit trees himself!”
Whomever wants to join the movement, support is welcome in many ways:
- Provide space for plantation
- Provide Saplings for plantation
- Provide workforce for plantation and maintenance activities
- Provide sponsorship for the plantation drive
- Any other way of supporting or starting initiative in your country
Find out more: http://www.fruittreeplantation.org/
There is a saying by Wangari Maathai, a Kenyan social and environmental activist:
“A tree has roots in the soil yet reaches to the sky. It tells us that in order to aspire we need to be grounded and that no matter how high we go; it is from our roots that we draw sustenance”. A Fruit Tree Plantation Drive project reminds us that we cannot improve as a civilization until we solve the basic challenges of a humanity. And those are hunger and environmental issues. We hope that this initiative will serve as a role model to many organizations and individuals worldwide and bring a positive impact in the world.
Author: Sanja Stankovic, TAT Editorial Team
The Opening Salvos of Climate Disaster
The cycle of life is intricately linked to water. From our first nine months swimming in a womb to our ashes being immersed in a sacred river or scattered across the ocean, from the essential nectar we drink to that which turns apple seeds into apple trees, water is an integral part of our very existence. However, unlike oxygen, which silently, invisibly, maintains the breath in our lungs and the beating of our heart, water is a visible, tangible presence and one with which we interact – directly and indirectly – throughout the minutes of our day and the days of our lives.
The nature of humans’ relation to water is multifaceted and deep. The exchange of oxygen between the air around us and the cells in our capillaries is unconscious and involuntary. Our exchange with water, however, is the subject of poetic literature. Countless novels, poems, sonnets, and songs have been written about our love affair with water. Whether that affair is one of awe, nurturance, poignancy, solace, inspiration, or fear – it nonetheless captures both our hearts and our minds. From Huck Finn to Hemingway, our lives are inseparable from the water around us.
Mother Ganga
The crystal-clear, blue, rushing waters of Mother Ganga cut through the foothills of the Himalayas, carving out what is perhaps the most sacred riverbed in the world.
Where the river ends and people’s lives begin is impossible to discern. Ganga is as inextricable from the lives of Indians as the very blood flowing through their veins. Whether She is a source of tangible water for daily drinking, bathing. and cooking, or whether She is a source of intangible inspiration and liberation prayed to with each morning’s bath in innumerable cities across the world, She is fundamental to the lives of more than one-seventh of the world’s population.
Mother Ganga irrigates not only the hearts, minds, and souls of Her one billion devotees around the world. She also irrigates the farms that feed more than one-third of India’s population. More than 500 million people receive the means for their very existence from Her waters. The Ganga Basin supports the greatest population density on Earth – it is home to more than one-twelfth of the world’s population. Ganga is the water they drink and with which they bathe, cook, and irrigate their crops. She is both the apple of their eye and the apple on their tree. Her irrigation canals span approximately 18,000 kilometres (11,000 miles), a network of channels running as the arteries of life for one-third of India.
The volume of waste dumped into Her waters is staggering. 1.3 billion litres of wastewater from domestic and industrial sources are dumped directly into Ganga each day. This is only the liquid waste – the untreated sewage, agricultural run-off and chemical effluents from factories. The solid waste, the actual trash which individuals and municipalities toss into Her stream each day is immeasurable.
Global Water Issues
The specific challenges faced by the millions of Indians living in the Ganga Basin across the five states through which She flows may be unique. However, the deeper, fundamental issues are not. Tragically they are global. Each day, approximately 4000 children die from waterborne illnesses and more people die annually from water-related issues than from all forms of violence combined – including individual assault and murder as well as organized crime and war.
“We forget that the water cycle and the life cycle are one. Water and air, the two essential fluids on which all life depends, have become global garbage cans.” – Jacques Cousteau, Oceanographer
By the year 2040, the world is predicted to have half the water it needs. The United Nations predicts “water scarcity in some arid and semi-arid places will displace between 24 million and 700 million people.” In other words, up to 700 million people could be forced to become refugees or internally displaced people due to the lack of water. Sadly, in less than 12 years, India will have half the water it needs. Just last year 300 million people were impacted by drought in India alone. It is a tragic sign. According to the United Nations, “Water scarcity already affects every continent. Around 1.2 billion people, or almost one-fifth of the world’s population, live in areas of physical scarcity, and 500 million people are approaching this situation.”
