Vedic Community Forum

Jai Maa, I thank Acharya Shunya for her latest letter, what she shared and the invite to join this circle. This year, more than in the past, it felt important to light the candles for Hannuhak and for the Winter Solstice and for contemplation of "stepping into the river together," as Shunyaji wrote.

When we share something material, we are left with less of what we started with. If I give you food off my plate my meal is smaller; If I give you money, then I have less to spend. But currencies of spirit, immeasurable elements such as light, love and knowledge, defy these physical conditions - they increase as they are shared and become eternal. 

In this kula, we see that the glow of light, is not diminished, is not halved – in fact the light is multiplied. When we are in our classes with Acharya Shunya we become filled with new knowledge and then like one flame used to light another we feel and grow expansive with our shares and insights. We learn that we do not diminish the love inside of us, by loving someone else. Our love only magnifies. When we share, and reflect what we have learned with our families, community and strangers our own insight deepens and grows. Furthermore, as Shunyaji reminds us that when you bring one small candle into an unlit room, it will immediately eliminate the darkness. One tiny spark can light up a vast space many, many times larger than itself. Here we are at the winter solstice, the darkest time of the year, and we can celebrate our growing inner light. In the silence of the winter, in contrast to the darkness, this light can reveal an unbelievable brightness and the expansiveness of the shining Self. This is a potential, an eternal wellspring that every single one of us has access to, it is the promise of the Vedas. I may not get all my errands done, and I understand that in the physical world I am simply a vehicle, a tool of the divine, that it is not me- Idam Na Mama. And, in that flow there are those poetic, miraculous moments – The day seems to expand to fit in the extra tasks; The letters and cards get written amidst the chaos; a new grandchild arrives and my love amplifies to include them; - when our intentions are in the name of Ishvara we can defy the paradigms of nature we have grown to believe.

Pause. Inhale. Exhale. In this darkest time of the year, we can uncover our own vibrancy and let it radiate, so that the people we encounter feel uplifted to do the same. We can remind our loved ones of the light we witness in them. We can be many small lights together with the power to create a brilliant flame, an uprising, a beaming lighthouse - a brightness that kindles hope, promise and a light that dispels fear. Sensing into that deep reservoir within which is abundant and unlimited, I focus on the things that grow when I share them.It is a time to be inspired by the winter solstice, these shorter, darker days and the return of the sun to our hemisphere.  We can shift into a mindset of eternal values, generosity and growth, and radiate light and love because of this connection and knowing that we all share. We can rededicate ourselves to our kula and each other, in whose reflection we see our own illuminated potential. And, as our dear teacher reminds us, here we can surrender the self you know, merging into the SELF she offers and teaches us about to be forged into someone more profound that the person we were when we first arrived and be a shining light on darkness in all its forms.