Friday, August 22, 2008

Janmashtami Fast

The word for fasting i.e. Upavasa, means to move near to the Supreme and to overcome helplessness. The practice of fasting, could have originated as part of the offering that one could give God for getting a boon fulfilled. The festival of Janmashtami is characterised with keeping fast by devotees.

Nirjal Fast or Upavasa for Lord Krishna
Ardent followers of Lord Krishna celebrate Janmashtami by keeping 'Nirjal' fasts. This kind of fasting involves not having even a single drop of water during the entire day. People feel keeping nirjal or waterless fasts will help them get closer to God. Devotees also keep 'Phalahar Vrat' having milk and fruits during the fast. Devotees observe strict discipline while fasting. They refrain from having cereals and salt on the day of the festival . They also feel keeping such fast is the only thing that they can offer God. Fasting is accompanied by singing of devotional songs and mantra chanting.

Popular Dishes made during Janmashtami Fast

Devotees make various dishes during the fast. They have milk and milk products during the fast. This because Lord Krishna was particularly fond of milk and butter. Sweet dishes are also made and had during janmashtami fast. Kheer, Pedhas are popular sweets that devotees have.
People do not include salt in their meals during the fast. Devotees fasting on janmashtami break the fast at midnight after the birth of Lord Krishna. They break their fast with Prasad of the Lord.http://www.indiangiftsportal.com/myshop/images/products-big/fnp-jc3.jpg

However with changing times, and even children keeping fasts in the current scenario, the stringent rituals of fasting have been done away with. Sendha namak (salt of a special kind used during fasting) is now allowed during the fast.

Janmashtami


Janmashtami Around the World

Janmashtami festival is celebrated all around the world with lot of enthusiasm and devotion. This festival has gained popularity among people of other nationalities as well. Indians as well as citizens of other countries take part in Janmashtami festivity. ISKCON has further helped to spread the awareness of Lord Krishna and his birth anniversary. Janmashtami preparations begin well in advance. Temple associations and other religious groups chart out an itinerary for the day.

The day is marked with Krishna chanting competitions, dance dramas, recital of verses from 'Bhagwad Gita'. Bhajan evenings are organized. The festival also serves as a platform for people of various other nationalities who get a chance to know about the cultural heritage of India.

India is known for 'Unity in Diversity'. It is a multi cultural and multi linguistics country. Janmashtami also gives Indians a chance to promote their religion and culture in the world.

Birth of Lord Krishna Krishna

Janmashtami is celebrated to welcome and enjoy Lord Krishna's birth. The birth of Lord Krishna took place when the various planets were in auspicious places. It is said that God chooses a particular time, as to when he will take birth as a human and the planetary systems are adjusted accordingly.

Auspicious Nakshatra (Constellation)

Around the time of Bhagwan Krishna's birth, Rohini Nakshatra was predominant as it is considered to be quite auspicious. This is so because it is under the supervision of Brahma, the creator of Universe. Sri Krishna was born in the month Of Sravana more than 5000 years ago.

Born in Dwapur Yug (Iron Age)

According to some scholars, Krishna was born on Wednesday,the eighth day of second fortnight in Sravana month in the year of Visvavasu around 3227 BC, also known as Dwapur Yug. July 19th 3228 BC to be more accurate. He lived for 125 years and disappeared on February 18th 3102 BC on the new moon night of Phalguna. His death was the onset of the current corrupt age known as Kaliyug.

Universal Happiness of all Forms of Life

From the time, Devki conceived Sri Krishna, she began to glow and exude divine light. The prison walls glowed with the aura of the new born infant. Atmosphere of peace and happiness prevailed all over, Forests were all green and full of trees with all kinds of beautiful flowers, rivers were all swollen due to joy, peacocks began to dance in sheer joy, people in all villages started being happy.

Objective of Krishna's Birth

The main objective of Lord Krishna's birth was to free Mother Earth from the wickedness of demons. Playing an important part in Mahabharata (legendary battle in Kurukshetra) and propagating the theory of bhakti and good karma were other important objectives.

Events Before The Birth of Sri Krishna

The people of Mathura were extremely unhappy with the wicked king Kansa who put his father, king Ugrasen in prison and declared himself the king of Mathura. It was to put an end to his evil ways and other demons that Lord Vishnu decided to take birth on Earth in human form. According to Akashvani (heavenly voice) at the wedding of his beloved sister Devki, Kansa got to know that the eighth child of his sister will take birth to kill him. So, in turn he rushed to kill his sister. Kansa gave up the idea of killing after being assured by Vasudev that he will handover all his children to him. He put them in Prison. Kansa killed all the six infants as soon as they were born. The seventh child (Balram) was saved due to divine intervention, when he was transferred from Devki's womb to that of Rohini's (other wife of Vasudev).

Events During the Birth of Lord Krishna

Lord Krishna was born in a prison cell in the captivity of King Kansa. He took birth in divine form with lotus like eyes,his palms bearing the signs of a lotus and discus. He had a swastika sign on his sole. Wearing a yellow colored silk cloth, adorned with precious diamond earrings and a crown made of emeralds. Soon after the birth, a chain of events astonished Vasudev,when he saw the gates of the cell flow open and all the guards fast asleep. He immediately thought of Nand ,his close friend in Gokul and decided to handover his child to him in order to save him from the clutch of Kansa.

River Yamuna Bows To The Feet of Sri Krishna

The night of birth was witnessed by heavy rains which led to River Yamuna being in floods. As soon as the feet of Lord immersed in the river, the flow became normal and Yamuna made way for the Lord. Sheshnag, the serpent formed an umbrella to save the new born baby from rain.

