The Celebration of Spring Season
In the Indian tradition, the 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.
I wish all my readers, ‘Happy First Day of Spring’. In 2024, the March Equinox happens on Tuesday, March 19, at 11:06 P.M. EDT. In the Northern Hemisphere, this date marks the astronomical beginning of the Spring Season. 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. While the Sun passes overhead, the tilt of the Earth is zero relative to the Sun, which means that Earth’s axis neither points toward nor away from the Sun. (Note, however, that the Earth never orbits upright, but is always tilted on its axis by about 23.5 degrees.)
After this date, the Northern Hemisphere begins to be tilted more toward the Sun, resulting in increasing daylight hours and warming temperatures. (In the Southern Hemisphere, it’s the opposite: the March Equinox marks the start of Autumn, as the Southern Hemisphere begins to be tilted away from the Sun.) Equinoxes are the only two times a year that the Sun rises due east and sets due west for all of us on Earth!
After the spring equinox, the Northern Hemisphere tilts toward the Sun. Although in most locations (the North Pole and Equator being exceptions) the amount of daylight had been increasing each day after the winter solstice, after the spring equinox, many places will experience more daylight than darkness in each 24-hour day. The amount of daylight each day will continue to increase until the summer solstice in June, in which the longest period of daylight occurs.
EVERY CHANGING PHENOMENON IN NATURE IS OPERATED BY AN UNCHANGING REALITY:
Every changing phenomenon in nature is operated by an Unchanging Reality. Spring Season brings a change, and this change is possible for it is governed by an Unchanging Reality. In the Indian tradition, Spring Season is glorified for it symbolizes Lord Madhava, the 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 Season of Flowers: “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.
Astronomers can calculate the moment of the vernal equinox right down to the nearest second. 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 the Indian tradition, the 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.
The Rudi Connection at Whole Foods 