BASANT PANCHAMI

Everything is celebrated in India, it is a country that feeds on love, sentiments, emotions and spirituality.

My earliest memory of Basant Panchami is that it was a yellow day. We wear yellow color, eat food that is yellow or has turmeric and saffron in it, decorate the altar with yellow flowers and eat desserts seasoned with saffron. It is as it the entire country is painted yellow on this day.

What does the day actually mean?

It is the fifth (panchami) day for the welcome of spring (Basant/Vasant). It marks the change of seasons. It is a messenger of hope, that flowers are going to bloom, seeds sown in the fields are about to sprout, its time for giggles, happiness and warmth.

Like everything in India, this festival holds a lot of symbolism.

Spiritual meaning: Basant panchami is a celebration of wisdom. This day we worship Goddess Saraswati- the Goddess of Wisdom, knowledge, speech, arts and music. It begins by worshiping the sacred texts, musical instruments (esp Veena) and the Saraswati altar with home made dessert, yellow flowers, incense and ghee lamp. Gayatri Mantra is sung, listened too and meditated upon. It is said that this mantra originate as speech from her Veena. This musical instrument is often compared to our spine and 3 central channels (as the strings). Nostrils as pegs and breath as the raga (musical notes).

Yogic Practices: It is the day for swadhyaya- studying of sacred texts, practicing self-inquiry and nadi chakra pranayama (you can learn about it in the sacred Sri Chakra practices. Therefor it is also called Sri Panchami- celebration of the Goddess Sri.

Welcome the wisdom of breath, mind and body. As the earth welcomes the spring, may our bodies welcome the blooming of the flowers of wisdom.

Practice for you: Practice Nadi Shodhana with the internal visualization of three nadis - Ida, Pingla and Sushmna as the three strings of the Goddess Saraswati's Veena in your body. Adjust the pressure on either sides of your nostril (as if they are the pegs of Veena) as if you are calibrating the rhythm of your breath (Swara). Enjoy the even, continuous, smooth and quiet flow of prana moving though the Pranic Body, harmonizing the 5 Pranas, mind and emotions. By the end of the practice visualize your body filled with light of prana. Welcome the Bansant Panchami in your being.

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