In the trinity of the air signs (Gemini, Libra & Aquarius), Aquarius represents spiritual air, which corresponds to electric fire. The Aquarius glyph has two lines or waves in space representing sound and light, space and time, Uranus and Neptune, or Mitra and Varuna. These are the two aspects of the One, spirit and matter.
Aquarius is ruled primarily by Uranus and stands for rapid and sudden change. These changes affect all areas of life in ways we cannot imagine – changes for the better, but at first can be experienced as distortions. In order to cope with the changes and their speed, we are to attune ourselves to the Aquarian energies. We must call forth our ability to adapt to the changes. “Accept the inevitable changes and move forward” is the message of Aquarius. Aquarius is the sign of humanity and its freedom. Aquarius and Uranus free humanity to become friendly with all of creation.
The Master CVV December Call celebrations were introduced by Master CVV in 1910 to give the followers an extra-push for ascent on the path of Yoga. It is important to observe and recollect the steps that we have executed, to adjust and to prepare for the next steps. The members who come to a celebration like December Call or May Call are called from within. There is a call from the Master, and often many difficulties have to be overcome to be able to participate.
Entrance to the Wisdom temple where the celebration took place
The December Call celebrations in Sadguru Tapovana are spiritually intense meetings and wonderful occasions to gather with group members from different parts of India and the West. Some friends coming from Argentina and Spain joined. We all stayed in the house of two Indian group members and their families about 10 minutes’ walk from the main habitation of the group, in another quarter with many trees. We were given a very warm reception and “camped” on different floors of the building. The meals were now in the main habitation, in the open ground floor of a building where other families of group members lived – the place for the meals of the many guru puja participants. The catering is quite a big work all done by volunteers of the Tapovana group.
Sand artwork in front of the podium of the assembly hall
Entrance of the main habitation of Sadguru Tapovana
Before the beginning of the celebration, I went through the nearby beautiful park dedicated to Lord Maitreya, taking some pictures, and had a consultation with Dr Murthy, a very experienced Ayurveda and naturopathy doctor.
A group of young members singing Vedic hymns at the opening of the December Call celebration
Guru Prasad giving the opening discourse
Sri Joshi conducting the evening prayer
The December Call celebration started in the afternoon of 28 December and ended 30 December after breakfast. 29 December, the main day of December Call, the program started early morning. There ere prayers, talks by group members, a fire ritual, and book releases.
Guru Prasad with his wife Gayatri conducting the fire ritual
Reflections of the fire on the image of Rishi Agastya
There was the release of the English book “Whispering of Light” (PDF), containing a collection of the thoughts and quotes on Shambala given out by Master Kumar on the Facebook portal WTT-Shambala in 2022, together with pictures, especially from paintings of Nicholas Roerich. These enlightening statements are inspiring for meditational work.
Presentations of Indian dance
The members involved in the cultural program.
In the afternoon, there was a cultural program followed by a Veda recital.
Closing ceremony, view of part of the participants
Celebration of the Master EK Centenary (1926-2026): Quotes from the teachings of Master EK decorated the compound.
On 30 December, the program ended after prayer, a question-answer session and the closing ceremony. Later, a bus brought us to the airport for the flight to Visakhapatnam.
Our planet Earth, in Eastern Scriptures and in Sanskrit, is called Vasundhara, the goddess of the Earth. Vasundhara is not just the physical globe, but the planet in its seven layers. The plane solidified into the physical globe is but a tiny planet, constituting a 64th part of the entire system of seven Dweepas (islands or layers).
The main centre of this planet is Shambala. It is called the White Island (Swetha Dweepa) or the imperishable holy land Pushkara. This is also how we refer to the seventh sphere around the physical Earth.
Our body also consists of seven layers. Our head centre – the crown chakra or Sahasrara – is like Pushkara, the imperishable White Island. This reality is only perceived by those who have divine vision. These connections were explained by Master KPK in his teachings on Shambala.
To visualise Vasundhara in her seven layers, I used images of the planet in different degrees of density and a photo of a crystal ball. The seven white lotuses indicate the reality of Shambala.
