Thursday, March 19, 2020. Welcome to Early Spring

Thursday, March 19, 2020. Welcome to Early Spring

LORD OF SEASONS – WELCOME TO EARLY SPRING. CELEBRATING THE FIRST DAY OF SPRING ON THURSDAY, MARCH 19, 2020.

I wish all my readers, ‘Happy First Day of Spring’. The exact moment of the equinox will occur Thursday night at 11:49 p.m. EDT (0349 GMT on March 20), according to the astronomy reference book “Astronomical Table of the Sun, Moon and Planets” (Willmann-Bell, 2016). At that time, the Earth will reach the point in its orbit where its axis isn’t tilted toward or away from the sun. Thus, the sun will then be directly over a specific point on the Earth’s equator moving northward. On the sky, it’s where the ecliptic and celestial equator cross each other. In fact, it will be a rather auspicious occurrence: the earliest that the equinox has occurred nationwide in 124 years.  

EVERY CHANGING PHENOMENON IN NATURE IS OPERATED BY UNCHANGING REALITY.

Every changing phenomenon in nature is operated by Unchanging Reality. Spring Season brings a change, and this change is possible for it is governed by Unchanging Reality. In Indian tradition, Spring Season is glorified for it symbolizes LORD MADHAVA, Lord of Seasons.

The Divine Song called Bhagavad Gita, Chapter X, ‘The Infinite Glories of the Ultimate Truth’- ‘VIBHUTI VISTARA YOGA’, describes LORD God Creator’s Infinite Divine Attributes. In verse # 35, Lord Krishna describes Himself as The Lord of Spring Season – The Flowery Season: “Rtunam Kusumakarah.”

The word ‘Spring’ describes the move upward or forward from the ground, it denotes resilience or bounce, and it means to grow or develop or come into existence quickly. Among the Seasons, the Spring Season is the time during which plants begin to grow after lying dormant all Winter. In the North Temperate Zone, the Spring Season includes the months of March, April, and May, the period between the Vernal Equinox and the Summer Solstice.

A not-so-equal equinox

On the day of the equinox, the sun will appear to rise exactly east and set exactly west. Daytime and nighttime are often said to be equally long with the equinox, but this is a common misconception — the day can be up to 8 minutes longer, depending on your latitude. 

The sun is above the horizon half the day and below for half — but that statement neglects the effect of the Earth’s atmosphere, which bends the rays of sunlight (called refraction) around the Earth’s curvature when the sun lies close to the horizon. But, because of this bending of the sun’s rays, the disk of the sun is always seen slightly higher above the horizon than it really is. 

In fact, when you see the sun appearing to sit on the horizon, what you are looking at is an optical illusion; the sun at that moment is actually below the horizon. So, we get several extra minutes of daylight at the start of the day and several extra minutes more at the end.

Sun overhead from the Emerald of the Equator

Astronomers can calculate the moment of the vernal equinox right down to the nearest second. This year it will occur on Thursday (March 19) at 11:49:28 p.m. EDT (0349 GMT on March 20). At that moment, the sun will appear directly overhead about 50 miles (80 kilometers) south of Gorontalo, a province of Indonesia — often referred to as the “Emerald of the Equator” — on the island of Sulawesi, on the equator in the Gulf of Tomini. In the days that follow, the direct rays of the sun migrate to the north of the equator and the length of daylight in the Northern Hemisphere will correspondingly appear to increase.

LORD MADHAVA–LORD OF THE SPRING SEASON:

In the Indian tradition, Spring Season is called ‘BASANT’, ‘VASANT’,’KUSUMAKARA’ or ‘MADHAVAM’. A chief, alluring feature of this Season is the flowering of plants. Mangifera indica, MANGO plant, a native of India bears flowers and promises to deliver its sweet, and delicious fruits.

The Spring Season is a time for rebirth, regeneration, renewal, and regrowth after a period of dormancy. Man derives a sense of joy and happiness when the plants start their growing process and quickly bear attractive flowers. It gives the experience of ‘Sweetness’ which is called ‘Madhurya’ in the Sanskrit language. It is a manifestation of a creative process, or operation of creative energy that makes human existence possible giving the man the sensation associated with consuming nectar, honey, or sweet wine. In Indian tradition, this creative energy is personified as Goddess Madhavi, and Her consort Lord Madhava is the Controller of Creative Energy. Today, I seek Blessings of Lord Madhava and Goddess Madhavi to renew my creative energy and to guide expression of my thoughts using sweet words and to promote the well-being of all my readers and become a source of Happiness to all people.

Rudra Narasimham Rebbapragada

BHAVANAJAGAT