Global water-related issues are deeper than a critically worsening shortage. Not only are we running out of the water to provide for the exploding population, but we are simultaneously turning our limited water supply into poison. 1.8 billion people worldwide use water that is contaminated with human feces. Every day, two million tons of sewage and other effluents drain into the world’s water bodies.
Additionally, as countries develop, they produce more and consume more. An inevitable and inextricable part of the production is waste. According to the United Nations’ reports, eighty percent of all industrial wastewater globally is dumped untreated into water bodies, thereby rendering the water supply unusable.
Whichever country one may examine, whatever type of water body one may study, the facts are grim. Developing nations and developed nations alike are seriously suffering due to insufficient clean, pure, toxin-free water.
Solutions
The answers are actually simpler than we realize, or simpler than we want to realize. Complexity absolves us of responsibility. Simplicity, on the other hand, is both empowering and frightening. Simplicity holds the mirror of responsibility uncomfortably close to our own faces. Today we cannot afford to turn away. The Earth requires us to look into that mirror, not with guilt, not with disdain, not with judgment, but simply with awareness of what we could and should be doing.
We will find that so much more than we thought is within our power to change. Perhaps we can’t change entire industries, or entire government systems, but every choice we make about what to purchase, what to wear, and what to eat has direct and powerful impact upon climate change, upon children dying of starvation, pre-pubescent girls and boys working in toxic sweatshops, cotton pickers suffering from pesticide-induced cancers, suicidal farmers, and upon the health and balance of the water, air, and land of Mother Earth.
Vegetarianism
Whatever area of environmental, ecological or sociological crisis one studies, the meat industry plays a critical role. The production of meat for consumption is, according to a United Nations’ Report titled Livestock’s Long Shadow, the single greatest contributor to global warming. We can effect enormous change in the rate of global warming and environmental devastation with a few simple yet critical lifestyle choices.
One pound of grain can be turned into one pound of bread or one pound of pasta or one pound of rice. However, in order to produce one pound of meat, sixteen pounds of grain are required. If we must grow sixteen pounds of grain in order to obtain one pound of edible meat, then every time we eat meat rather than grain we are – essentially – eating for sixteen.
Additionally, the production of a pound of meat takes approximately 2,600 gallons (approximately 10,000 litres) of water. Tens of thousands of farmers across the “developing” world are collapsing on their desiccated fields. There is no water for their parched mouths or withered crops. Many commit suicide, unable to face the prospect of a tomorrow with no means to feed themselves and their families. Many others are taken, unwillingly, by sickness and death. And a typical small family consumes the equivalent of 2600 gallons of water during one meal of hamburgers.
The world of the twenty-first century cannot live in a vacuum. What I purchase, use, and eat today in Rishikesh or Delhi or London or Paris or Los Angeles is having a direct effect on the lives of my brothers and sisters in other countries. Every pound of meat that I don’t eat frees up sixteen pounds of grain and 2600 gallons of water for other purposes.
Anti-Consumerism
There is a direct, linear relationship between the volume of goods produced by a factory and the volume of waste cast by that factory into local rivers, lakes and groundwater or spewed into the air. Development is necessary. One cannot move backwards in time. Progress in the fields of education, technology, science and manufacturing are fabulous boons for any society. However, development should not be interpreted as a license for decadence or gluttony at the expense of others. A revered saint once said, “Your freedom ends where my toes begin.” If our freedom to develop and consume is turning the water that hundreds of millions depend upon for life into toxic sludge, then perhaps it is time to re-evaluate the expression of our freedom.
The Power of Faith
Every religion of the world exhorts us to view the world as our family. Can we? Can we do more than shake our heads in disbelief as we watch the news? Can we realize that the choice to live simply, so that our starving brothers and sisters may be fed, so that farmers’ lands may be irrigated, so that trees may continue to grow in the Amazon, so that the rate of global warming and environmental devastation may be checked, so that Mother Earth may continue to have fertile land for growing crops, may we realize that this is a natural choice and not a cruel and unusual punishment? Can we truly feel the same Oneness, the same sense of family, for those of other races, religions, cultures and colours as we do for those living under our own roofs or within our circle of friends?