December 22, our little travel group – 2 friends from Germany and me coming from Switzerland – met at Abu Dhabi airport to continue together our journey to India.
Crossing the Alps
We were very warmly received at the WTT center Sadguru Tapovana in Bengaluru and stayed in their guest rooms.
Sadguru Tapovana – quotes from the teachings of Master DK at the entrance road
The pyramidal stone in front of the Wisdom Temple
We relaxed a bit, had some exchanges with group members. Sri Joshi, the head of the centre, showed us the rooms in his house where Master Kumar and his wife Kumari garu used to stay, and we saw his spiritual library with many precious gems of wisdom. In the evening and the following morning, we joined the group prayers.
For the journey, Sri Joshi gave us a book about Rishi Agastya and his wife Lopamudra.
Next morning after prayer and breakfast, the taxi picked us up from the journey to the Master Mountain Retreat of WTT in the Nilagiris near Kodanadu viewpoint.
Starting to the Nilagiris in the morning of 25 December
There had just ended a group gathering for Winter Solstice celebration. The journey took about 8 hours, with only a short pause. This year, the vegetation was lush green – there had been plenty of rain. Partly there was intense traffic, especially on the passes with many hairpin bents, where truck drivers from both directions were manoeuvring to get through and bike and car drivers using the occasion to press forward.
Short before Kotagiri in the Nilagiris there were police controls asking were we were going and if we were tourists. “No, they are going to an ashram”, the driver replied, and the police let us pass. I smiled. We are in India – no one in the West would have expected such an exchange at a police control.
A little roadside temple near Kotagiri
At the retreat centre, Ramakrishna, the manager of the house, a very committed and helpful person, came out, together with Reyes from Spain, who had already participated in the winter solstice meeting at the ashram, welcoming us. It was so beautiful to be again at this magic place and experience the energy and the view of the mount.
Master KPK recommended to do the morning meditations at the Mount with open eyes, observing the sublime beauty of the rise of the day – from darkness to first colours at the horizon, then the array of intense dawn colours, from dark blue, violet, orange, yellow and then the “explosion of the sunrise – having a fantastic view.
At the lower part of the scene, fog / clouds covered the valleys but above the ocean of clouds, there happened the beauty of the creation of a new day. Reyes sat outside in front of the window – the next days also the other friends joined in the freshness of the morning, at a height of about 1700m – I preferred to stay inside, in the vibrant energy of the prayer room.
After the meditation, we went to the nearby viewpoint. Only a few people were already out. During the day, many day-tourists from various Indian states were now, at Christmas time, coming to the viewpoint.
13 years ago, during my first visit, there was nearly no tourism and also also no ashram building. Master Kumar had spotted the place a little earlier, following some hints and indications – in 2009, during the activities of the 100th Master CVV May Call celebrations, there had been a first group life at the place, which, some years later, the WTT could receive for the construction of the Master Mountain ashram building. It was inaugurated in 2016, and end of 2016, we were a first group from the West coming for a small group live there. It was now my 5th visit to the mount, and the 6th to the Nilagiris, and the stay was very profound.
In the morning of 26 December, after the meditation, we did a fire ritual at the basement of the retreat center.
When we were about to leave the basement, I noticed a bright light in the previously dark neighbour room. There was a tube of light falling into the room through a ventilator hole. Within this tube, you could see fluctuations between the light rays and the denser remains of smoke from the ritual.
It was a mystic experience. I called the others to come back into this “initiation chamber” in the basement of Master Mountain.
It immediately reminded me of the ancient initiation chamber at the top of the Extern Stones in North Germany, where the candidates received the Light on summer solstice only. The chamber was later destroyed by Christians wanting to eliminate heathens’ sacred places.
This “initiation chamber” at Master Mountain is probably only “open” during the time around winter solstice, and we happened to witness it because we were there at this time of the morning, at around 7:50 am, after the fire ritual.
Soon afterwards, the pillar divided into two, because of the ventilator hole. The sun moved away from this position and the pillar disappeared. It was a group experience, which we shared all together as a gift of the Sun.
