Feb 2 Shadow and Light Ignorance and Wisdom

[Guest guest]

The birthday of Goddess Saraswati also falls on February 2 this year, the eve of

Venus

DX.

 

Om aim srim hrim saraswati devyai namah

 

Janna

http://seven_directions.tripod.com/

 

Weekly Frequency February 1, 2006 Aquarium Age

The big news this week is Groundhog Day. On February 2nd, Punxsutawney Phil, a

woodchuck serving as a modern symbol for the midpoint between the Winter

Solstice

and the Spring Equinox, will emerge from his underground habitat to predict

whether

winter will continue for another six weeks. How exactly we arrived at Phil from

Imbolc

(a pagan fertility rite) to Saint Brigid (a Celtic fertility goddess) to

Candlemas (an early

Christian celebration of the Virgin Mary) to Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, and the

Delaware Indians (was claimed the woodchuck as their ancestral grandfather) is

another story to be told another day. For some of us the movie Groundhog Day

turned Punxsutawney Phil into a household word, and February 2nd into my

favorite

Buddhist holiday. Like a hero out of Joseph Campbell, PhilÕs endless encounters

with

his shadow told the story of bodhicittaÑthe awakened compassionate heart that

transforms awareness, as it simultaneously aligns heart and mind, body and

spirit.

And all you need is ten or twenty thousand lifetimes of working out the details

through karma-yoga to get it rightÑa sobering, yet uplifting message, if you can

get

comfortable with the time delay. This week, itÕs likely youÕll find yourself

stuck in

sticky situation you thought was long gone, or able to view that repetitive

pattern

from a new perspective, perhaps through the eyes of an adversary. While that

polarized point of view might be disconcerting at first, donÕt dismiss

itÑopportunities

for a direct experience of the ÒshadowÓ are rare. And when they occur, they not

only

signal a new beginning. Encounters with the shadow also accelerate progress

toward

a compassionate heart.

 

Punxsutawney Groundhog Sees His Shadow

 

Feb 2, 8:52 AM (ET)

By DAN NEPHIN

 

PUNXSUTAWNEY, Pa. (AP) - Punxsutawney Phil saw his shadow, but it was hard to

find

a complainer in the crowd on Gobbler's Knob, where the morning temperature was

well above freezing and Thursday's high was expected to hit 48 degrees.

 

There were a few boos at the groundhog's prediction of six more weeks of winter,

but

most of the hundreds of revelers instead turned the event into an impromptu

Pittsburgh Steelers rally.

 

Fans in football jerseys sang "Here we go Steelers," and members of the

Punxsutawney Groundhog Club's Inner Circle - the top-hat- and tuxedo-wearing

businessmen responsible for carrying on the groundhog tradition each year -

threw

black and gold Steelers "Terrible Towels" as they waited to rouse Phil from his

burrow.

 

The furry forecaster may be popular, but the Pittsburgh Steelers are playing in

the

Super Bowl on Sunday.

 

"It's been really wonderful. This is just a ball. I'm having so much fun," said

Nancy

Durr, who came from Paxton, Neb., to the small western Pennsylvania town about

65

miles north of Pittsburgh to celebrate her 50th birthday.

 

She had been outside awaiting Phil's arrival since about 2:15 a.m., a rub-on

Punxsutawney Phil tattoo on each cheek.

 

Others latched on to the Phil frenzy for a publicity boost - for just about

anything,

from global warming to the lottery.

 

The National Environmental Trust said it's groundhog-suit-wearing human "will

ignore his shadow and will instead rely on global warming evidence to forecast

an

early spring."

 

The American Physiological Society was offering experts to discuss "What

Punxsutawney Phil can teach us about surviving massive blood loss, preventing

muscle atrophy, and more."

 

(AP) A portion of the crowd wave "Terrible Towels" while waiting for the

prediction of

six more weeks of...

Full ImageThe Pennsylvania Lottery even has Gus, "the second most famous

groundhog in Pennsylvania," who implores lottery players to "keep on

scratchin'."

 

None of those things are really what Groundhog Day is about, said Mike Johnston,

a

member of the Groundhog Club's Inner Circle. Punxsutawney Phil is nonpolitical

and

can't speak anyway, Johnston said.