This is the great challenge and great gift that we have been presented with today. That which our world requires us to do today is very much what all the religions of the world have been urging us to do for millennia: live simply, live with awareness and consciousness, share with others, love thy neighbour as thyself, practice non-violence and reap not the spoils of violence. By doing that which is right for the Earth, we are actually doing that which is right for ourselves.
The current tragic state of our Earth is forcing us out of our cocoons, forcing us to break the boundaries by which we have narrowly defined our “self.” If we can step up to the challenge and redefine our priorities, our values, our goals and even our understanding of where “self” ends and “other” begins, then this time in history will mark not an era of devastation but an era of rebirth.
[The] Global Interfaith WASH Alliance (GIWA) unites religious leaders and their communities to address the crisis of water, sanitation, and hygiene. In all of our religions, water is sacred and life is sacred. By bringing the leaders of different religions together to battle a common enemy – polluted water, death by diarrhea, climate change, and dwindling natural resources – we harness the power of the 84 percent of the world’s population that subscribes to a faith. It is said that faith can move mountains. We are using it to move not the mountains but the mindsets of our global family. We are using faith as a fantastically powerful tool to effect change in thought and behaviour toward a water-safe and environmentally sound world.
This article has been written by Sadhvi Bhagawati Saraswati, PhD, was raised in an American family in Hollywood, California and graduated from Stanford University. She was completing her PhD when she left America in 1996 to come and live permanently at Parmarth Niketan Ashram in Rishikesh, India. She has been living there for the last 22 years, engaged in spiritual practice and dedicated service.
She was officially initiated into the order of Sanyas (monastic renunciation) in the year 2000, by her Guru, His Holiness Swami Chidanand Saraswatiji.
The Northward Movement of the Sun
The Hindu year is divided into two halves of six months each. The first six months known as Uttarayanam is from January 14th to July 15th. The second half known as Dakshinayanam is from July 15th to January 14th. As usual the Hindu calendar is closely connected with movement of the sun and the other planets. “Uttara” means the north and “ayanam” means travel. Therefore Uttarayanam means the northward movement of the sun passing through various planetary positions. These positions start from Capricorn (Makara), and lead up to Gemini (Mithuna). Those who are in the habit of watching the sun-set will see that at this moment the sun has reached its maximum journey towards the south because of which the whole of the northern hemisphere is experiencing the cold of winter since the sun is our only source of natural heat.
For Hindus the winter solstice is on January 14th and again if we watch the sunset we will see that from this day onwards there is a slow but sure shift towards the north. The sun travels north- east for six months of the year and south- east for another six months. It will never rise exactly in the east except on March 21st and September 23rd. Needless to say that the sun never travels. This is an illusion caused by the tilt of the earth on its axis and its movement round the sun. This is what makes it appear as if the sun is drifting towards the north-east and south-east.
The change in the sun’s relationship with the earth plays a significant part in the lives of people especially those who live in the northern hemisphere, because this is the part that gets the maximum impact. We are part and parcel of our galaxy and we can’t escape from the changes which take place on our planet. If anything happens to the house we live in, it will naturally affect those who live in the house!
The rishis who are the founders of Hinduism were experts at camouflaging dry, scientific truths with imaginative stories. They knew that the only way to teach science to the masses was to put it in the form of stories. These stories were woven into the very structure of our culture so that even a small child could understand this. So they said that one human year is the equivalent of one divine day of the gods. The six months of Uttarayanam is their daytime and the six months of Dakshinayanam is their night. So now that Dakshinayanam is coming to a close, the gods are just waking up after their sleep so it’s a very auspicious to waken them with hymns and pujas and other spiritual practices. If people were told to do all these things because it was good for them, they might not have listened but since a story was woven round it, people were more inclined to pay attention.
Uttarayanam is just going to start on January 14th. This day is known as Makara Sankranti in Hinduism. Sankranti is the meeting place when the sun moves from one planet to the other- from the month of Pausha to Magha. Since the sun is starting on its northward journey from this day, we begin the morning by worshiping the sun. A fire is built facing the east and a mixture of milk, rice and sugar is cooked on this fire. The milk should boil over just as the sun rises on the horizon. This offering is to the sun. The pudding is then distributed to everyone. This festival is known as Pongol in South India. Thus the rishis saw to it that dry scientific facts were combined with interesting rituals so that they would be remembered and followed by even those who did not have a scientific mind.
