Sadhguru: We are at a time of the year
which is considered
significant for those who are in the spiritual path.
The Tamil month of Margazhi starts from sixteenth.
What is the significance of this month?
It is at this time of the year
that the planet Earth is closest to the sun.
So, this should have been the hottest month,
but this is the time when the planet is shy of the sun
and the northern face faces away from the sun.
In the southern hemisphere,
this is the hottest part of the year.
In the northern hemisphere,
this is the coolest part of the year
because the northern hemisphere
or the northern face of the planet is facing away from the sun,
but it is closest.
So, in terms of temperature,
because of the closeness to the sun,
the angle at which the sun’s rays hit the planet is very diffused.
But in terms of sun’s gravity functioning on the planet,
right now it is the… it is at the highest.
So, the maximum pull of the sun’s gravity
is functioning upon the planet at this time.
So, this Margazhi month is a time to bring balance to the system.
It is like if something is flying all over,
if you just pull it - pooh, (Gestures pulling downwards) it gets centralized.
So, that is the effect that the Margazhi month has on the human system
it pulls you from the base.
So, it brings balance and stability.
Recognizing this that one needs to bring balance and stability,
this is a time
when - there are practices in the yogic system
which is transmitted itself into culture in many different ways
this is a time when men will do what generally what women are supposed to do
and women will do what men are supposed to do;
in the sense,
in Tamil Nadu there’s a culture
that this is a time when men will go on nagarasankeertan.
That means men will practice devotion.
They will sing.
Singing and devotion is largely considered feminine.
So, men will practice this.
Women will practice making geometrical figures.
Geometry and masculinity are very directly connected.
If a woman sees something
let’s not say woman
if feminine sees something,
it will always pay maximum significance to the color and form of that.
If the masculine sees something,
it always sees the geometry first
and then the color and the form.
So, it is this month,
women practice geometry
not on paper,
but in front of their homes
through the Margazhi month, every woman is supposed to draw geometrical figures.
Of course, today you have templates.
They are no good. (Laughs) (Few Laugh)
You must practice geometry
because shifting from color and form to geometrical shapes and forms.
This is a simple
transformation of a certain science into a cultural dimension.
Because of the closeness to the sun,
because of a general pull downward,
Muladhara becomes the most dominant.
Because Muladhara becomes most dominant,
the preservative nature of life becomes dominant in the body.
In the yogic system,
we would say when the preservation is dominant,
this is not a time to grow.
All life in the northern hemisphere is at its minimum right now.
The growth of the tree,
the plant and if you plant a seed,
you can see this - the growth will be slowest at this time,
not only because of the temperature,
because of a general pull downward.
So, because the growth will be very
because the growth will be held back,
because of a certain inertia in the life force,
this is the time the body can recoup itself.
This is the time body can preserve itself well.
The inertia caused in all aspects of life
because of the closeness of the sun
and being on the wrong side,
everything being pulled down,
seed will not sprout very well.
Recognizing this, Margazhi
the month of Margazhi,
there never are any marriages in Tamil Nadu.
Still it is being maintained
because this is not a time for conception.
Even those who are in
in the life of householders,
even a grihastha practices Brahmacharya for this period generally.
It is based on this,
you see people are going to the hills,
forty days of Brahmacharya before they go there
because this is not a time for conception
because the seed will not sprout as well as it would,
another time.
So, in the science of breeding the right kind of human beings,
Margazhi is not the time to conceive.
There are many aspects attached to this.
We don’t (Laughs) have to go by that
because it will develop a whole prejudice against the December-born people. (Laughs) (Few Laugh)
No, December-born is not the problem, December-conceived. (Laughs)
Not necessarily so.
It is just that to sync our lives with the natural movements of the Earth
to see that
we ride the cycles of this planet,
we are not crushed by the cycles of this planet.