 

Each Feb. 2, thousands of people descend on Punxsutawney for a little midwinter

revelry, celebrating what had essentially been a German superstition.

 

The Germans believed that if a hibernating animal casts a shadow Feb. 2 - the

Christian holiday of Candlemas - winter will last another six weeks. If no

shadow is

seen, legend says spring will come early.

 

According to the Groundhog Club, Phil has now seen his shadow 96 times, hasn't

seen it 14 times and there are no records for nine years.

 

The last time Phil failed to see his shadow was in 1999.

 

---

 

 

Birthday of the Goddess of Wisdom Goddess Saraswati & Vasant Panchami

 

"May Goddess Saraswati,

who is fair like the jasmine-colored moon,

and whose pure white garland is like frosty dew drops;

who is adorned in radiant white attire,

on whose beautiful arm rests the veena,

and whose throne is a white lotus;

who is surrounded and respected by the Gods, protect me.

May you fully remove my lethargy, sluggishness, and ignorance."

Om aim srim hrim saraswati devyai namah

 

As 'Diwali' Ð the festival of light Ð is to Lakshmi, goddess of wealth,

and 'Navaratri'

is to Durga, goddess of strength, might and power, Vasant Panchami is to

Saraswati, the goddess of knowledge and learning. She represents the free

flow of

wisdom and consciousness. She is the mother of the Vedas , and chants to her,

called the ' Saraswati Vandana ' often begin and end Vedic lessons.

 

The festival is celebrated every year on the 5th day of the bright fortnight

of the

lunar month of Magha (see calendar ) Ñ the day called 'Vasant Panchami'.

Hindus

celebrate this festival with great enthusiasm, and temples and households are

full

of activities on this day. This 'Panchami' is also known as Saraswati Day,

because it

is believed that on this day the goddess was born.

 

Saraswati, the goddess of wisdom, art and music is the daughter of Lord Shiva

and

Goddess Durga . It is believed that goddess Saraswati endows human beings

with

the powers of speech, wisdom and learning. She has four hands representing

four

aspects of human personality in learning: mind, intellect, alertness and ego.

She

has sacred scriptures in one hand and a lotus Ñ the symbol of true knowledge

Ñ in

the second. With her other two hands she plays the music of love and life on

a

string instrument called the veena . She is dressed in white Ñ the symbol of

purity

Ñ and rides on a white swan that symbolises Sattwa Guna or purity and

discrimination. Saraswati is also a prominent figure in Buddhist iconography

Ñ the

consort of Manjushri.

 

The colour yellow is given special importance on Vasant Panchami. On this day,

Saraswati is dressed in yellow garments and worshipped. People prefer to wear

yellow clothes on this holy day. Sweetmeats of yellowish hues are distributed

among relations and friends. Some people feed Brahmins, some perform

Pitri-Tarpan

(ancestor worship) and many worship Kamadeva, the god of love on this day.

 

However, the most significant aspect of this day is that children are taught

their

first words on this day, for it is considered an auspicious day to begin how

to read

and write. Educational institutions organise special prayer for Saraswati.

The great

Indian guru Pandit Madan Mohan Malviya laid the foundations of the world

class

academic institution of Kashi Hindu Vishwa Vidyalaya on Vasant Panchami.

 

Saintly people and individuals inclined towards spiritual progress attach great

importance to the worship of goddess Saraswati. As a practice, only educated

people and men of principle worship goddess Saraswati for spiritual

enlightenment.

In their opinion, there can be no comparison between the king and the learned

or

the spiritually advanced. The king is honored within his kingdom, whereas the

learned is respected or worshipped throughout the world.

 

Hinduism has taken into account special significance of seasons and interwoven

them with religious festivals . During Vasant Panchami, seasons undergo

change

and the coming of springtime is heralded. Trees display new shoots and new

life is

evident in the woods and fields. Nature decorates the mango trees with new

blossoms, wheat and crops enliven with evidence of new life.

 

Vasant Panchami is a festival full of religious, seasonal and social

significance and

is celebrated by Hindus all over the world with verve and new sense of optimism.

The first faint signals of the forthcoming festival of Holi Ñ the festival of

colours Ñ

also manifest at Vasant Panchami.

 

http://hinduism.about.com/library/weekly/aa020700.htm?nl=1