On the terrace
Hibiscus flowers
In the afternoon, we went for a walk through the nearby tea plantations. There was a big wave of clouds coming, covering the Mount, and later also the retreat centre for a moment. When looking at the mount, it appeared as if seeing the great Rishi Agastya, regarded as an expression of Shiva, facing north-east, looking at a Shiva lingam.
The Sun begins its journey northward in the earth sign of Capricorn. It is known as the ascent of the sun and is related to the ascent of the soul. Capricorn is traditionally associated with the mountain goat. The goat has strong willpower and its goal is the mountain peak.
Those born with Sun in Capricorn set goals for themselves; they are down-to-earth and generally practical and grounded. In this they differ from the Sagittarius-born, who strive high in the heavens. We need a strong will and lofty goals that we achieve slowly and gradually. We reach the peak through tireless inner will, patience, contemplation and outer work. At the peak of light, the goat transforms into a unicorn, the struggling and triumphant creature of ancient legends. It is all alone, peaceful and completely still inside. The symbol of the unicorn represents the soul. The qualities of the unicorn are of great importance on the spiritual path.
There are correspondences between the properties of the Earth and the properties of our bodily tissues. The North Pole of the Earth corresponds to our head centre, the South Pole corresponds to the base centre at the coccyx, and the Earth’s axis of rotation corresponds to our vertebral column. The heart centre is located in the geometric centre of the Earth.
The intelligences working within us are related to the planetary intelligences. The guiding intelligence of the Earth’s head centre is called Sanat Kumara, and it is connected to our head centre. The guiding intelligence of the Earth’s heart centre is Lord Maitreya, and it works with a group of intelligences through our heart centre.
The higher heart centre in the upper part of our chest is connected to Capricorn. The winter solstice at the beginning of Capricorn is the start of the ascending arc of the sun. Capricorn represents the dawn of the year and the ascent of spirit from matter. It is a favourable time for our spiritual reorientation.
The science of correspondences was forgotten for centuries. The knowledge is slowly being imparted again by the Masters of Wisdom so that we can recognise the relationships between the centres in our body, the centres of the Earth and the planetary intelligences, and accelerate the vital activity of the centres through conscious connection.
The image shows the connection between the planetary head centre at the North Pole and the human head centre, as well as the connecting axis to the South Pole or the base centre. The sunrise at the higher heart centre was created using a photo of a sunrise taken at the winter solstice in 2023 in the Nilagiri Mountains of southern India.
The globe is surrounded by an orange sphere. It symbolises the solar energies that promote our ascent to soul consciousness.
This full moon is celebrated as the birthday of Lord Dattatreya (Dattatreya Jayanti) and it is recommended to contemplate on Lord Dattatreya, the Lord of Yoga, during this full moon. Here you find more about Lord Dattatreya and his birth by Anasuya, the mother and Atri, the father.
Lord Dattatreya
This full moon is also known as the birthday of Rishi Devapi, whom we know as Master Koot Hoomi. In one of his incarnations, he was born on Sagittarius full moon. We may contemplate about Rishi Devapi / Master Koot Hoomi, on this occasion.
Master Koot Hoomi
There exists an old book (out of print) published by the Theosophical Society Kamachha, Varanasi, with lectures of Shri Sudarshan Das on the “Rishis Devapi and Maru”, given in one of the lodges of the society at Calcutta. Giving sources from the Scriptures, the book shows that Devapi is the Master whom today we know as Koot Hoomi, and Maru is the Master whom today we call Morya.
The month of Sagittarius is a sublime time. Every day, the energy of Sagittarius visits us in the two hours before dawn. It is the best time for all spiritual practices. Sagittarius is a sign that points the way. The arrow of our thoughts is to be directed upwards, towards the soul. Jupiter, the lord of Sagittarius, gives us the necessary direction and guidance. Jupiter stands for wisdom and spirituality. He symbolises teaching and the teacher. Dattatreya, the Lord of Yoga and the cosmic principle of the Teacher, works through the energies of the Sagittarius sign. The Sagittarius full moon is considered his birthday.
