The time of Leo offers a special opportunity to experience the light of the soul, Buddhi, by withdrawing into our inner self and contemplating the golden light of the sun. The touch of Buddhi helps to transform our personality, the shadow of Leo. When we align ourselves with the Super-soul and connect with the THAT – THAT I AM – then we are on the path to transforming ourselves from the son of Man into the Son of God. This is called ‘the birth of the Son of the Sun’.
Last week I spent a one more beautiful time with my friends Manfred and Sabine at their home in Heiligenberg in the north of Lake Constance. A relaxing little group life time filled with exchanges, excursions and meeting friends who came for a visit. Manfred and Sabine are very hospitable, and it’s always a deep pleasure to be able to spend a few days with them.
I arrived from Switzerland just at noon time for the Thursday World Health and Healing prayer together with Manfred, joining the zoom group meditation transmission. Manfred later took me to the Keller-Werft, a little wharf with an Italian restaurant directly at the lake in Überlingen. Sabine joined us coming from her job at a social care organisation, and later two more friends came, living in the surrounding. We were sitting in the open huge hall of the restaurant directly next to the lake – a holiday feeling start. Later in the afternoon, we took a refreshing bath in the lake.
The next morning, before the heat of the day set in, I went for a walk up to Heiligenberg, along a small road. Through the bushes, there was a sweeping view across the countryside and Lake Constance.
In a small grotto, fresh water flowed from the mountain. At the edge stood a painting of a woman with long hair, depicted as the ‘goddess of the spring’, alongside a few painted wooden eggs. A blue wooden banner expressed gratitude for the water of Heiligenberg.
Later, Manfred and I picked a large potful of redcurrants in the garden, and I learnt ‘fish yoga’ – watching the goldfish in the pond, and giving them water and food. A net over the little pond keeps the herons away.
A red kite would often circle above us, using the updraft from the mountain to carry itself upwards.
Friday afternoon, I went to Mettnau with Sabine, where we went for a swim in the beach park. For our evening meditation, we found a shady spot by a seesaw. When we opened our eyes after a quarter of an hour, two girls were looking at us as they waited to jump on the seesaw.
Sabine and Manfred had organised a summer party in the garden for their group on Saturday afternoon – but many cancelled because of the intense heat. To our great delight, however, a dear old friend of us all arrived by taxi from Munich for two days. We made preparations in the morning, and a few people turned up in the afternoon. With a group meditation and lively conversations with friends and new acquaintances, the party was a ‘Midsummer Night’s Dream’.
On Sunday morning, Sabine and I drove to Überlingen. We managed to catch part of the ‘Swedish Procession’. It is a tradition celebrated since centuries still in three towns, commemorating the successful defence against sieges by the Swedes during the Thirty Years’ War. The procession route was beautifully decorated with flowers and small altars, on which prayers for peace had been arranged in the flowers.
Altar with flower decorations in the old town
The ‘Swedish Madonna’ and other valuable artefacts are carried by altar servers and Scouts from Überlingen.
Flower decorations at the beach promenade in Überlingen
A couple taking a selfie
Afterwards, Sabine and I strolled along the lake and a park, and I could see where she worked.
A Roman fountain in the park
In the evening, when the heat of the day had cooled down a bit, we had a second stroll along the lake together with Manfred and our friend from Munich.
Monday, the visit slowly came to close. Before leaving, Sabine wanted to show us an old chapel by the lake, whose murals were only uncovered at the start of the 20th century. We had to walk quite a distance from the car park to the church, but it was a real gem.
The Sylvester Chapel near Goldbach, a district of Überlingen, is a small pre-Romanesque church on the shores of Lake Constance. The chapel is one of the oldest churches in southern Germany.
The altar with part of the murals
Of particular significance are its 9th/10th-century wall paintings – an Ottonian pictorial cycle depicting scenes from the life of Jesus Christ and other scenes, created by painters from Reichenau Abbey.
Two saints
Windows of the chapel with pieces of the murals
Saying good-bye, starting the way home – up a hill along narrow country lanes, onto the motorway. The heat and heavy traffic transported me back to another world, with a treasure wealth of profound impressions in my heart.
It is prophesied that our present life-wave of humanity would either perish in fire or overcome it. For those who maintain spiritual goodness, or, like Noah’s Ark, they will be saved and overcome the fires. Humanity will be lifted up when the Divine Will prevails over the human will.
Sanat Kumara, the Lord of Shambala, intends to strengthen the Will of the Divine within humanity, so that people may transcend the fire rather than perish in it. Sanat Kumara stimulates the Will of God in those who align themselves by subordinating their personal will to the Divine Will: ‘Father, thy will be done, not mine’.
Within our spinal column there is a vertical subtle channel, called Sushumna, which enables the flow of the energy of will. It is recommended that we orient ourselves to the Divine Will through our morning prayer, either in the Ajna centre in the head, in the heart, or in the higher heart centre in the upper chest region. The sun signs of Aries, Leo and Capricorn are related to the three centres mentioned. Astrological symbols for the Will of God are the ram of Aries, the lion of the sign of Leo and the unicorn of the sign of Capricorn.
The image shows the semi-transparent silhouette of a human figure, surrounded and permeated by the scenery of beach, ocean and sky. At its centre there is the Sushumna energy channel. At its middle is the figure of a lion in the heart centre, designed using a Wikimedia photo by Vitold Muratov of a lion statue in the Thorvaldsen Museum in Copenhagen, Denmark. In the higher heart centre, designed with a photo of a blue diamond and, fused with it, the figure of a unicorn. Above, the head of a ram can be seen.
