Blessings for Lohri and Sankranti

May this festival enlighten your life with the warmth of glory, good health, and happiness. Wishing you all a very happy and prosperous Sankranti with the fire of knowledge enkindled in your heart. Let the Lohri bonfire light up the darkness of selfishness and unbridled desire to bring wisdom, peace, and happiness to your lives. May the fire of ambition you light within fill your life with warmth and brightness of love.

We gather as a family around the altar of the meditative-heart with each Full Moon Meditation, with repentance and gratitude. We acknowledge unfulfilled desires that penetrate into each day affecting our mind’s melody and emotional tone. Let us release, relax, and let-go for the misery the world contains has come from wanting pleasure for oneself alone.

So, let us begin this New Year together, as sadhakas, initiates, members of the sangha with a commitment.  Let us resolve that this celebration of renewal will enlighten a new day of generosity and giving. Let us realize that in santosha, contentment, we embrace fully the value and purpose of life. May each day reveal all the joy the world contains comes through wishing happiness for others through love, service, and selfless actions.

Let us enkindle aparigraha, non-attachment, to understand the unique value and purpose of our life of sadhana on this path of enlightenment. For as Gurudev has said, “Wisdom or knowledge does not nullify actions, only their binding power. Wisdom and knowledge purify the way of life and action.” May our minds be purified with this sankalpa and attain a state of tranquility. May our attainments become selfless and accepted as Mother’s Grace with appreciation and devotion.

Let this festival brighten your life with warmth, happiness, health, and love. Stay safe and may Divine Love burn brightly in your heart forever.

Yours in service of the Lineage,
srb

Editor’s Note:

13 & 14 January mark as the beginning of the harvesting season in India. As the winter season ends and spring begins, the harvest festivals are celebrated all over India and are known by various names such as – Lohri, Makar Sankranti, Pongal, Bhogali Bihu, Uttarayan, and Paush Parva. This festival is a dedication to the deity Surya (the Sun God) and celebrates our relationship with nature. Thus, it is also celebrated as the beginning of the New Year because the Sun begins to move northwards in the Indian calendar on this date. Celebrations include many pujas, and sharing of gifts, particularly of one’s harvest, with one’s family, neighbours, and friends around a bonfire at night.