Exchange of the Babies

Vasudev kept his child next to fast asleep Yashoda and took the baby girl lying with him back to Mathura. The baby girl is believed to be the sister of Lord Vishnu.

Disappearance of The Divine Child

On hearing the news of birth of the eighth child of Devki and Vasudev, Kansa rushed to the prison-cell and lifted the baby girl to kill her despite pleadings from Devki. However, instead of hitting the stone, the child flew up in the air and announced that the annihilator of Kansa was born and in safe hands.

Krishna later grew in Gokul and finally killed his maternal uncle, King Kansa.




Midnight Janmashtami Celebrations
Janmashtami is the joyful celebration of Lord Krishna's birth. Major celebrations of Krishna Janmashtami takes place at midnight as Krishna is said to have made his divine appearance in that hour. Fasting, bhajans, pujas and many other rituals mark Janmashtami celebrations in India.


About Lord Krishna
Sri Krishna is considered to be one of the most endeared human incarnations of Lord Vishnu. Born more than 5000 years ago in Mathura city, the revered God of Hindu religion and his teachings hold immense relevance till date.


When is Janmashtami?

Janmashtami 2008 is on August 24th

Janmashtami celebrates the birth of one of the most famous Gods of Hindu religion, Bhagwan Krishna, on the eighth day (Ashtami) in the month of Sravana or Savana. Lord Sri Krishna was born on the 'Rohini' nakshatram (star). It is generally celebrated in the month of August-September according to the Christian Calendar. Legend has it that Sri Krishna was born on a dark, stormy and windy night to end the rule and atrocities of his maternal uncle, Kansa.

Position of Stars at the time of Birth
It was only on the eighth day of the second fortnight, in the month of Sravana when, the moon entered the house of Vrishabha in Rohini Nakshatra (star) that Lord appeared. According to Barhapatyamana, the month of Sravana corresponds to the month of Bhadrapada Krishnapaksha. Lord was born in the year of Visvavasu, appx. 5,227 years ago.

Celebrated for over Two Days
Janmashtami is celebrated for over two days as “Rohini” nakshatra and Ashtami may not fall on the same day. The first day known as Krishnashtami, as the birth of Bhagwan Krishna falls on the eighth day after Raksha Bandhan, which generally falls in the month of August. The second day is known as Kalashtami.

Welcome the Lord at Midnight
It is only at midnight between the first and the second day that birth of Sri Krishna took place. The actual festivities begin during midnight in this 48 hour period. The celebration reaches its peak at midnight, with the birth of Lord Krishna, with lot of hymns, arti taking place and blowing of the Conch (shankh), rocking the cradle of Lord. The idol of lord is bathed with Panchamrit (A mixture of milk, ghee, oil, honey and Gangajal). The Panchamrit is later distributed as Prasad to the devotees along with other sweets. While some Fast on the first day and break it at midnight for others the fasting continues for both days. The period coincides with rainy season.


Wednesday, August 20, 2008

Why Lord Krishna Is God ?

Do you know God’s name, qualities, address, description, history dating back to billions of years, witnessed by millions, and proven?If you can answer these questions, only then can you truly say you know God. Otherwise you are simply living in darkness.

The Vedic scriptures are the oldest scriptures in the World and the only scriptures that can answer all these questions and in detail. The Vedic scriptures completely describe God. His history, address, qualities, description, how he creates and maintains and so on. That God is Lord Krishna.

1. The first requirement is that the contender for the position of the supreme has been seen.

Seeing is believing, not seeing is pure speculation.

Lord Krishna has incarnated at least 9 times so far in the current cycle of creation. In each incarnation millions saw him. There is scientific evidence to prove that he existed 5000 years ago, as stated in the Vedic scriptures. Scientists have found the city where Lord Krishna lived in Dwarka, India, as described in the Vedic scriptures. NASA has taken satellite pictures of the bridge between India and Sri Lanka that Lord Krishna built in his Lord Ram incarnation, some 1.7 million years ago.

2. The second requirement is that the contender’s description is known.

How can you believe in someone without actually seeing them or knowing what they look like?

Lord Krishna has a form just like a human being. Even the Christian Bible states that man is made in the image of God. This means that God is a person with two hands, 2 legs and so on. That person is Lord Krishna.

His complexion is dark-blue, like that of a rain filled cloud.

His eyes are like lotus petals.
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He is ever youthful.
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He is full of bliss and his beauty excels that of thousand of cupids.
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He likes to play the flute.
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He wears a peacock feather in his crown.
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He wears the Kaustubha jewel around his neck.
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He wears yellow garments.
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Lord Krishna is complete in six kinds of opulence – wisdom, beauty, fame, power, wealth, and renunciation.

3. The third requirement is that the contender’s divinity is proven.

Anyone can claim to be God, but who can actually prove it?

To protect innocent people from imposters, Arjuna asked Lord Krishna to prove his divinity. Lord Krishna granted Arjuna divine vision and revealed his spectacular unlimited forms as the cosmic universe. Thus he conclusively established his divinity.

“Arjuna saw in that universal form unlimited mouths, unlimited eye, unlimited wonderful visions. The form was decorated with many celestial ornaments and bore many diving upraised weapons. He wore celestial garlands and garments, and many divine scents were smeared over his body. All was wondrous, brilliant, unlimited, all expanding.

If hundreds of thousands of suns were to rise at once into the sky, their radiance might resemble the effulgence of the supreme person in that universal form.”(Bhagavad-Gita 11.10-12)

In each incarnation, Lord Krishna proved that he was God, all the details can be found in the Srimad Bhagavatam. Here we will focus on his incarnation 5000 years ago.

