If a friend or someone is asked for their birth date, they would respond at once. Whereas if they are asked what lunar day they were born on, they would be dumbfounded. This is a small illustration of how much regard we have towards our traditions.
Actually, what is the difference between a date and a lunar day? Is that a subject so difficult to understand? Isn’t it just another day? Why do we need to celebrate birthday on the lunar day?
The English birthdays that we follow are for our convenience and the dates we follow are for the ease of contractual agreements for global transactions. They came up with a random day as the beginning of the current calendar era used in traditional calendars. However, there may have been many more eras passed earlier. So, does that mean the prior years are useless? What happened to all that time that had lapsed over thousands of years? We need to take all those points into consideration.
Indians thought over this matter long ago, so they incorporated a chant known as Mahasankalpam in their rituals. In that they count the current time and location of the performer. It is the most ancient GPS system. It is derived from the Will of God, Brahma. The Mahasankalpam actually describes the Brahmanda, the cosmic egg, as created by Brahma Himself. Whatever karmas are conducted daily by Hindus are preceded by a “nitya sankalpam”. Nitya Sankalpam is supposed to be chanted every morning before daily duties are performed and the nitya karmas are offered to honor Lord Brahma, the Creator. However these traditions have almost disappeared except in the traditional households.
Ancient Hinduism considered lunar days to be extremely important. The fundamental difference between date and lunar day is that dates are man-made and lunar days are nature-made. It is more desirable for us to follow Nature, as we live in nature and are part of nature, so we need to live according to nature.
The Sun and the Moon are two life sources because they send light to the Earth. Based on their mutual distance, the energy levels between the two vary. Similar variations in the energy levels exist in case of full moon and new moon phases. That’s why some lunar days are considered to be more powerful than others.
For example, those who follow the lunar calendar can clearly see Moon near Pushyami star on the full moon day in the Telugu month of Poushya. And those who follow the solar calendar can see the Sun orbiting in Kanya rasi during the month of Kanya. That’s the proof of Chandra Mana (Moon based calendar) and Surya Mana (Sun based calendar). Whereas, when you call a month, September one cannot find any astronomical reasons except the Roman & Greek traditions behind the naming of a month.
Similarly, full moon and new moon phases are obvious to the naked eye. A lunar day is formed depending upon the lunar phase. We can practically see all this in the sky every day, hence, lunar days are scientific and real whereas the dates are fictional. By following dates blindly, we are giving importance to fiction and conveniently neglecting facts. We can call this a feature of Iron age in which we are living.
Someone may have been born on a particular day. Yet, exactly after twenty years, the same day will not be the same Lunar day, why? Because of the difference in the motion between the Sun (Earth) and the Moon. Therefore, when you celebrate your birthday as per the date, you are not celebrating it on your actual birthday.
For a person to take birth, there must be a certain alignment amongst planets. Especially between the Sun and the Moon there has got to be mutual correlation for a person to take birth. So, again when the same Lunar day occurs in the time cycle, there will be the same correlation and alignment between the Sun and the Moon. On that day, Nature will offer the same energy field as offered on the day of your birth. So, it is logical to celebrate a birthday according to the lunar calendar day.
That is the day on which the energy field can be enhanced by conducting Vedic rituals such as Ayushya Homam, Nakshatra Homam, Navagraha Homam etc. By performing these Vedic rituals, imbalances in the cosmic energy field can be removed and the subject will be blessed with a long life. He will be sanctified by seeking the blessings of elders and righteous people and by visiting temples and being devoted to God.
On the contrary, if people spend their birthdays in wasteful activities like watching movies, chatting with one another, shopping, drinking, partying etc., nothing fruitful comes out of it. Even if we don’t understand what could be the positive outcomes, we can be assured of negative outcomes such as good old traditions fading away, leading to increased sensual cravings and decreased life span.
For those who practice meditation, their birthday brings a wonderful change in their lives. It creates a new sacred vibration on that day. It introduces them to the world of new hopes dimensions, which open up before them afresh. This happens only to those who utilize their birthdays for meaningful purposes.
This is because Nature gives them a gift, a new cosmic energy because they were born on that specific lunar day. So, Nature will be favorable to them. It cooperates with them for their internal evolution. Since the very purpose of Nature is to transform the human being into a replica of God, it will support this process on their birth-day. It reminds them of their purpose of life. All the above will happen if only one knows how to make use of our birth day for his inner development.
It is best to spend our birth day in yoga and meditation because these practices reduce our evolutionary span of thousands of years and take us closer to God. If you cannot do it, it is better to have Ayushya Homam, Navagraha Homam performed by priests and get the blessings of scholarly elders and gurus.
If that is also not possible, at least visit temples, pray to favorite deities, feed the hungry and help the needy. Spend that one day without being narrow-minded. Live like a cosmic human, who believes God exists in every object and living being in creation.
The worst thing is not following any of the above on one’s birthday but spending the day in wasteful activity. Nature would regret giving a human life to such people. Out of all the above ways, how do you want to spend your birthday would depend on your choice and discrimination.
All rights reserved. This article has been translated by Satya B, which was originally posted in teluguyogi.net on September 18, 2009. The content or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express permission of the publisher.