Each one of us is a divine being going through a human experience — a shakti which has manifested into a body to undergo specific experiences after which it will go back to its source. As a part of the Divine and as a microcosm of entire shakti of brahmand (universe), each one of us is influenced by and has an influence on the various shaktis of creation. The day that we were born, is the day when the energy of the various nakshatras and heavenly bodies was conducive to the manifestation of our specific energy form, and with these shaktis going through a constant change, we too undergo a change. Some days are considered more powerful than the others because of the congruence of energy on those days and the people born on those days have more potential and possess certain unmanifested powers which can be awakened. To a clairvoyant these shaktis are visible in the form of colours.
In earlier times, birth anniversaries were celebrated to mark one’s growing wiser by a year and also closer to merging back from where one has come. Wiser, here refers to awakening of the shaktis within, under the sanidhya of a guru. Traditionally, birthdays were celebrated by performing havans to connect to the cosmos and awaken the hidden potential within through specific chants as prescribed by the guru. Heavenly bodies and shaktis can be controlled through specific chants and siddha mantras. Chanting them on your birthday has manifold effect on awakening of energy inside you. These energies can then be utilised for one’s physical or spiritual growth.
Physical creation is bound by time and constantly passing. The vedic rishis understood this and thus gave us ways to become timeless and go over the influence of the various planets and heavenly bodies. They followed the lunar calendar, which very accurately predicts the congruence of energy on various days. If one goes by the Gregorian calendar, if one was born on April 4, the birthday would always fall on 4th April, irrespective of the position of planets and energy patterns.
The Vedic calendar on the other hand, would indicate the date based on energy and reality. The concept of muhurat comes from here. Take for example, my birthday falls on the seventh day of Krishnapaksh in the month of Chaitra, which falls on March 23 this year. It is a powerful day.
While every birth anniversary is a point of transition in the life of an individual, there are three that are especially powerful — the day you turn 25, 50 and 75 respectively. On these specific days the shakti of an individual goes through a major transformation which can be used for manifold progress. Twenty-five marks the age at which one enters the physical life after completing education, 50 the time when one starts devoting his energy to connecting with the cosmos and shaktis therein to prepare for a higher birth and 75 when one leaves everything to merge back with the source, which is the ultimate purpose of life.
Birthdays are important days in one’s life. It is better to celebrate them by invoking shaktis and connecting to the cosmos rather than getting drunk or partying, which is of no use and can be done any other day of the year as well. A havan on the birthday is very important to awaken the shaktis within.