*Lord Krishna performed miracles that no other being can perform.*

When Lord Krishna was 7 years old, he lifted a mountain (26 miles in perimeter) and held it up with his one hand for 7 days. Witnessed by tens of thousands of people who were standing underneath the mountai.

*Lord Krishna expanded his body into 16,108 forms. Which means he duplicated his body into 16,108 identical bodies.*

*Lord Krishna transformed himself into others. This means he can make himself into a copy of anyone.*

Lord Krishna made the sun rise and fall at his will.

*Lord Krishna granted Arjuna divine vision and reveled his spectacular unlimited form as the cosmic universe. In which Arjuna could see the various forms of Lord Krishna, and unlimited Planets while being seated in one place. He was also shown the past, present, and future.〉*

*Lord Krishna showed within his mouth, the cosmic creation with unlimited Planets.*When a woman called Draupadi was disrobed in a court of kings, she called out to Lord Krishna for help and he supplied her with an unlimited sari and thus she could not be disrobed.

Many atheists tried to kill Lord Krishna, but Lord Krishna very easily defeated them all and also gave them on the spot liberation. Lord Krishna is most merciful; he gives liberation even to those who try to kill him. The Lord can give on the spot liberation; one does not need to wait for the Day of Judgment.

*Lord Krishna brought back to life many dead people including the six children of Devaki.*Lord Krishna cured diseased people including transforming a hunchback woman into a most beautiful woman in return for offering sandalwood pulp to the Lord.

*Lord Krishna killed all the wicked Kings who were tormenting and harassing the public.* People were saved in this very life and didn’t have to wait for the Day of Judgment.

4. The fourth requirement is that the contender’s qualities are known and proven *Lord Krishna has 64 qualities, which are all mentioned in the Vedic scriptures.*

Supreme Father:

“It should be understood that all species of life, o son of Kunti, are made possible by birth in this material nature, and that I am the seed giving father” (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-Gita 14.4)
“I am the father of this universe, the mother, the support and the grandsire”(Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-Gita 9.17)

Supreme Creator: Lord Krishna is the origin of all.

“The whole cosmic order is under me. By my will it is manifested again and again, and by my will it is annihilated at the end” (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-Gita 9.8)

“Furthermore, O Arjuna, I am the generating seed of all existences. There is no being, moving or unmoving, that can exist without me” (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-Gita 10.39)

"I am the source of all spiritual and material worlds. Everything emanates from Me. The wise who perfectly know this engage in My devotional service and worship Me with all their hearts"(Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-Gita 10.8)

"Of all that is material and all that is spiritual in this world, know for certain that I am both the origin and the dissolution" (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-Gita 7.6)

Supreme Controller: Lord Krishna is the supreme controller.

"I give heat, and I withhold and send forth the rain" (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-Gita 9.19)
“With a single fragment of myself I pervade and support this entire universe”(Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-Gita 10.42)

Supreme Maintainer:

The splendor of the sun, which dissipates the darkness of the whole world, comes from me. And the splendor of the moon and the splendor of fire are also from me” (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-Gita 15.12)
I enter into each planet, and by energy they stay in orbit” (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-Gita 15.13)
“This material nature, which is one of my energies is working under my direction”(Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-Gita 9.10)
Omnipresent: Lord Krishna is omnipresent, meaning he is present everywhere.“I am the supersoul, O Arjuna, seated in the hearts of all living entities, I am the beginning, the middle, and the end of all beings” (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-Gita 10.20)
Omnipotent: Lord Krishna is omnipotent, meaning he is the greatest.

"There is no truth beyond Me. Everything rests upon Me, as pearls are strung on a thread"(Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-Gita 7.7)

Omniscient: Lord Krishna knows the past, present, and the future.

“O Arjuna, I know everything that has happened in the past, all that is happening in the present, and all things that are yet to come. I also know all living entities" (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-Gita 7.26)
“Many, many births both you and I have passed. I can remember all of them, but you cannot!"(Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-Gita 4.5)

There is Only One God:

“Those who are devotees of other gods and who worship them with faith actually worship only me, O son of Kunti, but they do so in a wrong way. I am the only enjoyer and master of all sacrifices. Therefore, those who do not recognize my true transcendental nature fall down”(Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-Gita 9.24)

5. The fifth requirement is that the contender’s history dating back to Billions of years is known.
Full details on the pastimes of Lord Krishna in each of his incarnations can be found in the Srimad Bhagavatam.The Vedic scriptures contain the history of Lord Krishna dating back to billions of years.

6. The sixth requirement is that the contender’s supremacy is mentioned in authorized scriptures.The Vedic scriptures are the only scriptures that have existed since the beginning of time, and thus eternal and the absolute truth. There is no higher authority than that of the Vedic scriptures.

Lord Brahma who is the first created living being states in Brahma Samhita: “Krishna who is known as Govinda is the supreme godhead. He has an eternal blissful spiritual body. He is the origin of all. He has no other origin and he is the prime cause of all causes.” (Brahma Samhita 5.1)

After Describing various incarnations of the Lord such as Rama, Balrama, Vamana, Nrsimha, and Vishnu, Sukadeva Goswami states: “All of the above mentioned incarnations are either plenary portions of portions of the plenary portions of the Lord, but Lord Krishna is the original Personality of Godhead” (Srimad Bhagavatam 1.3.28)

Lord Shiva in the Gita Mahatmya states:
“Only one God – Krishna, the son of Devaki (verse 7)

In the Padma Purana it is stated:
“By scrutinizingly reviewing all the revealed scriptures and judging them again and again, it is now concluded that Lord Narayana is the supreme absolute truth, and thus he alone should be worshipped”

In the Skanda Purana it states:
“In the material world, which is full of darkness and dangers, combined with birth and death and full of different anxieties, the only way to get out of the great entanglement is to accept loving transcendental devotional service to Lord Vasudeva.” *The position of Krishna as God is confirmed by great personalities like Narada, Asita, Devela, Parasara, Brahma, and Shiva.*

7. The seventh requirement is that the contender’s address is known.
The Srimad Bhagavatam gives the address of Lord Krishna as:
The top most Planet shaped like a Lotus called Goluka Vrandavan in the spiritual universe called Vaikuntha.

