The northern path of the sun; care for nature; how much to eat

The Adiveda Weekly #32

Feb 05, 2023

Hari Aum Sadhakas!

Last month the sun started its journey to the north on the 15th of January, heralding the start of Uttarayanam. Those of you 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.

The Hindu way of life

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. We are just finishing Dakshinayanam and will be starting Uttarayanam from this 15th. As usual the Hindu calendar is closely connected with the movement of the sun and the other planets. When the tilt of the earth is facing the sun we get summer and when the tilt is away from the sun we get winter. This motion of the sun going from south to north is called Uttarayana. After six months when it reaches the farthest point to the north it starts moving south and this is called Dakshinayana.

Reflection of the week

“The human body is actually a mirror of the cosmos. The microcosm is only a reflection of the macrocosm.”

For your everyday practice

Care for mother nature because there’s no plan(et) B.

⁣We are part and parcel of our galaxy and we can’t escape from the changes which take place on our planet. This planet earth is our abode. If anything happens to the house we live in, it will naturally affect the lives of those who live in the house! Since we are supposedly reasonable creatures, we have been given hint after hint that unless we change our attitude towards this earth and towards each other, we will soon go the way of the dinosaurs!

For your health and well-being

How much should we eat?

As per Ayurveda, you should eat till you are about 3/4 full: 1/2 your stomach should be filled with food and a 1/4 with liquid (dals, gravies, soups etc. and not water). If you pay attention to this simple rule, you will always eat within your capacity and your body’s digestive system will be primed for ideal functioning.

By Dr. Poorna Menon, Doctor of Naturopathic Medicine

From Vanamali Mataji’s desk

The rishis who were 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 appreciate it. 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 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.