As we begin this year’s Chohaniya, let us realize the importance and significance of this very spiritual and hermetic or esoteric holiday or festival. When the Sun enters the zodiacal sign of Capricorn, called in India Makāra (Crocodile), and this now takes place around December 21/22, the Seven Days begin, lasting the initial First Week of the new calendar year, as in the natural rhythm of nature it is the beginning of the so-called: the northern path of the Sun, when the days will increase and the nights decrease, and nature shows the Path of growth in Light! Makāra Deva is, of course, the so-called Holy Crocodile, the Heavenly Crocodile, who is also the cosmic Hierophant for people living simultaneously on two planes of existence, that is, in the physical fourth dimension and on the subtle plane. People who have very lucid dreams and those who experience out-of-body journeys are undoubtedly adepts of the Holy Great Crocodile of green colour because that is what this beautiful Angel, the progenitor of ancient reptiles, looks like. However, we are interested here in the idea of the Holy Week, the Initial Seven Days on which Chohaniya is based at the beginning of the sign of Capricorn, and we know that Capricorn itself is also a very mystical and symbolic animal that shows spiritual awakening in the human material world, which is sometimes called spirituality (spiritualizing) of the matter! Soaking and filling the body with the Light of the Spirit during the Seven Days of Chohaniyat is a very elegant work because of the Spirit of Capricornus and Makāra Devi!
Chohanī is the female partner, the ruler, Chohan’s half, and under this name, there are beings under the strict management of the Kings of Heaven, which in Christian mysticism are called the Seven Archangels (Archons) entering the presence of the Majesty of the Lord (Yahvah). Chohanī is the Queen of Heaven, if we refer to the word Chohan as the King of Heaven but we use this term mainly to describe Spiritual Masters who are the Lords of the Seven Spheres of Heaven or the rulers of Heavenly Temples like Devalayam and this concept covers the multi-level Heavens of Layas! Chohanī, who patronizes the Week of Light of Spiritual Awakening in the lineage of Layas, is the Queen of Heaven of the Layas, i.e. Śri Himavanti or otherwise Śri Mena/ka, because this is what the Himalayan and Pamir nations most often call the Queen of Light! Mena is the Primordial Mother, the Great Mother, the parent of all creatures, i.e. the Mother of Life. Śri Menaka, also known as Queen Himavanti, is the Divine Wife of Lord Morya, who incarnates approximately every 3,000 years, the Sage King who introduces the Golden Age wherever his Wise and Wonderful power, both earthly and spiritual, reaches. He is known as Morya Gupta, who ruled India in the 15th – 14th centuries BC, and at the turn of the 16th – 17th century BC as Akbar Morya! Chohani Śri Menaka Devi, the Mother of Life, the Mother of Life or the Mother of the World, is the patroness of each Chohaniya. Every year, spiritual work is oriented according to one of the so-called Seven Rays of Evolution, which gives us a picture of the evolution of the consciousness of creatures and people grouped according to the so-called Seven Ćakras of Consciousness (ćittapithadala). Beautiful Menaka paintings were painted by, among others, Nicholas Roerich, who titled them as paintings of the Mother of the World. Therefore, for us, Layas, Śri Menaka Devi is our Mother, also called by ordinary people by her more esoteric name, Śri Himavanti, which means that she is the wife of Mahatma Himavant, Lord Himavant!
