Usha Devi – Awakening in Light

Sunrise from the desert of Mauritania — Photo Credit: Indrani

During the karma yoga lessons, Acharya Shunya spoke a sentence that continues to resonate:

“In the morning, there is no trauma.”

She said this while speaking of the different devas mentioned in the Vedas. Usha, the deva of the morning, leads us from darkness to light, from sleep to waking, from dullness to clear awareness.

“In the morning, there is no trauma.”

We can awaken from a night of slumber, completely free from worries and burdens, fresh and pure, just as nature reveals itself anew every day as if it is reborn.

As the sun, after each night of darkness, spreads her golden garment over us again, so too can we allow our inner being to be filled with this new light. A brightness that leaves no space for the heaviness of the previous day or night is a lesson from nature that shows us what we can experience within ourselves.

Our eyes receive the gift of beholding the colors of the sky after a night of darkness. Each day, this gift is offered anew. We need only rest our gaze upon it to truly receive it. But do we? Or do our body and mind rush so quickly into action that we miss the wonder?

What becomes visible outside repeats itself within.

Awakening itself does not happen by intention. It is not determined by our will. We all awaken in a state of surrender. Just as you fall asleep through surrender, you also awaken through surrender. This is the moment Acharya Shunya speaks of that beautiful, intense instant of complete rest, of simply being, of awakening, from darkness to light, from sleep to awareness. No trauma, no ego, nothing. Only the energy that woke you: Usha Devi.

Usha Devi fills you with her energy when you gaze at the sunrise. Time and again, nature shows us the way, as the golden rays of sunlight spread across the sky and drive away the night. When the softness of that woolly border of pale yellow and translucent blue appears, do not close your eyes. Do not rush off to tidy the kitchen before work or run for the train. Stay. Look in the most conscious and present way you can. Do you feel what it does to you? Usha reminds us that every day is a new chance to live from the light.

The morning mantras that Acharya Shunya explains in her book Ayurveda Lifestyle Wisdom help us to prolong this connection with Usha Devi. They awaken your senses and your mind so gently that you are not immediately swept away by them. Gazing softly at the palm of your hand, you recite Karagre Vasate Lakshmi. Consciously feeling your feet touch the ground, you recite Samudra Vasana Devi. When you turn inward to the awakening energy within, your rising thoughts are calmed and invited to awaken gently as well. You look outside at the sky and birds, clouds and trees – and you smile. Thus, awakening becomes not a chase, but a tender practice of love for yourself and for the world.

In the stillness of the morning, it is as if Usha herself is speaking:

“I am the one who wakes you

Gentle, tender, if you allow

With my colors I mirror your eyes

With my silence I caress your ears

I warm your body with my fire

I fill your heart with hope and love

I breathe, gently with you

I bless you and your new day

A new day to be your Self

And when your day grows dark again

I teach you gentleness

Hold on, hold on –

you cannot fail

Look for my sunlit rays

I wait for you beyond the night

I will always be. Your light.”

The nature of happiness, the relentless cycle of desires we go through, and what we can do to experience lasting happiness that comes from our deepest Self are the topic of the “How to Be Happy” satsangas that Acharya Shunya taught in 2013. We explored these across four sessions inside the Vedic Study Circle. Join the no-fee, donation-supported study platform to access this series.