April 10, 2013
Montreal, Canada
Today is celebrated as New Year day in India; year 2070.
There was a very pious man, who was a king as well. He lived 2070 years ago. So
in India, the years were named after him, from then onwards the years were
named after him as Vikram years. So this New Year is Vikram 2070.
Before Vikram, the years were named after Lord Krishna; therefore, it is 5,114
years today.
The New Year system is based on the cosmos, it begins when the Sun
or the Moon enter the first point of Aries. Today, it is the moon that has
entered, and after two days, i.e., on April 13, the sun will enter the first
point of Aries, which is when we celebrate Vaisakhi, also a
New Year day.
So, half of India celebrates with the moon, and the other half celebrates with
the sun. There is no uniformity there too; there is freedom for everyone to
celebrate what they want.
In the states of Punjab, Bengal, Orissa, Tamil Nadu, and Kerala, they celebrate
the New Year with the solar calendar, i.e., Vaisakhi.
In Karnataka, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, and many other Indian states, they
celebrate today, i.e., as per lunar calendar. In The Art of Living, we
celebrate every day!
On New Year day, the tradition is to eat a little bit of neem
leaves, which is very bitter, and jaggery, which is sweet. It is meant to imply
that life is both, bitter and sweet; you have to swallow both, that is the
message.
Time gives you both, bitter and sweet experiences. Don’t think
it’s only friends who bring sweetness, friends can also bring bitterness. And
don’t think enemies always bring bitterness, enemies can also bring some
sweetness. So, life is a mixture of all the opposites; like it is here, cold
and yet warm, isn’t it? There is snow all around, yet it is pleasant. The New
Year begins like that.
Once upon a time, all over the world, everyone followed the same
calendar; the Lunar Calendar. Even today, in Turkey and Iran, people follow the
Lunar Calendar; March is the New Year.
King George, of London, wanted the New Year to commence in January
because he was born in that month. It was his New Year, no doubt, but he
imposed it upon the entire British Kingdom! Now, this happened sometime in the
Eighth or Ninth Century, but people would not stop celebrating the New Year in
April. So King George called it April
Fool’s Day. He said
that anyone who celebrates in April are fools, and that is how April 1 came to
be known as Fools Day.
Did you know that the names of all the months and days are in
Sanskrit?
The week days were named after the seven planets. If you say Sunday, it is
Sun’s day. Monday is Moon’s day. Tuesday is Mars, Wednesday is Mercury,
Thursday is Jupiter, Friday is Venus and Saturday is Saturn’s day. These are
the seven planets after which the week days were named. Actually, this is all
in Sanskrit! The original calendar was made in Sanskrit in ancient India; from
there it went to Egypt.
The twelve months were named after the twelve Zodiac
constellations, i.e., the position of the sun in each constellation (whether it
is Aries, Taurus, Gemini, Cancer, Leo, Virgo; accordingly, the names of the
months were managed). Thus, the names of the months correspond to the words in
Sanskrit.
Dashambar is
December; dash means ten in Sanskrit, ambar means sky, Dashambar means tenth sky. Navamber isNovember, means ninth sky. October is Ashtamber, means eighth sky. September means seventh sky.
See, one word could be accidental, but if all the names match, then that is not
accidental.
Shasht means sixth, i.e., August. It is not the eighth month, August is the
sixth month (if you start from March).
If you come to February, we often say fag end of the year! February is the
twelfth month, the last month of the year. March is the first month of the New
Year.
Usually, the Lunar New Year falls on 20 March, so that is when the New Year
begins. However, all this was distorted by one British king, who captured and
influenced almost half the world, including USA and Canada. So, King George
changed the New Year according to his own birthday. This is the story!
Unfortunately, in India, many people have forgotten the
traditional names, and meaning of the names of the months. The names as per the
Lunar Calendar are: Chaitra,
Vaishakh, Jyeshta, Aashaadh, Shraavan, Bhadrapad, Ashwin, Kaartik, Margasheesh,
Paush, Maagh, and Phalgun.
Each month’s name in the Lunar Calendar corresponds to 27 stars in the cosmos,
in our milky way. Two and a quarter stars form one constellation. Multiply that
by 12 constellations. It equals 27 stars.
When the full moon evidently comes to one of the stars, that month is called by
the name of that star. For example, there is a star by the name of Chitra. When
the full moon comes to Chitra, then it is the first month of the lunar
calendar, i.e., Chaitra. The next month will be Vaishak. It is amazing, how
precise calculations were made to see under which star the moon falls, and how
the months are calculated.
In the Lunar Calendar, there are only 27 days in a month. Therefore, every 4
years, there is a leap month, i.e., one extra month. Just like how in the leap
year, you get 29 days in February; in the Lunar Calendar, you get a leap month,
i.e., one extra month.
In the Solar Calendar, you get one leap day only, just like the English
calendar.
Sometimes, Vaisakhi is on 13 April, sometimes, it is on 14 April. Once in four
years, one day difference happens.
Questions
& Answers
Gurudev, tell us about the
New Year, is it a good year?
Sri
Sri: Yes, it is a good year. This year is called The Year of Victory. Good will
prevail over the bad. Wise will prevail over the wicked. All those who are
doing wrong things, cheating people, they will all go out. It is time for good to
prevail now.
There is a cycle for everything. Different things happen at different times.
So, this time, more sattva is coming.
Gurudev, can we teach at
our Orissa University?
Sri
Sri: Yes, you could write to the Vice Chancellor.
Do you know, we will be
starting an Osteopathy College there? It has come up very nicely. Even our
Ayurveda College is doing very well. It has received six distinctions, out of
ten. Do you know, it is known as one of the best Ayurveda Hospitals there? It
heals people of Varicose Veins and related problems, without any surgery.
Gurudev, I have heard that
cancer has been cured in our Ayurvedic Hospital.
Sri
Sri: Yes, cancer has been cured by their medicine.
It is the same with our Shakti Drops, it has amazing results. They are doing
lot of research now on Shakti drops. It is useful in so many things, swellings,
aches, pains.
The research will take about a year to get back all that information.
Gurudev, my daughter had a
serious allergy to nuts. I came during Navratri to the ashram, and got her
treated at our Ayurvedic hospital. Now, over 60 percent has been cured. Also,
her eczema is going away.
Sri
Sri: Allergies, eczema, all these can be cured very well. Many of the
diseases that Allopath is unable to cure, our Ayurveda hospital doctors can
cure, and Shakti drops also do the job well. A lot of people have experienced
great changes.
No comments:
Post a Comment