Developing the Path of the Divine Mother, Queen of the Laya Heavens, which begins with intensive work with the Four Elements, is always the initial point of the Chohaniya program because, on the first day of the Festival of Light or on its Eve, that is, on the preceding evening, we provide teachings, practices and mystery initiations to the adepts of the Laya Order in the Path of the Great Mother, or rather in its first degree, which is the Yoga of the Elements. People who know the Essene Gospel of Peace (EGP) of Jesus Christ well will immediately associate that similar ideas of working with the Elements, with Angels – the Spirits of the Elements, constitute a deeper method of esoteric, mystery spiritual practice, transmitted only to the selected few. Anyone who understands how to work with the Angels of Earth, Water, Fire and Wind by studying EGP will understand what our Divine Yoga of the Elements (Bhutajaya) is about. The combined Power of the four Elements, the Angels of Nature, is called Vajra (Diamond), and it is the basis for the purification and mastery of the Senses and the development of the Divine Power called in Eastern terms Kundalini Śakti, so Chohaniya usually refers somewhat to these ideas, if there are adepts of these miraculous and deep Vehicles of Practice in our Great Himalayan White Lodge! It can be said that Chohaniya is, above all, a Gathering, a Spiritual Assembly of adepts and sympathizers of more internal messages, practices and teachings such as Bhutajaya, Indriyajaya and Kundalini Yoga, because these are the three stages of the Path of Mahādevi, the Great Mother, or also the Primordial Mother. Chohaniya is the Divine Congregation of adepts of the Association of the Mother of the World, the Prime Mother of all Life on Earth.
Each subsequent year, starting as a Spiritual Year around December 21/22, when the Sun enters the sign of Capricorn, is devoted to the energy of one of the Seven Rays of Evolution that focus people and human consciousness around one of the Seven Ćakras, starting from the Crown above the head, Ajñām in the head, down to the base of the trunk, ending with Mulādaram. The first year of the cycle is the year of the Ray of Divine Will and Power, which manifests itself through the Crown Lotus above the head called Sahasrara! It is like the first Sunny day of the Seven-Year “Week” because the Crown Lotus suspended above the head, the Thousand-Petal Lotus is symbolized by the Sun, the Solar Higher Self above us, the Higher Self in which the Divine Will is written and through which we are connected with God and the Cosmos, with the Spirit of All! Surya Deva, the Angel of the Sun, is also the patron saint of this year, just like in a regular week, Sunday is called the Day of the Sun all over the Earth. The second consecutive year of the Seven Years is dedicated to the Lord of the Logos of the Planet, Mahādeva, and the Power of the Moon because it is like a Lunar day according to the weekly schedule (Monday). This is the second Ray of Evolution, called the Ray of Love and Wisdom, and it manifests itself through Ajñām, i.e. the so-called Third Eye, which should be of great interest to all interested parties. We then study a lot of teachings and messages from 24 or 72 Masters of the Spiritual Hierarchy who are engaged in Saviour activities (Kalkinah). The Spirit of Vishnu and Kalkin reigns because this is how the Spiritual Hierarchy of Masters of Love and Divine Wisdom manifests itself, and yet even the Bible also praises Divine Wisdom as the Spouse of God the Saviour.
The third consecutive year is the so-called third ray, the Ray of the Spirit of God, Ambara Deva, also called the Fifth Element, the Divine Ether. Sadaśiva is a spiritual ideal suitable for this ray of the evolution of consciousness that gathers true religious mystics, zealots and all those who listen to God (Guru) both externally and internally. Ajñā is a ray of clairvoyants who hear the Voice, the Call of the Spirit, and Angelic Music, as well as those who recognize or proclaim the Words of God! Tuesday is also in the spirit of the planet Mars.
In the fourth year, the Teaching of the Heart of the so-called Ray of Synthesis, or if you prefer, the Ray of Harmony, Beauty, Art, is proclaimed, so we stimulate creativity and sensitivity to Beauty by showing the Cosmic Law of Symmetry. The Spirit of the Element of Wind, the Angel of the Lord of Air, Vāyu Deva, patronizes the Seven-Year Cycle’s middle year (Wednesday). His ray of the evolution of consciousness is chronologically called the fourth. It gathers all people of the Heart, higher humanitarian consciousness, which constitutes about 1/16 of the entire humanity, so we can always calculate how numerous the avant-garde of mass consciousness is in the country and the world, on average, of course. The cosmic energy of the Hierarchy of Mercury dominates, of course, the middle Day of the Week and the Septennium, and in many languages, this day (year) is called Mercury Day (fr. Merkredi, etc.).