Conclusion

Everyone is looking for God, well here is the person God, Lord Krishna. Since you do not know anyone else with the details and proof just mentioned. Why don’t you accept him?

Always Chant And be happy!


Hare Krishna Hare Krishna
Krishna Krishna
Hare Hare
Hare Rama Hare Rama
Rama Rama
Hare Hare

Always Chant And be happy!

Always think of Me


Become My Devotee

Worship Me and offer your homage unto Me

Thus you will come to Me without fail

I PROMISE you this because you are My very dear FRIEND!


(Bhagavad-Gita 18.65)


As the gazed upon the universal form of the Lord, Arjuna prayed with joined palms

Arjuna said, "Lord, as Thou hast described Thyself in that way, O Purushottama, I wish to behold with these eyes your complete form, the form in which is manifest all the power of your glory." What Arjuna prayed for was vishva-rupa-darshan, the vision of the cosmic (universal) form.

The Supreme Lord said, "O son of Pritha, see now My opulences, hundreds of thousands of varied divine and multicolored forms. Behold the Adityas, the Vasus, the Rudras, the two Ashvins and also the forty-nine Maruts; behold many wonders never seen before, O Bharata. O Arjuna, whatever you wish to see, behold at once in this body of Mine! This universal form can show you whatever you now desire to see, and whatever you may want to see in the future. Everything -- moving and nonmoving -- is here completely, in one place.

But certainly you will never be able to see Me with your normal eyes; divine eyes I give you to perceive My Divine Union." After having spoken thus, the Great Lord of Yoga, the Supreme Personality, showed Arjuna the beyond of the Universal Form.

Arjuna saw in that Universal Form unlimited mouths, unlimited eyes, unlimited wonderful visions. The form was decorated with many celestial ornaments, and bore many divine weapons. He wore celestial garlands and garments, and many divine scents were smeared over His body. All was wondrous, brilliant, unlimited, all-expanding. If there were the light of the simultaneous presence of many thousands of suns in the sky, such might resemble the effulgence of Him, the Greatness of the Soul. At that time Arjuna could see in the Universal form of the Lord, the unlimited expansions of the universe situated in one place, although divided into many, many thousands.

Overwhelmed with wonder and his hair standing on end, Arjuna offered the God his obeisances with folded hands, bowing his head and began to speak. Arjuna said, "My dear Lord Krishna, I see assembled in Your body all the demigods and various other living entities. I see Brahma sitting on the lotus flower, as well as Lord Shiva and all the sages and divine serpents. I see Thee without beginning, middle or end, infinite in power of endless arms, the sun and the moon being Thy eyes, the burning fire Thy mouth heating the whole universe with the radiance.

Thou art the Primeval God, the Ancient Purusha; Thou art the Supreme refuge of this universe. Thou art the knower, the knowable and the Supreme abode. By Thee is this universe pervaded, O Being of infinite form. I am delighted, having seen what was never seen before, and yet my mind is distressed with fear. Show me that form only with four hands, O God; have mercy, O God of gods, O Abode of the Universe."
The Blessed Lord assumed His gentle form with four hands and showed this form to Arjuna, and consoled him who was terrified. The Blessed Lord said, "Neither by the Vedas nor by austerity, nor by gifts, nor by sacrifice can I be seen in this form, as thou hast seen Me so easily. But by the single-minded devotion, can I of this form be known and seen in reality, and also entered into, O Arjuna.

He who does actions for Me, who looks on Me as the Supreme, who is devoted to Me, who is free from attachment, who bears enmity towards no creature, he comes to Me, O Pandava." This is the essence of the Gita's teaching.

His Devine Grace A.C Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada Ki Jai!!!!

Radha and Krishna is the embodiment of love, passion and devotion.


The whole universe material and spiritual is the creation of Shri Radha - Krishna. The relationship of Radha and Krishna is the embodiment of love, passion and devotion. Radha's passion for Krishna symbolizes the soul's intense longing and willingness for the ultimate unification with God. Shri Krishna is the soul of Radha and Radha is definitely the soul of Shri Krishna. She is the undivided form of Shri Krishna. She will remain a mystery unless one can know her inexpressible divine elements. She is worshipper as well as his deity to be worshipped.

Tuesday, August 12, 2008

An End of Days and The Sun is On the Cross

It is like a large check mark on the calendar, a pointer aimed at 13.0.0.0.0, the "End Date" of the Mayan Long Count Calendar. From the Mayan point of view, this is the "End of Days." It is so significant that the calendar just comes to a stop. It is like having an alarm set when it's time to take your medicine. This date is also December 21, 2012, the day of the Winter Solstice. But what is this check mark trying to tell us. What medicine are we suppose to remember to take? The Mayan calendar was started in 3113 BC. But, most of the documents that could tell us what this calendar was for were destroyed long ago. In Mesoamerica, South America and on Easter Island, zealot priests destroyed almost all the written documents. Before that the library at Alexandria in Egypt was distorted by fire, several times. Almost all ancient history books in China were destroyed on the order of a dying emperor. Someone does not seem to want us to know where we come from or where we are going. Yet not all was lost. Writings on stone, lost to the world when the past was being destroyed, have since been found. In Mesopotamia were found thousands of clay tablets. On these tablets is the description of a society in which the government, economy and religion was controlled by one organization. This organization is a family of fallen gods . In Mesoamerica, the writings are on the temples, altars and other stone structures. Even better, in Mesoamerica, there still live the descendants of these ancient people. There are those that still follow the ancient ways. So here we are. Someone put this big check mark on the calendar. If there was a note telling us what the mark is for, it was destroyed with most of the history of the ancient world. So what is one to do? Look for clues.