It is reminiscent of the Puranic tale of Prajapati Daksha, whose head was severed and replaced with that of a ram. The story teaches us to overcome pride in order to humbly reintegrate ourselves into the greater Plan.
In India, there is a long tradition of picture books depicting stories from the Ramayana, Mahabharata, Puranas, and other epics. They are targeted to children – I have read many such picture books in English language with my then small children, translating the booklets orally. My sons liked them as action stories with a profound spiritual background. Of course, we also read illustrated wisdom books of the Western tradition.
And such books are not only read by children but also by those remained young at heart. The inspiration and impressions gleaned from such picture books during childhood remain with us, either consciously or unconsciously, throughout our lives.
A friend from Hyderabad, India – Sanath Sripathi – has realised up to now 5 story books on the lives of Masters of Wisdom told in picture e-books format. A team of volunteers contributed to scriptwriting, translation, proofreading the books – and so it came that I also got involved and enjoyed the stories very much.
While the first 3 books were illustrated by artist friends mentioned in the books, the last 2 were AI generated – and in the process well refined.
At summer solstice the Sun enters the nurturing and nourishing water sign of Cancer and begins its journey southward towards the Tropic of Capricorn, where at Winter Solstice, the new ascent begins. In astrology, Cancer corresponds to the fourth house or the home, and in our body it is the chamber of the heart. Thus, as the Sun enters Cancer, it also enters into the chamber of our heart. We can use the energy of Cancer to illuminate our personality and thus transmit the light of the soul more fully into our surroundings. As souls, we are the Solar Angel expressing through our personality the light and nurturing of Cancer into a waiting and thirsty humanity.
Shambala is the planetary centre where the Will of God is received from higher circles and expressed on Earth under the guidance of Sanat Kumara. Shambala receives and transmits the energies of the Seven Rays precipitating down through the Sun and the planets, the twelve signs of the zodiac, and the great energy systems of the Pleiades, the Great Bear and Sirius, as well as a multitude of other sources. Shambala receives the energies, synthesizes them and distributes them on the Earth for the well-being of the earthy.
The stupendous work of Shambala and Sanat Kumara is immeasurable and indescribable. Nor can it be adequately depicted. Yet through daily remembrance of Shambala, we strengthen our will to do good, our knowledge and the effectiveness of our actions. The image serves as an aid to contemplative focus.
The earthly sphere is indicated by a view across South Asia and the Himalayas towards the region of Shambala. Shambala is symbolically represented by a large lotus composed of floral elements.
Shambala is surrounded by higher circles in the colours of the Seven Rays. Inserted within this, planetary spheres and the signs of the zodiac are indicated, with Gemini, Cancer and Leo immersed in the earthly sphere and the opposite sign, Capricorn, merging with the light of the solar sphere.
The bluish star in the centre is Sirius. Together with the Great Bear and the Pleiades, it forms an energy triangle. Energies flow into Shambala via the central axis.
Gemini is an air sign. The element of air is the fourth element, which enables the fourth kingdom – the human kingdom – to rise above matter and enter into infinity: the Kingdom of God. The Gemini Full Moon is called the Christ Full Moon, as Lord Maitreya, whom we know in the Eastern tradition as the Christ, was born during the hours of the Gemini Full Moon in the incarnation when he became the World Teacher.
As for the new groups, the Gemini Full Moon is presided over today by Master Djwhal Khul, whilst Christ presides over the Leo Full Moon. The Leo Full Moon is the future festival at which the emphasis lies on the retreat into the heart. Master Djwhal Khul is the spokesperson for the Hierarchy for the benefit of the workers of Goodwill. Through him and his Ashram, knowledge is passed on for the benefit of humanity.
Full Moon meditations are becoming increasingly popular. The moonlight is very beneficial during the Full Moon time and also the two nights preceding the Full Moon and the two nights after the Full Moon. During this period, the Moon shines brightly reflecting the sunlight most intensely. The reflected light enables finer transformations of the mental layers and tissues.
It is important to perform Full Moon meditations during these five days. Sanat Kumara, the Lord of the Planet, is also in deep contemplation during the time around the Full Moon in order to spread the radiance of the moonlight for the benefit of the Earth and the living beings on our planet.
The image depicts how, during this time, the Full Moon energies pour in and are distributed across the planet by Sanat Kumara. We can imagine the effulgence of the Full Moon and Shambala entering our central column and touching the centres in the spine.
When we connect with this awareness in the Full Moon meditations, our body of Light is strengthened. We can receive the blessings and power of Shambala and progress on the path more easily.
Taurus is an earth sign. People born under Taurus look for experiences to fulfil their desires and aspirations. Earth is of dense matter. Venus is subtle matter; she is the ruler of Taurus. Venus brings Light from the higher circles to Earth and helps us to transcend Earth’s dense matter. Taurus brings in subtle energies from the most high regions through the sunrays. The star Aldebaran (Rohini in Sanskrit) which is also called the Eye of the Bull, or the third eye, transmits most powerful rays, which help us transform and transcend ignorance and limitations. Shankaracharya and Gautama Buddha are outstanding examples of this ascent. Both were born in the month of Taurus.
