Solar Eclipse

[vcindiana]

Recent Solar Eclipse in India was a huge thing. It was interesting to watch people arguing about astronomy vs. astrology. For most Hindus eclipse is very religious thing and lots of things are forbidden during this time. I remember vividly when I was growing up during my childhood. We did not eat or drink and we took bath to get purified after the eclipse. Now the scientists say these are not meaningful and there is no such thing Rahu or Ketu or whatever eating the sun. Well, my family in India still does these rituals. My so called educated sister called me telling lots of people stayed inside the home for the fear of bad effect on them. I told her she missed a once in life opportunity of watching the amazing natural phenomenon. My thinking is that the creator who designed such thing wanted us to appreciate the natural wonder; no man (scientist) can duplicate that. It is sad for religious reasons people loose that opportunity.


I also wondered why people are told to use filtered glasses not ordinary sun glasses while gazing at the eclipse. Sun rays are therapeutic. But several years ago man also discovered that these are harmful and invented sun glasses. These are not just for vanity sake. Ophthalmologists recommend that we wear 99 percent and above UV-absorbent sunglasses and a brimmed hat whenever we are in the sun for long periods of time. We seldom look at the sun intensely and mostly we can be OK just using sunglasses. During eclipse we like to gaze at the sun intensely and for a longer duration and naturally our eyes will be prone for irreversible damage. Sunglasses cannot protect our eyes from intense light sources like arc welding, tanning lights, snowfields or gazing directly at the sun, especially during a solar eclipse, for example, can severely damage our eyes.I think one may not need the glasses at all during the full eclipse as all the harmful rays are blocked by the moon, well that will be a very short period !

Love...................VC

[Eastern Mind]

Namaste vcindiana:

The solar eclipse is a fascinating phenomena. I am not at all quick to dismiss our elders rites and rituals that were passed down through the ages, and are now disputed by scientists. The world has lost a lot of ancient knowledge because of this especially in the area of herbs. I think some things probably should be discarded but others have their inner meanings, and need to be understood better. The ancestors knew more than we might know.

So having said that, here is my intuitive take on solar eclipses. This is nowhere written, and would go against current science.

I intuit that the sun gives off a lot more types of energy that we know. (Even science has discovered over the years several new types of rays etc. In the old days it was pretty much just heat and light.} I intuit some of these other energies are highly spiritual in nature. In other words they are outside what science has to date discovered. When the sun's rays get blocked in another way besides the rotation of the earth itself, these energies are also blocked, causing 'strange' things to happen spiritually. Not 'bad' things. Just things our spirits or the soul body isn't quite used to dealing with. This explains the purification ritual you spoke of. An analogy might be what happens to computers with a break in electricity. Well, they stop working, and need to be rebooted when the power does come back on. Just another take for your consideration.

Aum Namasivaya

[saidevo]

Namaste VC.

Here is some information about RAhu and Ketu I found on the Net:

The moon's orbit around the earth is in a plane that is slightly tilted against the plane of the earth's orbit around the sun. Hence most of the time the moon is slightly away from the line connecting the sun and the earth. That is why every full moon or new moon doesnt form an eclipse. However when the moon happens to be at one of the two nodal points where its orbit cuts the earth-sun plane, and it happens to be a new or full moon, it will come directly in the line connecting the earth and sun and we have an eclipse. Whether this turns out to be a Lunar or Solar eclipse depends on whether the moon is behind or in front of the earth at that time.

Rahu is nothing but one of these two nodal points (Ketu in fact is the other nodal point). One point is when moon is moving from the northern celestial sphere to the southern celestial sphere and the other point is when moon is moving in the opposite direction. Notably mythological Ketu is Rahu's converse image with snake head and human body and rahu is vice versa. Whenever you have an eclipse Indian almanacs show moon and rahu/ketu in the same position which is nothing but moon being at one of the nodal points without which an eclipse cannot happen. Now you know the story behind Rahu gobbling up the sun. This story after all was meant as a way to explain a complex astronomical phenomenon in a simple manner to the general public. Unfortunately people with half baked scientific temparaments take it literally and ridicule it without realizing they are only showing off their ignorance.

(comment by N Balasubramanian to the post at:
http://www.hindu-blog.com/2008/07/hi...rahan-and.html)

About the esoteric meaning of the eclipse:

The esoteric meanings are kept as secret to prevent it's misuse. The yogis and saadhakas understand the true meaning of meeting of Surya and Chandra Naadis, which is also a place where Amrta is absorbed, and the effect of eclipse on it. They'll also understand (rather experience) the meaning of bathing and fasting. These are not describable in words for a mere intellectual understanding, but are meant to be experienced.