Whether we accept it or not, Uttarayanam and Dakshinayanam have a definite impact on our psyche. In the northern hemisphere, Dakshinayanam is the time when we are most receptive to the energies of the planets and Uttarayanam is the time when we can utilise these energies in order to attain the fulfillment of human life. In fact the first part of Uttarayanam from January 14th to March is the time when the maximum amount of energy can be got from the sun. Hence yogis usually choose to leave this planet at this time. In the Mahabharata it is said that Bhishma the grandsire of the Kuru dynasty fell in December but chose not to die and waited till Uttarayanam before giving up his body.
Scientifically speaking, the sun’s rays are very low in the months of Dakshinayanam. This lowers the immunity and digestive power in human beings. Thus the rishis recommended fasting, meditation and reading of scriptures etc in these months and abstaining from very heavy work.
The esoteric reason is that during Uttarayanam, the energy of the sun travels from our lower chakras to the higher. It moves from the (Muladhara Chakra) which is the lowest and which corresponds to Capricorn, through (Swadhistana Chakra), corresponding to Piscess, (Manipura Chakra) corresponding to Aries, (Anahata Chakra), corresponding to Taurus, (Vishuddha Chakra) corresponding to Gemini and finally reaches the (Ajna Chakra) commonly known as the Third Eye, which corresponds to Cancer/Leo. Each chakra is connected with a planet though we don’t know it.
During Dakshinayana, or the southward movement of the sun, the human consciousness starts to descend down the chakras, through the (Vishudhi Chakra), corresponding to Virgo, the (Anahata Chakra), corresponding to Libra, the (Manipuraka Chakra), corresponding to Scorpio, the (Swadishtana Chakra), corresponding to Sagittarius and reaches the (Muladhara Chakra) corresponding to Aquarius. These movements of the planets affect the specified chakras and cause a lot of changes in our bodies and mind. Hence we find that sometimes even the best of us have what is referred to as mood swings. Without any reason sometimes we feel great, sometimes depressed and so on. The most obvious effect which anyone can see is the impact of the moon on people who are mentally impaired. They become worse during full moon and new moon times. Hence in Hinduism the moon is the deity of the mind. Even our inner clock is set by the moon.
The three lower chakras — Muladhara, Swadishtana and Manipuraka keep the body rooted to the earth element and are necessary for our basic survival. Fear and anger are the basic traits of people who are fixed in these three chakras. If our energies are concentrated on this, we will be more interested in things like food, sex, pleasure and so on. The three chakras on the top- Vishuddhi, Ajna and Sahasrara are always trying to pull us away from the obsession with the physical. During the period of Dakshinayanam we will find that it is easier to cleanse the three lower chakras and during Uttarayanam we will find that the three upper chakras will be able to guide us to higher realms of consciousness.
The Anahata chakra or the heart chakra is the one that acts as a balance between these two forces, one centrifugal and the other centripetal. Love is the only thing that can lure us away from our basic instinct for survival. For instance a mother, whether it be animal, bird or human is prepared to sacrifice her life for the sake of her children.
The human body is actually a mirror of the cosmos. The microcosm is only a reflection of the macrocosm. All the astronomical events that happen in the external world are reflected in the human body. Whether we like it or not every movement of the planets has a reciprocal response in our bodies. Of course most of us are not sensitive to these happenings. The rishis realised this and that is why they brought the whole thing into a spiritual perspective and told us that during the night of the gods we should undertake certain spiritual practices and during the day of the gods we should go on pilgrimages and other energetic types of sadhana. In modern times especially with so much of conveniences most of us are not even aware of this connection and are totally oblivious of what is happening in the nature outside.
However the modern mind readily accepts scientific facts so now we should give people the scientific reason for what the rishis said. If we want to make use of the energy of the planets to bring health to the body and rid itself of diseases, then a proper understanding and appreciation of what is happening in Nature is essential. We should keep our internal mechanism in tune with the movements of the sun, earth and planets; we should align our inner self with the movement of Uttarayanam and Dakshinayanam.
This article was written by Vanamali: A published author who conducts classes on the Vedic Way of Life and The Bhagavad Gita in many countries.
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