This morning, I read some of the shares from those who participated in the live stream. They brought back memories of the gloriously shimmering, golden-yellow robe of Bade Baba and the luminosity he emanated. I remembered how I had taken that feeling of radiance into my heart.
Later, I took a walk by a nearby river and up a grassy hill. At first, I thought that I’d missed the sunset. But, as I walked home, I saw a glow reflected on the inside of my glasses frame and I turned to see a luminous, bright yellow sun just setting. It seemed to be the exact color of Bade Baba’s robes with the same resplendence.
I was transfixed with its beauty. I stood there in the middle of this grassy space and began singing verses from the Arati. Birds flew in front of the sun far away and a sole palm was silhouetted on the horizon. My heart felt full of peace and gratitude for my life and my Siddha Yoga sadhana.
Sydney, Australia
As I went out walking on Makara Sankranti, I played the Surya Gayatri mantra on my phone and chanted it as the sun set over the Salish Sea just south of the Olympic Mountain range. I kept chanting while noticing that the sun’s vibrations were still covering the earth in many hues in the clouds and sky. I recalled the host of the Makara Sankranti live video stream speaking about the science of the sun, and I marveled at all the wavelengths of light and how the earth naturally balances all these perfectly when we nurture her.
I also realized that in the summer, around the month of Birthday Bliss, the sun will have inched its way daily north through the whole mountain range until it ends past the north end of the range. It made me cherish my sadhana, and the ways that the Siddha Guru tunes our inner and outer world to these infinitely varied vibrations arising from the One.
Washington, United States
Sun and World
sometimes it feels like the earth is standing still
and it’s me that is spinning round and round
day and night
night and day
and this continual procession
of thought emotion and sensation
some arising that I don’t want
some falling away that I wish would never end
the world saying yes
the world saying no
the Sun saying
I will return come morning
as I always have and will
the Sun saying
and in the mystery that is ours to share
seen or unseen
I am also
with you
and within you
always
this Love is real
Nanaimo, Canada
At the time of this live broadcast, it was a midwinter night here. I participated on my computer. As I watched the arati lamp being waved to Bhagavan Nityananda, something green flew with great force toward the golden image of Bade Baba on the computer screen. At first, I couldn’t understand what had happened, but then I realized that it had been a beautiful insect drawn toward the image. It was an insect that normally doesn’t exist in the winter, which had felt the presence of the sun, just as I had.
It is amazing that I was able to spend a winter evening with the sun shining.
Ooita, Japan
“Arati in Honor of Makara Sankranti” was glorious for me. The words of the host touched my heart, and I felt transported to Gurudev Siddha Peeth, where I used to sing this Arati. I also remembered when I learned this Arati by heart. I used to sing it silently to myself while I was traveling or performing my daily duties. Then and now, almost every time that I sing it, I feel ecstasy and a sense of rising above samsara and being in the company of beloved Bade Baba.
On Makara Sankranti, while the pujari was waving the lamp with its many beautiful flames to Bade Baba, I experienced that I became one of the flames, ready to merge with the omnipresent light represented by Bade Baba. Meditating before the photo of the blazing sun, with the guidance of the beautiful meditation instructions, drew me deep within. There I was able to experience the light of the glorious sun as my own Self. Afterward, I felt serene and calm.
Udaipur, India
I am now in my eighth decade, and often I awake feeling somewhat weak and wobbly. However, when I woke up early to participate in the “Arati in Honor of Makara Sankranti,” I felt clear and present. When it came time to sing, I stood upright and steady. As I began singing, I was transported to Bhagavan Nityananda’s Temple in Gurudev Siddha Peeth, where for years I’d taken part in the morning Arati. Although I’d not repeated these verses for some time, I now felt each syllable rise up in me like a dear friend, like nectar. I felt touched and reassured to know how deeply the Siddha Yoga practices I’ve loved still live on in me.
That afternoon, I connected by video with some of my dear friends. I felt kind words come spontaneously into my mind to share with them. I experienced my inner light shining forth as naturally as daylight. With devotion and practice, through Shri Guru’s effulgent grace, I pray that my lamp shines more brightly every day.
California, United States
As the Arati began, I felt I was being showered with waves of bliss and gratitude. It was so unexpected. I felt electrified. For me, the radiance of Bade Baba’s beauty was so strong that it seemed as if golden light was pouring out of my monitor. I experienced that my room was filled with this light, and my heart expanded far beyond place and time. I felt so much love and deep gratitude for the Guru, for the Siddha Yoga path, and for my Self. It was as though, in this satsang, Bade Baba was pointing straight to my heart and telling me that everything exists there. I was so amazed. After the Arati, I meditated on the Surya Gayatri mantra in order to deepen this precious experience.
Duisburg, Germany
I participated in the live stream “Arati in Honor of Makara Sankranti” from my home in Australia. It was in the middle of the night, and the next day I was a little sleepy. However, whenever I closed my eyes, I felt a vast space within myself, filled with silence and peace. It was so wonderful to just sit in that space.
I realized that this feeling always reminds me of Bade Baba, and that by singing the
Arati, I had invoked his blessings and received his
darshan.