(comment by Anonymous to the post at:
http://www.hindu-blog.com/2008/07/hi...rahan-and.html)

Some scientific aspects of the eclipse:

Today we know about atoms and solar flares we know about the poisnous gases that the surrounds the sun . Assume all these atoms and gases are trapped in a zone i.e between sun and moon and suddenly after 30 mins the trapped gases a, atoms and solar flares chain react .The by product of such a activity has to be harmful to the space the enviroment as RADITION and the removal of oxygen from the atmosphere. This chain reaction could cause the imbalances in nature,i.e high Tides, tidal waves, typhoons, cyclones, a dent in the gravational forces, etc, etc, so if this was evil centuries ago to day they can be proven thru chemistry or Physics equations even Einsteins equations.

Hindus do not eat food that is exposed because of the Radiation, food, water and anything in the open during a eclipse will be contaminated. The oxygen in the atmosphere is carbonised throughout the eclipse .Pregrant women and babies cannot cope with radition the way others do. Some strange scienceby itself but this causes deform and babies have cells get affected. Again radation is not a unknown subject, neither the ions of the human body. Does this sloar eclipse radation affect the ions on our skin, or do we breathe it in and it creates a reaction in the blood.

We have to look for answers and we have to take precautions, it may come from soothsayers, strologers, scientist, the lay man has always been hungry for knowledge of the unknown.

(comment by viji gopal to the post at:
http://www.hindu-blog.com/2008/07/hi...rahan-and.html)

[saidevo]

Here is an 'Eclipse Explorer' interactive map from NASA:
http://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/SEgoogl...22Tgoogle.html

[Spiritualseeker]

Some mayan holy men would use the sun for meditation and absorb energy from it.

[satay]

namaskar vcindian,

Now the scientists say these are not meaningful and there is no such thing Rahu or Ketu or whatever eating the sun. Well, my family in India still does these rituals. My so called educated sister called me telling lots of people stayed inside the home for the fear of bad effect on them. I told her she missed a once in life opportunity of watching the amazing natural phenomenon. Love...................VC

Sure. All the billions of people in asia (india and china) that have such beliefs including your so called educated sister are all wrong and you and the scientists are right.

Love.

[vcindiana]

namaskar vcindian,



Sure. All the billions of people in asia (india and china) that have such beliefs including your so called educated sister are all wrong and you and the scientists are right.

Love.

Thank you Satay for your sarcasm.

I will really be appalled if you are right that there are billions of people have such belief of bad effects of eclipse and in that fear they stay home not witnessing that amazing act of nature. Also I am not sure all scientists are atheists as perhaps you perceive. Any honest scientist knows his limitation in explaining the nature. There is always empiricism in such explanations as absolutes can never be known. My way of thinking is it is all about risk taking. Risk of bad effects by watching an eclipse may be there, but there is a huge benefit in watching the natural wonder. Missing something is loss of sense of reverence. I personally find and revere God in such beautiful acts rather than in a temple or a church. Perhaps the bad effects can be minimized by wearing the special filters invented by Scientists. If a scientist takes credit for himself he/she misses the humility which is to be closer to God/Love/Truth.

Love....................VC

[devotee]

Namaste VCI,

I just wanted to share that :

i) It is never safe to look at the Sun. It is not the intensity of light which is harmful but the harmful radiation which can do irreparable damage to your eyes. The Sun rays do have therapeutic values but not for the eyes & an overexposure is harmful to human skin too (it can lead to skin cancer).

ii) It is highly unsafe to look at the Sun at the time of Full eclipse. During the full eclipse, the visible light is blocked but it is not the whole Sun. The outer ring contains invisible rays which are extremely harmful to your eyes. In fact, the intense visible light of the Sun doesn't allow you to look at it & thus saves your eyes but at the time of an eclipse this security cover is missing. I am saying this on the basis of my own experience when in my enthusiasm to see the full eclipse, I landed up with some burnt fibres in my retina.

OM

[satay]

namaste vcindian,

Thank you Satay for your sarcasm.

Sarcasm? Not sure what you are talking about. All I see is love around me.

In love,

[Eastern Mind]

Some mayan holy men would use the sun for meditation and absorb energy from it.

Very interesting. I assume you mean some kind of spiritual energy not readily apparent. If you know more on this, please send me the links.

Aum Namasivaya