February 1, 2025
Dear reader,
What are you most excited about as we enter February 2025? Is it the experience of your heart’s fullness? Is it the mystical pull of the Shiva moon?
For me, it’s something of a tie, but I’ll linger for a few moments on the moon. I’ve always been fascinated by the moon and what it represents. For example, we see the moon move through different phases, and this gives us the impression of time passing. Yet the moon is always whole; it is always the same luminous white orb. Its changing shape is an illusion, created by its relationship to our own position on Earth, and that of the sun.
Now, if the phases of the moon are an illusion, then to what extent are our constructs of time—based as they are on celestial bodies like the moon and the sun—also illusory? We create distinctions out of time and we structure our lives accordingly, but does time transcend such distinctions? Or is time like water, taking on the pigment or shape of whatever it interacts with, whatever it is that we bring to it?
As I reflect on this, I want to share how incredibly grateful I am to have received Gurumayi’s Message for 2025. And yes, I do feel as though Gurumayi has imparted this Message especially for me. If you also feel that way—well, all right, I can be okay with that too! In any case, I am excited that we have the year ahead to ponder questions like the ones I’ve just posed.
I do believe there are distinct energies to be felt in the segments of time we humans have identified. Take the month of February, for instance. This year, February begins just after the new moon, and as the fifteen-day celebration of the Chinese (or Lunar) New Year is underway. Then, on February 14, we will celebrate St. Valentine’s Day. This is two days after the full moon, that enduring symbol of love for romantics and meditators alike. Finally, on February 26, after the moon has waned to a gleaming crescent, we will participate in ratajaga—we will stay up into the night and offer our worship on the occasion of Mahashivaratri. We will invoke the blessings of Lord Shiva, the auspicious one, on what is considered one of the three most auspicious nights in the Indian calendar.
If we accept the premise that time can be experienced through specific lenses or filters, then I encourage you to apply those lenses to your study this month of Gurumayi’s teachings from In the Presence of Time. February is the month of love and Lord Shiva. How might you enrich your understanding of Gurumayi’s teachings if you view them through the lenses of unconditional love and unconditional grace? What experiences do you envision yourself having as you embark on such a course of study? Where do you wish to see yourself in your sadhana by the end of February?
As you study Gurumayi’s teachings, you might find a throughline in the themes we are exploring. The scriptures of India refer to Lord Shiva as the great renunciant, witness to and detached from the goings-on of this world. Yet he also marries the devi Parvati, and the purity of his love for her, his dedication to her, are legendary. Lord Shiva is, moreover, known for the compassion he has for those who worship him. He is Bholenath, the lord who is innocent and simple-hearted, said to respond to even a single repetition of the mantra that is uttered with sincerity and devotion. Love recognizes love; the mantra returns to its source; all is encompassed in the primordial sound issuing forth from Lord Shiva’s damaru, his musical instrument, his two-headed drum.
And perhaps it is in studying the example of the great renunciant, Lord Shiva, that we may find a clue for how to better understand and approach time—as well as love. Instead of grappling with time (or love), bargaining with time (or love), questioning why time (or love!) appears so intent on carving out its own path, what if we simply accepted time as it is, and from there, endeavored to make the best use of it we can? What if we let love reveal itself as it wishes to be revealed? Perhaps then, even as time remains as pristine and impartial as the moon itself—even as our experience of love oscillates between attachment and detachment—we will know what it means for time to be on our side. We will know what it means for each of us to be on the side of love.
Sincerely,
Eesha Sardesai
The question “What if we let love reveal itself as it wishes to be revealed?” landed in my heart. How many times have I had thoughts about how someone, or even I myself, could or should do or say things differently? But looking through the lens of awareness showing that everything is love revealing love, I am reminded of the line from the Om purnamadah mantras: “From the perfect springs the perfect.” What fun to witness the play of love—perfect for February, the month of love!
Georgia, United States
What a delight to read such an exquisite invitation to engage with Gurumayi’s teachings in February! Like Eesha, I also feel this teaching was designed uniquely for me—for this phase in my sadhana where I feel I am diving deep into understanding my Self through contemplation.
Eesha asked, “Where do you wish to see yourself in your sadhana by the end of February?” That fabulous question leapt off the page for me and energized me as I contemplated it. And my first answers? I want to be in flow with both time and love, and temporarily put my judgments to the side, hoping they dissolve away when deprived of my attention. I want to remember my Self in all moments and know that sharing my love and kindness does make a difference to all life on our beautiful planet. I want to tend to the precious love I feel for my Guru and find a million glorious ways to express it.
South Melbourne, Australia
After reading Eesha’s letter, I wondered about her statement, “The moon is always whole.” I wondered whether love is similar—always full, always unconditional. This month I would love to focus on the fullness of the ever-present moon. I would then assess myself and my understanding at the month’s end.
I was also reminded that February 14 was the day in 2002 when Bade Baba’s new murti was installed in Gurudev Siddha Peeth. I was fortunate to witness this auspicious event and the sweet memories of the rituals performed then are resurging inside me now.
Dombivli, India