One Morning A Baktun Ago


It is December 14 of the year 1603 and the Sun rises into the morning sky as Venus comes out from behind the Sun. Both are near the center of the Milky Way, near where the ecliptic and the galactic equator cross. The Maya put much importance on this celestial crossing. It appears on the sarcophagus lid at Palenque. A baktun from now the winter solstice Sun will stand on this galactic crossing, an event that happens once every 25,920 years. This is the event that the check mark on the calendar seems to point to. But why is this of any importance?


Venus does an interesting dance with the Sun as they twirl their way across the sky. Venus rushes past the Sun as it moves into the morning sky. Over the next 589 days Venus first rises above the Sun. It then pauses for a bit and slowly follows the Sun. It then passes behind the Sun and moves into the evening sky. Venus climes high into the evening sky as is follows the Sun to the horizon each night. After hanging above the Sun for a bit Venus plunges back into the morning sky. Venus and the Sun do this dance almost exactly five times in eight years. Venus passes across the face of the Sun on a longer cycle. There are two transits eight years apart every 113.5 and 129.5 years alternately . We are now, as we approach the "End of Days," in a time of these transits; 12.19.11.6.2, June 8, 2004 and 12.19.19.8.1, June 5, 2012. The Maya followed the movements of Venus with great care. Many ancient societies build great stone observatories to keep track of what the sky was doing. These great civil engineering projects were very expensive for the people that built them. Knowing the sky must have been very important to them. Ancient documents advise us to look for "Signs in the Sky. " Should not the sky be as important to us? This may be where we find the message that tells us what the mark on the calendar is for. Above the Sun and Venus on this December day in 1603 are Mercury, Jupiter and Saturn as well as a red super giant star named Anteres. In the west Orion and Sirius have slipped below the horizon. These are be the lead players in a celestial drama. The constellations of the Zodiac are the stage setting. We are invited to a performance of the "Theater of Millions of Years." In just 409 years these players will act in another chapter of this drama, a wedding procession to announce the beginning of a new age.
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Yet Another Clue

Now back to the present and the web page is titled "Why 2012?". This page proposes a conjunction as the key to the December 21, 2012 "End Date." This conjunction is the location of the sun at the time of the winter solstice with respect to the cross formed by the galactic equator and the ecliptic. This crossing point has meaning in the Mayan tradition. The claim is that this will be the closest the solstice occurs to this Cross for many years.

Any claim such as this deserves to be verified. To this end, I went looking for the times of the solstices. An on-line almanac gave solstices for the years 2000 and 2001. Using Red Shift 4 the distance from the sun, at the time of the solstice, to the cross was measured. This first pass, done too quickly, seemed to show the distance diminishing between these two years. Encouraged, a new search was launched for more data on the winter solstice. The years 1992 through 2005 were found on an astrology page.

Editorial Note: It turns out that Red Shift 4 has a wandering galactic equator and center. The galactic equator and center are as fixed as the stars. All references to the galactic equator and center in the first edition of this document are meaningless. That is, the arguments justifying the story based on the conjunctions are not valid. In that these errors pointed to parts of the story that might have otherwise have been missed, there is meaning in the meaningless. After some testing it has been found that Red Shift and Starry Night agree nicely on the positioning of the stars and planets.

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Where is the Center of the Galaxy?

It is said that there is a black hole at the center of the galaxy. We, on the other hand, are out toward the edge of the visible galaxy. It is estimated that we revolve around the center of the galaxy once in about two-hundred million years. There is so much galaxy between us and the center that it can not be seen. To the right is an image from the web site of the Astronomy Program, Department of Physics and Astronomy of The University of Alabama. This site explains the sky in the direction of the galactic center.

The World Cross or World Tree is where the ecliptic, the path of the Sun in the sky, and the galactic equator cross near the center of the galaxy. This Tree is seen in Mayan art, most famously, on the sarcophagus lid at Palenque. This tree is in the background, behind the goddess, in Card Number XVII of the Tarot, The Star.

The lower image to the right is a Starry Night rendering of the sky in the vicinity of this cross. The labeling and placement of the galactic center are my own. The placement of the galactic equator is part of the Starry Night program. It seems to agree with the University information.

I have recently read that the figure in the trunk of the tree on the Palenque lid is a Mayan water goddess rather than the tomb's occupant, Pascal. The World Tree is also the Tree of Life and as we look at the galactic center we are looking in the direction of life in the galaxy. Each star in this mist of billions of stars is home to billions of individuals like ourselves. This is a galaxy teaming with life.

There is no reasion to believe that modern atronomy knows more about the geometry of the Galaxy than did the Maya of old, I am just more accustom to it.. And counting years in the stories of millennia is akin to measuring with a micrometer, marking with a crayon and cutting with a chain saw. The stage is set. The play is now.


Where is the Sun this Year?

Now that we have a stable galactic equator in the Starry Night astronomy program, what can we tell about the conjunction with the winter solstice. Using solstice information for the years 1992 to 2020 from the US Naval Observatory the distance of the winter solstice and the World Tree was measured. The years 1992 through 2000 and 2012 are shown in the table to the right. It is 1997 that the conjunction is the closest. But in a 25,920 year cycle we can certainly say we are in the era of this conjunction. There is a one hundred and forty year period centered on 1997 that the Sun crosses the galactic equator on the day of the solstice.

