Diwali is a five day festival in India. It begins with Dhanteras, followed by Kali Chaudas and Naraka Chaturdashi, and then the night of Diwali itself. Diwali or Deepavali is the Indian festival of lights. “Deepa” means light and “avali” means a continuous line. Diwali occurs just before the Indian New Year. Diwali 2014 will […]
Kali Chaudas 2014
Diwali is a five day festival in India. The first day is Dhanteras, followed by Kali Chaudas or Naraka Chaturdashi. Kali is the powerful dark goddess (one meaning of “kala” is black) who is an avatar of Goddess Durga. In Indian mythology, Kali was a slayer of demons, including Narakasura. As a lunar based system, […]
Dhanteras 2014
The festival of Diwali is actually comprised of five days of rituals in India. Given the varying time zones and the solar eclipse, there has been some confusion about what is happening and when. We begin the celebration of Diwali 2014 with the festival of Dhanteras. According to mypanchang.com, Dhanteras 2014 is on October 20 […]
October 23, 2014 Solar Eclipse
Following on the heels of the October 8 total lunar eclipse comes the last eclipse of the year. There will be a partial solar eclipse on October 23. Unlike the lunar eclipse, the October 23, 2014 solar eclipse will be visible only in North America and the North Pacific. For the second year in a […]
October 8, 2014 Lunar Eclipse
The 2014 eclipses are happening in pairs – on the new Moon and the full Moon in April and October. The October 8, 2014 total lunar eclipse (called the “blood Moon” by some) is the first of the pair. This total eclipse is visible in Asia, Australia, the Pacific, North America, and South America. In […]
Mercury Retrograde October 2014
The third and final Mercury retrograde of 2014 begins on October 4 and lasts until the 25th. Mercury retrograde will occur in Libra and Virgo in Vedic astrology, or Jyotish. While many people dread the period when Mercury is retrograde, Vedic astrology offers a somewhat varying perspective than Western astrology. In Vedic astrology, Mercury retrograde […]
Vedic astrology for October, 2014
Like the leaves of fall shedding and changing colors, Jyotish or Vedic astrology for October, 2014 brings with it a preparation for our own transformation. Most notably we will have two eclipses in October. The total lunar eclipse will be on the full Moon October 8 and visible in most parts of the world. The […]
The Nine Goddesses of Navratri
Tonight is the first of nine nights of Navratri 2014 in North America. Navratri (or Navaratri) is the Indian festival celebrating the goddesses Kali, Lakshmi, and Saraswati. They are all aspects of Shri Durga. Each night of Navratri is dedicated to a particular goddess who represents an aspect of the divine. The nine goddesses of […]
Why cows are sacred in India
(This story was recounted by Vedamurti Shri Vivek Shastri Godbole, who is the Acharya (the head Brahmin) of the Shri Krishna Yajurveda Pathshala in Satara, Maharsahstra, India. He comes from a lineage of 15 generations of learned practitioners of the Krishna Yajur Veda.) We often feed cows in Vedic rituals and they are always given […]
The Crow’s Significance in Indian Mythology
(This story was recounted by Vedamurti Shri Vivek Shastri Godbole, who is the Acharya (the head Brahmin) of the Shri Krishna Yajurveda Pathshala in Satara, Maharsahstra, India. He comes from a lineage of 15 generations of learned practitioners of the Krishna Yajur Veda.) In every ceremony related to our ancestors, the crow carries a lot […]