Fall equinox reminds me of spanda, the pulsation of life that we are always in. Fall equinox marks the beginning of the physical contraction. We start to get shorter days, colder days, and the bright flowers and green leafs start to change their colors and wilt away. As I think about the pulsation of life I think about the five divine acts of Shiva. Revelation, Creation, Sustenance, Dissolution, Concealment. Even though autumn equinox marks the contraction of spanda in part of the world we can experience multiple experiences of these five acts. I really enjoy remembering these five acts because it reminds me of the power of Grace.
Here are a few examples of some of these acts (it is easier for me to notice what part others our experiencing and I am working at focusing and being for aware of my own cycle):
One of my friends got fired from a job. He is in a stage of Dissolution and concealment. His old job has disappeared and he is very very sad. If only he could remember there is potential, a new job, which is concealed from him and soon it will be revealed to him. He will then start working again and be in the creation phase, then he will be sustaining the job, eventually he will quite or gets fired and it will dissolve again.
My sister recently moved to Colorado to go to school. For a while she was in the creation phase but after making friends and getting into the swing of life and school she is entering the substance phase. But just like the two sided drum that Shiva beats sustaining life also represents time and all things change with time. Eventually she will leave school (dissolution) and her future will be concealed, then there will be a light and revelation and creation with start and the cycle will continue.
We see this in nature in flowers and trees. At first we don’t see anything, but little do we know there is a seed beneath the ground that is concealing all the potential for the future blossom, soon the sapling sprouts out of the dirt and creation is made. It continues to go, the pedals open to soak in the sun and the beauty is being maintained (sustenance). After a while the leaves shrivel up, the petals lose the color and the flower being to die (dissolution) eventually the flower goes away and the concealment happens again.
We can see the five acts in our yoga asana practice as well. When we start our asana practice and we sit all the poses are concealed to within us. (Just like all the yoga asanas are concealed within you at this moment. Who knows you could have a revelation and bust out and create virabhadrasana two.) After sitting we get a revelation and our body and spirit guides us into a pose. Then we move into the pose and it gets created. As we use our muscular energy and work the five principles of Anusara yoga we maintain and sustain the pose. After we are done with the pose we begin to move out of it and the pose goes through dissolution. As we shift into another pose the previous pose like all others are concealed within us.
I love that within this complex image which represents the five divine acts of Shiva that depicts the five acts (the fire, the mudras, the smiling imp, the drum, the hair) which seem frightening or overwhelming, with in all of this Shiva is doing the mudra of “no fear”. This mudra can remind us that no matter what phase we find our self that we don’t need to be afraid and that even within these divine acts we can open up to the power of Grace. The pulsation of life just like Shiva’s drum will continue to pulse and beat, we can line up to the pulse by learning about the five acts and being aware to where we are in them.
As autumn equinox is upon us can we reflect on our life and where we find our self within the pulsation.
Pictures:
humanisthall.net
gaudiyadiscussions.com