Leichhardt, Australia
During the live video stream it was a great boon to receive from our host, Ganesh, the idea to chant the
Surya Gayatri mantra 108 times to the sun god at sunset on this sacred Makara Sankranti. My husband and I did a call and response with the website ensemble recording. Since we were in the privacy of our own
puja room, we chose to chant at different volumes and pitches, as the impulses arose, and to give ourselves entirely to an inwardly directed flow. The gifts were so sweet; I saw Bade Baba’s image arise sometimes as I sang, and I felt myself expanded and my being alight with an other-worldly glow outside of time and yet in time with the sunset.
Washington, United States
On Sunday, January 14, 2024, I was offering seva supporting the live video stream of the “Arati in Honor of Makara Sankranti.” While the Arati was being sung, the sun was rising in the skies over Shree Muktananda Ashram. It was deep golden in color and its rays shone through the trees, blanketing the grounds in that same beautiful, golden hue. Though there were some dark clouds visible in the distance, the sky stayed resolutely—and radiantly—golden up until the end of the arati via live video stream.
Yet as soon as the host mentioned that the live video stream would be concluding, the sky changed. The sun dipped behind the dark clouds, which had by now approached the horizon. The golden sheen on the surroundings was lifted, replaced by a soft, silvery-white light that emanated from where the sun was behind the clouds. What’s more, within about an hour of the live video stream concluding, there began to be flurries of snow outside!
For much of the rest of the morning, the sky was cloudy and silvery-blue. It’s so evident to me: the sun came out specifically for the Arati via live video stream.
a staff member in Shree Muktananda Ashram
I am deeply grateful for the shares I’ve been reading here. The descriptions of so many places in the Northern Hemisphere and, more specifically, of Shree Muktananda Ashram are so beautiful that I deeply felt the beauty of nature related to the sun in the descriptions.
As I’m in Brazil and it’s summer here, the sun was shining in the sky when the “Arati in Honor of Makara Sankranti” started. I even had to close the curtains to better watch the live video stream, due to so much abundant and benevolent light that the sun brought to the room where I was.
One of my most cherished sadhana practices in the Siddha Yoga Ashrams is the morning Arati. In my thirty-four years of Siddha Yoga sadhana, being present at this very special moment of the day has always been my priority when I am in the Ashram. During the Arati today my heart was filled with warmth, strength, firmness, and confidence.
I offer my gratitude, again and again, for the fullness of the Guru’s grace.
Belo Horizonte, Brazil
What an exquisite Makara Sankranti live video stream! I loved singing the Arati in the Bhagavan Nityananda Temple in Shree Muktananda Ashram with the global sangham. I was inwardly transported to Gurudev Siddha Peeth, where many times in the early hours of the morning, I had sung the Arati to Bade Baba.
I so appreciated the focus that the host gave us for our participation in this live video stream. He said, “Focus on Bhagavan Nityananda’s golden form and visualize Bade Baba as the embodiment of the sun.” As I did this, Bade Baba’s radiant form was installed in the center of my heart. I felt such warmth and so much love. I continue to feel this warmth and love, for which I am so grateful.
New Mexico, United States
In the “Arati in Honor of Makara Sankranti,” the host gave us a focus by asking us to “visualize Bade Baba as an embodiment of the sun.” This drew my mind to the golden robes Bade Baba was wearing and to his majestic and radiant presence. Then slowly my attention turned within and my awareness was pulled by the energy into the heart.
I literally saw myself floating in the sky within, where the sun had risen and was shining brightly. Without any doubt I knew this intuitively as the light of my inner Self. As I continued to bask in that golden effulgence, the waves of joy began permeating my awareness. And I heard inside, “You are indeed that light.”
The beautiful meditation instructions again guided us to imagery of the sun, and affirmed, “You are that benevolent light.” I smiled because it was like a confirmation of my own inner experience.
Pune, India
I am so grateful to have welcomed the sun on this cold January morning. Living in Florida, I don’t pay much attention to the sun because it is almost always shining here. We take it for granted. However, when I stepped outside into my yard after the Arati, I could feel the gentle warmth of the sunlight in a new, healing way.
I am grateful to Gurumayi for bringing us all together for the darshan of Bade Baba and Surya Devata.
Florida, United States
I embraced the suggestion made by the host to hold the focus that Bade Bada is the embodiment of the sun. My experience was not only that he embodied the sun but that he was the radiant Surya Devata. The more I gazed at him during the Arati, the more radiant he became. I am still relishing the inner glow of his divine presence.
Washington, United States
Makara Sankranti—a day full of magic! I love Makara Sankranti, and always have good memories from this day. And… there is always this question: will the sun come out, or will she hide today? [In my native language, German, the sun is die Sonne, a feminine noun.] Today, the sun did come out. She reflected on the icy snow so that she shone not only in the sky but also on the earth for the whole day. Even when she had already set, the pine trees remained bright, in a way I had never experienced before.
This “Arati in Honor of Makara Sankranti” was magical, too. I had the feeling that the sun was shining not only outside the Temple but also from Bhagavan Nityananda and from the host, who made me smile as brightly as the sun. How magical is the Siddha Yoga Universal Hall! How blessed I am to walk this path.