It is said by some that Jesus of Nazareth was really born in 4 BC. If this is the case 1997 would be the first year of the third millennium after the birth of Jesus.

Year
Cross
1992
4' 38"
1993
3' 38"
1994
2' 49"
1995
2' 01"
1996
1' 16"
1997
0' 23"
1998
0' 29"
1999
1'18"
2000
2' 07"
~
~
2012
12' 08"..

The Sky on December 21, 2012

The check mark is on the calendar and we are asked to look for "Signs in the Sky." So, what does the sky look like on December 21 2012? Before the what can be answered the where must be found. When I was first starting the research on this "End of Days" my astronomy program was Red Shift 4. By default, Red Shift was set to show the sky at my residence. So my first look at the sky on this wondrous morning was from The City of the Sacrament. .. At the solstice, Saturn is just above the horizon. By five thirty Venus is on the horizon and the Sun is on the cross. Although the exact center of the Sun is not on the exact point of crossing of the galactic equator and the ecliptic, this intersection is behind the disk if the Sun. To the left of the Sun is the Trifid Nebula and the Lagoon Nebula is below. I wonder if the people that live there call it that. The Sun, Venus and the Cross are strong Mayan symbology. As the morning progresses the sky begins to lighten Venus fades. The Maya used this heliacal rising to keep track of the Venus cycles.

But what is all this Mayan symbology doing almost three thousand miles from the Mayan homeland. From my atlas I got the coordinates of the Yucatan and entered them into the Red Shift location window. The Sun and Venus are well above the horizon. This is no good. This great Mayan event can't even be seen from the Mayan homeland. On the other hand, these ancient gods were all over the planet. And there must be many mythologies involved in this story. After all, this story is for all of us. With Venus on the horizon and the Sun stationary in the Milky Way, a path
was traced around the world to see if there was a better location to see this story unfold. There is a locus of locations from which this sky configuration is available for observation. This locus pretty much circles the globe. But, between mid Canada and the South Pacific. the Sun has yet to rise and Venus can be seen on the horizon. It is at the confluence of the River of the Sacrament and the River of the Land of Milk and Honey that this conjunction is first seen. Only from here does Venus rise so the line of observation is looking across the Mayan homeland in the Yucatan. About seven minuets later, on the other side of the world, in bright sunlight, with the Sun following Venus to the horizon, this conjunction is gone.


All this Mayan imagery rising, coming to life if you will, on the morning of the "End Date" of the Mayan calendar..

And in the West?

In the west Sirius and Orion, two key Egyptian icons are setting, passing into the Underworld.

It is the morning of 13.0.0.0.0, what else could this day possibly bring us?


A New Sun


In the British Museum is a small clay tablet, BM 86378. This tablet is a star list written in cuneiform by an ancient scribe. One star is listed as a giant star at the edge of the Vela constellation. In that there is no such star there now, this must have been a temporary star.

There is at this location a pulsar, PSR 0833-45, near the constellation Vela in the southern sky. A Pulsar is one object that can be left after a star explodes. Estimates of the age of this pulsar allow it to be as young as 10,000 years. This would be about the time Jericho was established, well within the time frame for a Sumerian scribe to list the supernova in his star list. It is said that this star will shine again. Another supernova?

Just a little over six degrees below and rising with Venus on December 21, 2012 is Antares, a red super giant just 604 light years away. If this star were to supernova as it came up with Venus, it would be as though a new Sun had been born. The Sun God would have a Twin.

Magnetic Somersaults

In the first quarter of 2001, the Sun switched magnetic poles. This occurs every eleven years. Prior to this the Sun's north magnetic pole was at the north rotational pole. Now the Sun's north magnetic pole is at its south pole. Since opposite poles attract, the magnetic poles of the Earth and Sun are now at their most stable.

Just about the time of 2012 Winter Solstice, the Sun's poles will switch back. During this switch there will be a tendency for the Sun's magnetic field to pull the Earth's field with it.

If the Earth's magnetic poles switch, this would put stress on the planet aggravating earthquakes and volcanos, not to mention destruction of the electrical power distribution grid. And, if the switch happens fast enough don't ever expect your computer to work again. But if you have old tube type equipment, keep it. It should survive just fine. It will work if you can find electricity

Location, Location, Location

The confluence of the River of the Sacrament and the River of the Land of Milk and Honey is near the center of a great valley. These rivers, one from the north and one from the east, join at the northeast corner of a river delta. A third river flows into this delta from the south.

In the mountains that surround the valley are great timbers and fine stone for the building of temples. The valley will provide food for the staff of a large temple complex.

From the City of the Sacrament, flowing first south and then west, the River of the Sacrament will carry many large boats. This river empties into a sheltered bay.

Sitting on a blunt peninsula, surrounded on two sides by the river delta and the bay, stands Devil Mountain as though this was all an arrowhead pointing the way.

From the point of view of the Sumer described by Zecharia Sitchin, this mountain would serve as a beacon for a spaceport as did Mount Ararat in ancient Mesopotamia.

For this spaceport, the glide path is across the southern tip of Africa; along the northeast coast of South America; across the Mayan homeland and into the Valley of the Sacrament.

The only down side to this valley is an infestation of sentient simians. Civilized Man, acting a very uncivilized tenant, has trashed much of it. But, the extra Sun for a few months will heat up the oceans and bring more rain. The rain will flush out the delta and heal the damage to dead have done.

And there are still sufficient timbers to get the temple complex started. There are stones in the mountains to the east that, if lifted as a single piece and set in place at the confluence of the two rivers, would make a great temple platform.


Looking Across the Maya .

