from Vaidya Ramakant Mishra's Adishakti LLC: >From the beginning of civilization, all over the world, people of every >culture and tradition have organized festivals to celebrate special occasions. >In India, many festivals are celebrated throughout the year and they're often >dedicated to the remembrance of a particular God or Goddess. In Sanskrit, the >word for any festival is utsava. Utsava means an occasion that uplifts and >enhances positivity (utsaha). According to the shastras, utsaha is that which cleans the light of the soul (sattwa). This is a state in which silence reverberates into dynamism. The Uts-A represents the vibration of A, the seed of all creation, which emanates from the source of the soul's light and illuminates the mind so that the mind is empowered by the nurturing, all-knowing light of consciousness. The mind that becomes connected to the soul's light in this way reaches a state of joy, clarity, and purpose that reinforces the soul's embodied quality of bliss and pleasure (sukha), and decreases grief (dukha) and aversion (dwesha). The nature of festival celebrations allows for this dynamic to occur automatically. Most festivals embody a common association with the universal light of the soul through the lighting of candles or ghee lamps. The practical purpose of using candles and ghee lamps to dispel outer darkness also plays a role in deepening the connection between the mind and the soul. When we pray or chant in candlelight, the sound vibration of prayer, coming from the deep silence of the light within us, vibrates with candlelight and becomes a part of it. Wherever the unified sound and candlelight travel, inside and outside the body, they create waves of positivity that melt away karmic shadows of deep grief, doubt, and aversion from the light of the soul. When people gather in festivals and aversion is transformed into bliss, enemies become friends and despair and fear turn into hope. Carak Samhita offers more detail about spirituality-based psycho-therapy. For almost all mental and emotional imbalances, Carak recommends a therapy called Sattwaujaya. It means winning over the light, enriching the light, and cleaning the light. According to Carak, there are three kinds of soul light (sattwa): 1. clean light (pravar sattwa) 2. medium light (madhya sattwa) 3. low light (heen sattwa).
Pravar sattwa people remain always connected to their inner light whenever the heart lotus is open. No matter what goes on around them, they stay upbeat, kind, and ready to help. They lead dynamic lives but do not become attached to any specific outcome. They remain blissful and free of aversion and when they encounter mental, emotional, or physical trauma, which is a natural part of life, they bounce back quickly without feeling bad or looking for someone to blame. On the physiological level, Pravar Sattwa people are able to respond to trauma without releasing cortisol because when the soul light is clean and the heart lotus is open, any mental or emotional trauma can be met head-on without any long-term effects. Medium light or Madhya Sattwa people have either a half-open heart lotus or carry the shadows of karma in their soul light. When Madhya Sattwa people experience emotional or mental trauma, they tend to go back and forth between positive and negative thought. They doubt. Often, they believe and don't believe in God at the same time. This dynamic creates cortisol, which can eventually lead to illness. If the light of the soul (sattwa) carries any bad shadows of aversion and misery, the light can be cleansed by raising the bar of bliss (sukha) and determination (iccha) and by connecting the pure intellect (satya buddhi) to the mental intellect (mano budhi). The way we celebrate festivals, with candles, light, prayers, and gratitude, raises the bar of bliss, which opens the heart lotus and allows the universal vibration of A to cleanse the soul light. Then, Madhya Sattwa can become Pravar Sattwa. Carak recommends attending festivals as therapy for most any kind of emotional and mental imbalance, and it is not rocket science to see why. We can all testify that going to celebrations uplifts our mood, inspires us to recognize the best in ourselves and others, and empowers us to pursue life-affirming action. The third kind of light, or Heen Sattwa, can be created by one of two situations. Either the soul light carries a lot of darkness caused by karmic misery, doubt, and aversion so that the darkness goes to mind and plunges the mind into deep negativity. In another case, a person's soul light might be clean and sharp, but the heart lotus has shut down due to emotional shock, so the mind cannot receive the light of the soul. If the heart lotus is shut down and the light is clean, attending festivals can open the heart lotus, and all of sudden, that deep, dark negativity turns into a great vitality, enthusiasm, and hope. Those who carry darkness imprinted in the light of the soul due to karma from this or prior life will need to devote more energy and focus into creating a positive outlook on life. Even those people who have strong, clean light of the soul can respond to life's challenges by shutting down the heart lotus. When this happens, they too become as negative as those who don't have a clean light. For this reason, opening the heart lotus has been the primary focus of the Shaka Vanshiya Ayurveda for ages. That's why we recommend the Heart Lotus Mantra and the Samadhi Set. Doing Samadhi Set offers a lot of support in uplifting the mind because it opens the heart lotus, gives mind more power to receive the light of consciousness, and enhances coordination between the mind and the senses. Of course, there is no substitute for celebrations. Unconditional enjoyment of celebrations provides an opportunity to renew mental and emotional harmony by feeding both mind and heart. Celebrations, prayers, eating together, and sharing gifts enhance the experience of the divine light within us so that Heen Sattwa can transform into Madhya Sattwa and Madhya Sattwa can become Pravar Sattwa.
