Chapter 8: Akshara Brahma Yoga – Comprehending the Imperishable Reality: Verse 25
धूमो रात्रिस्तथा कृष्ण: षण्मासा दक्षिणायनम् ।
तत्र चान्द्रमसं ज्योतिर्योगी प्राप्य निवर्तते ॥
dhūmo rātristathā kṛṣṇa:
ṣaṇmāsā dakṣiṇāyanam
tatra cāndramasaṃ jyotiryogī
prāpya nivartate – 8.25
Dakṣiṇāyana, associated generally with the rest of six months of the year, implies smoke, night and black, (representing ignorance, delusion and downfall). Yogis given to this path and relying upon lunar brilliance, come back again and again.
Chapter 8: Akshara Brahma Yoga – Comprehending the Imperishable Reality - Verse 25
Ma Gurupriya
Due to ignorance and delusion people do not reflect upon the Soul within the body. Their plight is cyclic. They go up, they think, but only to come back. The cycle continues, like circumambulation, pradakshiṇa.
Moon cannot shine by itself. Its lustre is sun’s reflection. Rituals and ceremonies are likewise inert, with no power to enlighten and deliver the performer. Their effect is what you bestow, namely ignorance and delusion. Do not relate the effect to any other agency. Blindly following them without introspection is to continue the cycle.
Uttara and dakshiṇa ayanas (paths), are thus our own creations, not what the sun causes. People are given to gross identifications, pitched on the two halves of the year, when the sun visibly moves northward and southward, regarding them as elevating and enervating!