The fifth year moves into the sphere of the Element of Fire (Agni Deva), the Spirit of Life, Nature (Rudra Deva), and the planetary (cosmic) energy of Jupiter, the largest planet of the solar system, which patronizes rulers, priests and spiritual guides, since this is a time of developing the priestly methods and teachings of the Guru, and of Divine Authority and Supremacy. Thursday, the fifth day of the week, belongs to the energy of Jupiter, Guru as we call this planet in Sanskrit, and perfecting the mind and developing the power and potency of the mind is the fifth ray of the evolution of consciousness, which is the inspiration of Scientists, Philosophers, Medics, Geniuses, Inventors and the Sacrificial Fire Cult! The Manipura Ćakra with ten petals is the Lotus of the Ray!
The sixth year of the Seven-Year Cycle is the ray of searching for the Light of the Self, the ray of the Spirit of Water (Varuna Deva), and the energy of the planet Venus (Śukra). It is also called the ray of praise, adoration, eagerness, fascination, and zeal, which are characteristics of people who are very involved in anything and devoted to any matter. However, religious fervour for God and Guru would be best. The spirit of devotion and zeal is the result of focusing human consciousness around the Svādhishthana ćakra in the lower abdomen under the navel, the six-petaled Lotus. We know that the Crescent Moon is also a symbol of religion or consciousness in this Venusian ray, which is manifested here and called the ray of release or forgiveness, liberation. The sixth water year is also the year of Venus, just like Friday in an ordinary week, considered as a series of influences of planetary Spirits (Angels of the Planet), also called Cosmic Consciousness!
The seventh year of the cycle is Saturday, the year of Saturn, i.e. Shabbat, the year of Rest. In addition to the Saturnian energy, it is associated with the power of the Angel of the Earth Element, and as a ray, it manifests itself through the Lotus of the Base, the Root, located between the coccyx and the sexual organ, which also corresponds to the area of the sacral plexus. Muladhara ćakra is also the seat of Indra Deva, the Angel of the Earth, and the energy of Saturn (Śanih) indicates the need to cleanse your life comprehensively this year (day), i.e. in every aspect of it. Compensation for the transgressions of the past seven years should be offered to those against whom we have sinned, and our life so far should be summed up to start a new cycle cleanly. The Seven Years is a very important life cycle, and since we have Three Lotuses of the Crown close to each other above the head, and the Lotus of a Thousand Petals is their Heart, the Centre, the next Three Seven Years constitute a very characteristic cycle of 21 years in life and the evolution of consciousness. One should remember the evolution of Soul Consciousness (Self), Jivātman and know that the soul, when it transcends a form, abandons it and is reborn in the body of a higher life form species. Of course, there is no smooth evolution of species as the supporters of the Darwinian hypothesis would like, which cannot be proven by anything. The evolution of consciousness to achieve a higher form of being through rebirth in the body of a higher consciousness being is a more occult, secret fact of our phenomenal reality.
In the life of every person, there is an individual cycle of Seven Years, so the eighth birthday is the beginning of a new cycle and a new Year of the Sun, and we count the time from birth, taking the first breath, when the Soul (Jivātman) completely incarnates in the human body of a newborn. The fifteenth and twenty-second years of life are the successive years of the Sun in our ordinary existence on Earth. It is worth observing this cycle, knowing that the next Seven Years are slightly different because a different Crown Lotus determines as if the type of Sun for the entire seven-year period. The seven ćakras work, of course, and every year another ćakra becomes alive and energized, and humanity as a whole is also energized during Chohaniya, when the powerful spiritual Light is directed to our planet by the Seven Kṛttikas, the Mothers symbolized by the Seven Stars of the Great Bear, as the Mystic Prophets of all time nicely describe it. The Seven-Year Cycle is a cycle of stimulating the rays of consciousness by the Seven Chohanis, female forms, also symbolized as the wives of the rulers of Heaven in the Seven Lotuses. The Week and the Seventh Anniversary is a gift from the Seven Mothers, Kṛttika Devis!