Obing, Germany
As I awaited for the live video stream to begin, I could feel waves of shakti uplifting my awareness. I didn’t expect a strong experience since I had come down with the flu the night before. Nevertheless, when I had my eyes closed while listening to the host give his talk, it was as if a flash of light and a rush of awareness ignited within me, illuminating my eyelids with very bright light from within.
I was quickly taken into a deep meditative state for much of the live video stream. When I came out of meditation, the usual blank space behind my closed eyes appeared like a kaleidoscope of a gently vibrating geometric grid. This time it was also illuminated, but more like the light from a candle.
I feel we are constantly smiled upon by the Guru’s grace.
Pennsylvania, United States
For me, this “Arati in Honor of Makara Sankranti” felt like the gentle rays of dawn awakening me with a warm and tender energy. Bade Baba looked sun-drenched in his golden robes, emanating light and stillness.
When the host talked about the qualities of Lord Surya, what caught my attention was hearing the Sun God being described as benevolent and compassionate. Living in a top-floor flat that faces south, and also having eyes that are sensitive to light, I realized that I have often thought of the sun as being something I need to try to protect myself from.
Today, however, I understood that Lord Surya is just doing his job—burning continuously all those ninety-three million miles away (!), sending light and life to Planet Earth. The word innocent arose within as I reflected on the sun god’s qualities.
Guildford, United Kingdom
Arati is one of my favorite chants and today it was magical. The sweet melody embraced me from inside like warm honey melting in the middle of my chest. It tickled me in my ears and made my head sway very gently, and in each movement, I heard this very low sound of a bell ringing inside my right ear. Nectar!
I was inwardly transported to several locations. One of them was Bhagavan Nityananda’s Temple in Gurudev Siddha Peeth. Another was a vast, beautiful, green piece of land in wild nature, which will be my future home. As I was singing, I was in fact dancing as in a ritual movement to cleanse, purify, and bless this land, in preparation for it to be my home.
During the meditation instructions I could hardly keep my eyes open. When I finally closed them, I saw the sun shining in me, never to be extinguished.
Sao Paulo, Brazil
What an auspicious and uplifting way to celebrate Makara Sankranti—all together in the Siddha Yoga Universal Hall with the Siddha Yoga Gurus and Surya Devata! This morning, just as we began chanting the Arati, I saw the sun burst over the horizon and spread its glorious rays through the trees and sky. Bade Baba’s lustrous form was being drenched in the sunlight that was pouring into the Temple. I, too, was being bathed in the sun’s magnificent light and warmth. What darshan!
Now, as I write this share several hours after the live video stream, I look out the window and see that, although it is snowing, that same sun which I had seen and worshiped earlier, and which we had meditated on within the heart, is as brilliant and warm as ever.
New York, United States
While I was waiting for the Arati via live video stream to start, the mist outside began to lift and I could see the sun. I remembered how, as a small child, I would often lie in the grass and look up at the sky. Every time I saw the sun, I thought that this was my home and I felt a great longing to be there.
Over the years and through the grace of my Guru, I discovered the warming sun in my heart. Through each step in my sadhana, I can actually return inwardly to my true home, which is light and love.
Konolfingen, Switzerland
I was listening to the host give his talk. After a while I saw translucent Sanskrit words appearing around the aura of his head. The more expressive his voice became, the more of these translucent Sanskrit words would appear. I believe I was witnessing the words to the Arati.
Kentucky, United States
It was midday here in London. The sun was hiding but the glow from being in the Temple with Bade Baba and the other participants has warmed me through and through. Like the color of Bade Baba’s robe, I feel I’m like a flame! How wonderful that was! Singing the Arati is so rejuvenating.
I will treasure this moment in time.
Hampton Hill, United Kingdom
This poem and prayer arose within me after participating in the “Arati in Honor of Makara Sankranti” via live video stream:
May I always see light.
May I always be light.
May my heart always delight in the light.
May the light in me see the light in you.
May the light in you see the light in me.
May I always remember that light is continually present—
in all places, in all forms, and at all times.
May we all live joyfully in light.
New York, United States
The meditation after the Arati was very profound and deep for me. I experienced a deep silence within. After I came out of meditation, I felt as if I had been sitting for meditation for a long time. The meditation was so deep that I went to sit for even more meditation in my puja room.
Nasik, India
As I sang the Arati and looked at Bhagavan Nityananda’s calm, steady, radiant face, the words arose within me: “How can I love you more! How can I love you more!” I finished the Arati celebration, rested a few minutes, and then recited Shri Guru Gita with great bliss.
California, United States
As the Arati via live video stream proceeded, I felt transported back to Gurudev Siddha Peeth, where I have attended countless morning and evening Aratis. I could feel silence spreading out from Bade Baba’s radiant, effulgent form. As the Arati continued, I received an intuition to offer dakshina in honor of Makara Sankranti. Following the Arati, all I wanted to do was to be in that grateful zone and to meditate.
Gandhinagar, India