A Story Told in the Sky

As seen from the City of the Sacrament on 13.0.0.0.0, Saturn is on the horizon when the Sun is on the solstice. Saturn, said to be a god of fertility, also associated with Satan, is the god for which Saturday is named. He has held many jobs in the council of gods. This morning he has been tasked to be the Herald and lead a wedding procession. Saturn drags behind him the spent scales of Judgment, the constellation Libra. The judgment now over, Libra will be the symbol of Justice in a new age of Peace and Harmony, the Age of the Matriarch.

Libra has cleared the horizon at five and a half hours after midnight. In the west Jupiter the Mighty, is riding Taurus the Bull. He stands guard over the remnants of a dying age. Jupiter stands between the wedding party and Orion, the celestial symbol of Man. Orion's legs are below the horizon with his belt just above. The Age of the Patriarch is coming to an end as he sinks below the horizon and enters the Underworld for the last time. Behind Orion is his consort Sirius going to the Underworld with him.

In the East Venus is on the horizon. Venus, symbolic of war to the Maya, was the Greek goddess of love. As Inanna, her Sumerian persona, she started as a goddess of love and purity, but in the end her behavior was more lustful than loving. Also she took up the art of war and became known as a goddess of war. So here is a universal symbol of destruction, both social and personal, rising just above the celestial symbol for the God of Peace, Antares. Ares, the Roman god of war is opposed by Antares, the rival of War.

Venus is now cast in the roll of the BrideGroom. At the same time, still out of sight below the horizon, the Sun is on the galactic equator. The Sun is now playing the role of the Bride. She bathes in the pure waters of the galactic river. As the BrideGroom did before her, she washes away the quilt and lust that comes from judgment. Once cleansed she will rise to wed the One Who Grooms the Bride, the Earthly Father.

Antares is one of three red super giant stars that are the likely to supernova. One of the others is Betelgeuse, Orion's right shoulder. A supernova of Betelgeuse on this morning would be symbolic of the disarming of Orion, taking away his sward arm. With the warrior, the one who makes war gone, there is no need for opposition to war. It is too much to ask that the hundreds of billions of people living around these two stars give up their lives to get a message to us. But, if it is destiny for both of these red giant stars to supernova at the same time, the symbology of such an occurrence on this morning would be overwhelming.

Below Venus is the messenger Mercury. He comes to announce the Bride. Below the Bride are the other members of the wedding party. By order of their appearance they are Pluto, Mars, Neptune and Uranus. At the end of this procession is the most ancient symbol of sin. The Moon is the symbol of the Sumerian Moon God Nanna-Suen, also known as Sin. The Temple of the Moon was in Ur, now an ancient ruin in southern Iraq.

Sin was conceived before mankind was created when his father, Enlil, Lord Air, raped Sin's mother, Ninlil, Lady Air, on their first date. When it comes to sin you can't get much more original than a god raping a goddess. But by the end of this new age the Moon will have returned to its rightful job as symbol of the mother. It will set the rhythm of the reproductive cycle. The Sun will have returned to its job as symbol of the Universal Creator, the Light that shines in all of us. The Heavenly Father will have left the Earth and returned to the heavens to fulfill his mission as protector of the womb.

When Orion rises again, just after sunset, it will be symbolic of a cooking hearth. The left most star in the belt and the two knee stars are now the three stones of the cooking hearth and the Orion Nebula is the fire. The Maya see this in these stars of Orion and pattern their traditional hearth after it. The Bride is now tired after the first day of this long wedding festival. She returns to the hearth. The Matriarch is home.

In the spring of 2013, this is a spring wedding after all, the Bride, the Sun and the BrideGroom, Venus rise together as they say their wedding vows. In the late spring of 2016, just weeks before the summer solstice, the BrideGroom enters the Bride. Venus goes behind the Sun and passes very close to its center. They mate and conceive. The happy couple is due in 5616, give or take a century or two.

Reserve your seats now for this one time only performance by the Theater of Millions of Years.

Editorial Note: In the above it is said that the judgment is over as Saturn rises on December 21, 2012. There is another option. One of the ancient documents suggests there is to be three and a half years of "tribulation." This would be the period of judgment. For this to be over on December 21, 2012, the tribulation needs to start in June of 2009. The other option is that the time between the start of the wedding procession and the mating, a period of three and a half years, is the time for getting the house in order for the pregnancy. I have mixed felling about the two possibilities. The three and a half years of social turbulence we will have to go through is not going to be much fun for anyone. So from a personal point of view I would like to delay it as long as possible. On the other hand, the world we live in now is not much fun for most of us. Since nothing of the Creator is ever lost, the sooner we take our medicine the better. We have no choice in the matter. It will happen when it happens. Our mission is to share what we have with those in around us and bring as much joy and happiness into the world as we can.



A Caution!

The relative positions of the celestial objects are all measured with Red Shift 4 and Starry Night. So the accuracy of the calculated positions is dependent on how well Red Shift and Starry Night give a true representation of the sky. As noted above, the galactic equator in Red Shift 4 is unreliable. This all started trying to verify calculation done by EZCosmos. Distant Suns, was used here prior to Red Shift and Starry Night. The Mayan Morning as seen in Distant Suns has Venus on the horizon at 5:33 am. There is no galactic equator in Distant Suns.

In Distant Suns
Until shown otherwise, it will be assumed that Starry Night, being the most recent, is also the most accurate. And, even if timings are a little different, both Starry Night, Red Shift and Distant Suns show the same sky configuration.



For the Kids
Find the God on Venus

21 December 2012 THE MAYAN CALENDAR END-DATE


This was sent to me via E Mail from a reader- I have tried to establish the source but I have not had much success !!