Chohaniya, apart from being the Festival of the Birth of Light, which was also cultivated in ancient Rome (December 25-27, because the sign of Capricorn used to begin on the 25th), is also the Festival of Spiritual Guides, Guru, as Chohaniyat is the totality of the main Guides and Spiritual Masters, although perhaps we know the term Chohanate or the completely Polonized Chanat (Khanate) better, because in Polish, HAN means the well-known Khan, although not always wise in terms of the Tatar rulers from the East! Chohanate is the Assembly of the Supreme Rulers, but when Goddess Mena leads the Assembly, the Congregation, we say Chohaniyat or Chohanyat! The presence of people belonging to the Chohanate of the Spiritual Brotherhood at the annual Assembly is necessary, even obligatory, not only to lead in teachings and practices for the adepts initiated into the esoteric paths but also to unite more in the Spirit of Guidance, because the sign of Capricorn is under the influence of the Great Divine Guide, and therefore activates the Power of Transmission that flows from the Mahāgurus of spiritual organizations. Mahādeva Guru is the Great Divine (Mahādeva) Guru (Guide), and those who embody Divine Guidance (Guru Deva) to the highest degree are called Mahāguru (or Paramaguru). During Chohaniya, the adepts of the Brotherhood are also introduced deeper into the Consciousness of Mahāguru, and all Spiritual Guides (Chohanate) unite in the common Spirit to develop greater work in the energy of the coming year, i.e. in the ray of consciousness evolution.
Chohaniya begins on the day when the Sun enters the sign of Capricorn (Makāra), but before this initial moment, preferably in the morning or on the eve of the evening, i.e. on the Eve of the Birth of Light, and lasts the entire week, seven whole days, ending on the Seventh Day one Yamah (i.e. 3 hours) after Sunset, i.e. in practice between 6 p.m. and 7 p.m. winter time. In practice, this is usually the period from December 21 to 28 of each calendar year in the Western system. Seven such days should begin with an introduction to the Yoga of the Elements for the Brotherhood’s adepts. Lord Jesus Christ recommended it, and earlier, before him, both Lord Buddha, Lord Krishna and Lord Lao Tse. Every self-respecting and serious Yoga adept of the Himavanti lineage and Spiritual Teachers, especially Chohanyat, will make sure to participate in Chohaniyas every year because practising the Seven Years cycle with the help of Chohaniyas practices makes a person a full Adept of our Spiritual, Esoteric School which Brotherhood in its essence is. It can be said that in every country, the Chohaniya is the most important annual Spiritual Gathering for all initiates. Of course, as long as they practice seriously as the Himavanti People, all Initiates zealously participate every year in the cultivation of the Chilla, the Group Retreat at that time, and the Chohaniya cannot be repeated at any other time! It’s also a good time to fast! In one country, in one nation, it is enough to have one esoteric Chohaniya gathering all eligible participants. In the event of a more significant number of participants, four Chohaniyas should be established in the north, south, east, and west of the country inhabited by one people (language). If fewer than 100 people participate in Chohaniyas, there should not be more than one celebration of the Birth of Light in a given country! The ancients prefer to celebrate Chohaniyas in the caves of the Himalayas, due to the energy of the Earth in the sign of Capricorn, but the mountains or the middle of the country are also very good. God Bless You!
Aćarya Paramahansa Lalita Mohan G.K.
(This publication contains only fragments of the original esoteric-hermetic lesson of Hridaya. The entire material of this lesson is available in the book edition, available at workshops and trainings of tantric yoga for adepts and supporters of the Himavanti Monastic Brotherhood and Kaśmiri Śaiva – Kashmir Śaivism.)
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