Understanding Eclipses

I have been meaning to write on this topic for months now. Finally, here it is, my take on eclipses, what they represent, and most importantly how can we use this knowledge to ride the tide rather than get dragged into the ocean. We all learned in school how sea tides rise and fall due to the moon. The sun and the moon are two planetary entities that sustain life on earth, without the sun and the moon we would not exist. No scientist can deny the fact that the evolution of single-celled to multi-celled organisms, our intricate ecosystem, and the functioning of our reality itself is dependent on the sun rising on time. Hence, it is beyond my comprehension, how people can ignore that eclipses can and do have an effect on us. India is known as the Jagad Guru, we gave the world “zero” without which nothing would have developed, not even computers. Our ancient texts had developed surgical sciences before the world knew of surgeries. The astrological calculations by our rishis were so accurate that they took into account the tilt of the Earth’s axis when the western world thought the Earth was flat. Due to multiple invasions, looting, vandalizing, and then the British rule systematically erasing our education system, many of these wisdom mantras were lost or deemed as blind faith and outright shunned. Yes, one may not get evaporated due to an eclipse, but the energies do change and all of us experience varying degrees of unrest, upheaval, or anxiety in and around eclipses. Similar to the fact that most crimes, mental breakdowns, and childbirths happen during full moons, just check with local hospitals and police stations.

Now that the background is set, energy-sensitive people & those who want to capitalize on the knowledge, must observe and experience this for themselves. It is very easy, first search for the next eclipse time and date based on your location, and five days before set an alarm on your phone to remind you. All you need to do is observe, in an unbiased way like a true experiment and you will be surprised how you let this miss for so many years. Usually, we experience 4 eclipses through a year, sometimes 6 eclipses. A solar eclipse is followed by a lunar eclipse post about 15 days. Not all eclipses are visible throughout the world and the timing they occur in each part may vary as well as the duration. Depending on your personal horoscope, each eclipse has a different degree of effect on each individual, some may bring life-changing events, and others may simply test your patience. But all eclipses affect us on some level or the other.

I have experienced many of the indications listed below and so have several others whom I spoke with. Eclipses shake up the status quo, we get so comfortable in our regular ways of thinking that we all go into auto-pilot mode of living. Something has to draw our attention to the real issues shoved under the carpet. Similar to a child who destroys something to get his parent's attention, something has to go wrong to bring us to awareness. A small road accident, a health scare, loss of a job, turbulence in a marriage, loss of money, theft, a secret coming to light, you being exposed to a side of your close friend you never knew existed, you questioning your existing, purpose in life, the scares can throw us off balance to the extent at times we question the meaning of any of this, of life itself. As I mentioned it is not always this drastic, you may stub your thumb, something you value might break or get lost, or you may think you hit the send button on an important email and it actually never happened. Triggers of all and any kind can be observed. The overall enthusiasm, positivity, and optimism seem to be low, sleepless nights, digestion issues or other smaller physical matters may surface. The most common I feel is the tendency to overanalyze people, instances, and occurrences in detail, usually, if a person might say no to something you would have just brushed it off, but in and around the eclipse you may feel bad and start trying to find the meaning behind this no. If you have been in denial over something, then eclipses will amplify it to a degree that you cannot deny it anymore.

These influences usually are transient, they don’t last. Astrologer Annie Botticelli has said that eclipses are course correctors and I totally agree. If you have set your path and are walking on it but your destiny is to take a U-turn, eclipses will ensure that happens. Happy events seldom bring transformational growth, if you are happy and content with your current circumstances you will not aspire for more. I mean be cautious of getting too comfortable and ignoring inner growth. The entire purpose of our birth is to evolve, on an emotional, mental & spiritual plane so complacency is real cancer.

How to use the knowledge for growth?

Now that you have understood that eclipses do have an effect on us, how to make use of them instead of pure suffering? In and around the eclipses, i.e. 7 days before till 7 days after the two eclipses. Remember lunar eclipse follows a solar eclipse in 15 days, so this entire time period live deliberately.

1. The first step is awareness as in every challenge. Track the eclipses in your calendar and set alarms on your phone 5-7 days ahead of an eclipse.

2. Best time to move your focus to a spiritual practice & discipline. Take a sankalpa or an oath to complete chanting rounds of a mantra or a stotra. For example, one can take a sankalpa to chant the Hanuman Chalisa 11 times every day for 11 days. There are no set rules for this. The reason is chanting generates positive energy within you and around you, so even if things go wrong you can face them with optimism rather than get dragged down. You will focus on practical ways of dealing with it rather than sulk. Also, disciplined practices increase your own confidence and sense of achievement.

3. Stay as silent as possible, silence is different from not speaking. Not speaking is an external act that doesn’t achieve much, true effort is in being silent. Let me give an example when your spouse does not listen to you and does the very thing you hate, or your parent repeats the same family story you are sick of, instead of saying anything, remain silent. Pausing, not due to external pressure, pausing because you want to practice silence. It is so powerful I cannot begin to explain. So hold your tongue and ask yourself, is this really necessary to communicate right now.

4. Watch what you eat, Hinduism asks to fast during an eclipse, not because of blind faith. The energy affects our digestion and hence if possible fast on the day of the eclipse, or eat fruits and light food. Avoid heavy food especially meat as it takes 48 hours for your body to digest it.

5. Listen to Satsang, bhajan, or spiritual discourses online or if possible attend them in person, you will be able to recognize and apply this wisdom as you are sensitive to it during that time.

6. Try not to overreact, if you prepare yourself as we mentioned above, you will be in a much better position to handle any disruption, not just personally but for your entire family and friends. You can be that strong pillar of strength for them and that is true service to humanity.

All the best for the eclipse season, may the light guide you all. If you have any stories related to eclipses or any experiences with