Most of us are not archaeologists or astronomers, anthropologists or astrologers. Yet the majority of what is written about one of the most exciting and relevant subjects of our day - the approaching Winter Solstice 2012 end-date of the Mayan Calendar - appears in words aimed at specialists and couched in language that can be hard to read. This article is written for the Everyday Earthling who may be hearing a lot about the Mayans, their calendars, hieroglyphs and mysterious temples scattered throughout the jungles of Mexico, Guatemala, Belize and Honduras.

Let us begin with some questions. Why is there so much talk about the "end of the Mayan calendar" and what does it mean? Is there something significant we should know about the Winter Solstice date of December 21, 2012? How were the Mayans able to track long periods of time and why would they want to? Why should we care about the Mayans today? Is there anything we can learn from them? I'll begin by sharing how my own interest in the subject developed and go on from there.

I first learned about the Mayans in 1987 from Jose Arguelles' book The Mayan Factor. It was during the months leading up to the event known as Harmonic Convergence that Arguelles, artist and visionary, introduced me to the 20 Mayan daysigns and the thirteen Mayan numbers - and to the wonderfully engaging and mysterious 260 day Mayan ceremonial calendar, called the Tzolkin (pronounced chol-kin). My pursuit of knowledge about pre-Columbian culture had begun.

A great deal of scientific and visionary research work has been done about the Mayans, so I started reading. I learned that the Mayans tracked cycles within cycles within cycles of time. Their calendar acted as a harmonic calibrator, linking and coordinating the earthly, lunar, solar and galactic seasons in an aesthetically simple and elegant manner. The provocative simplicity of the daysigns and the sheer harmony of the calendar drew me in. Then a landmark article by John Major Jenkins appeared in Mountain Astrologer magazine in 1994, revealing for the first time in our era the true meaning of the end-date.

Is there something significant we should know about the Winter Solstice date of December 21, 2012? Yes. On this day a rare astronomical and Mayan mythical event occurs. In astronomic terms, the Sun conjuncts the intersection of the Milky Way and the plane of the ecliptic. The Milky Way, as most of us know, extends in a general north-south direction in the night sky. The plane of the ecliptic is the track the Sun, Moon, planets and stars appear to travel in the sky, from east to west. It intersects the Milky Way at a 60 degree angle near the constellation Sagittarius.

The cosmic cross formed by the intersecting Milky Way and plane of the ecliptic was called the Sacred Tree by the Maya. The trunk of the tree, the Axis Mundi, is the Milky Way, and the main branch intersecting the tree is the plane of the ecliptic. Mythically, at sunrise on December 21, 2012, the Sun - our Father - rises to conjoin the center of the Sacred Tree, the World Tree, the Tree of Life..

This rare astronomical event, foretold in the Mayan creation story of the Hero Twins, and calculated empirically by them, will happen for many of us in our lifetime. The Sun has not conjoined the Milky Way and the plane of the ecliptic since some 25,800 years ago, long before the Mayans arrived on the scene and long before their predecessors the Olmecs arrived. What does this mean?

Due to a phenomenon called the precession of the equinoxes, caused by the Earth's wobble that lasts almost 26,000 years, the apparent location of the Winter Solstice sunrise has been ever so slowly moving toward the Galactic Center. Precession may be understood by watching a spinning top. Over many revolutions the top will rise and dip on its axis, not unlike how the Earth does over an extremely long period of time. One complete rise and dip constitutes the cycle of precession.

The Mayans noticed the relative slippage of the positions of stars in the night sky over long periods of observation, indicative of precession, and foretold this great coming attraction. By using an invention called the Long Count, the Mayans fast-forwarded to anchor December 21, 2012 as the end of their Great Cycle and then counted backwards to decide where the calendar would begin. Thus the Great Cycle we are currently in began on August 11, 3114 BCE But there's more.

The Great Cycle, lasting 1,872,000 days and equivalent to 5,125.36 years, is but one fifth of the Great Great Cycle, known scientifically as the Great Year or the Platonic Year - the length of the precession of the equinoxes. To use a metaphor from the modern industrial world, on Winter Solstice CE (Common Era) 2012 it is as if the Giant Odometer of Humanity on Earth hits 100,000 miles and all the cycles big and small turn over to begin anew. The present world age will end and a new world age will begin.

Over a year's time the Sun transits through the twelve houses of the zodiac. Many of us know this by what "Sun sign" is associated with our birthday. Upping the scale to the Platonic Year - the 26,000 year long cycle - we are shifting, astrologically, from the Age of Pisces to the Age of Aquarius. The Mayan calendar does not really "end" in 2012, but rather, all the cycles turn over and start again, vibrating to a new era. It is as if humanity and the Earth will graduate in the eyes of the Father Sun and Grandmother Milky Way.

Why should we care about the Mayans today? Is there anything we can learn from them? The trees give us oxygen to breathe and help create the nourishing rains upon which we depend, sustaining life. We are missing these rains in places where the trees have been cut down or burned. Fires begin that nature can no longer extinguish. For the Mayans, trees were intermediaries between the physical and spiritual worlds, and absolutely essential to life. They believed that without the tree man could not survive and that "with the death of the last tree comes the death of the human race."

The ancient carved stones and the stars themselves tell us we are on the brink of a new world age. There is no reason not to take a leap of faith into imagining what may be in store. We may trust that it is time for humanity to awaken into a true partnership with each other, with the Earth, and the Cosmos. By accepting this partnership we may claim our birthright and become Galactic Citizens who care for and sustain the planet, thus sustaining ourselves. This is clearly the challenge of our times. Yet, arriving just in time and on schedule is the Winter Solstice dawn on the day we may remember that we are truly Children of the World.