Our sacred plant, Tulsi devi, is doing very well this winter – not because it’s been a mild winter so far but because we have a new greenhouse positioned to get a large dose of the daily sun. Tulsi devi thrives on plenty of sunshine and we see such a difference in her plant health between this year and last.
Who does not love the bright sun on a cold winter day? It keeps our spirits up as it floods into our rooms bringing life and energy. Sunshine is also a metaphor used in the teachings of bhakti. As much are we are nourished physically by the presence of the sun in our lives, our souls are nourished by the sunshine of spiritual practices.
We have all had the experience of feeling great joy when the sun breaks through the clouds. Similarly, when we practice devotional service – learning about Krishna, chanting His name, and offering our activities to Him in service – then our soul, hidden beneath the layers of material identities, is directly nourished and awakened.
When that happens, we grow. We remember who we are. We feel a sense of joy that we can’t quite understand but know we are feeling it. The sunshine of a spiritual practice can make us smile, and dance, and be okay with not being in control, not knowing everything or needing to know everything. This spiritual sunshine nourishes our soul, our real self, like anything. It wakes us up from the deep sleep of being lost in this world, and keeps us moving in the right direction, to full recovery of our original spiritual identity.
Just as Krishna gives us sunshine to light this otherwise dark world, books like the Gita and Srimad Bhagavatam carry spiritual sunshine:
This Bhagavata Purana is as brilliant as the sun, and it has arisen just after the departure of Lord Krishna to His own abode, accompanied by religion, knowledge, etc. Persons who have lost their vision due to the dense darkness of ignorance in the age of Kali shall get light from this Purana. SB 1.3.43
Let the daily sun remind us to feed our soul. Sit in the sun with a book about Krishna. Stay there for at least 15 minutes. Feel the warm energy and know that we are giving ourselves the best sunshine of all – one that shines a light on our long, lost relationship with Krishna.
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