On the last day of February 2019, the Sat Yoga sangha gathered ‘under the rose’*, to begin our rose day ceremony with these words from Shunyamurti:
…we are celebrating the most radical capacity for perception, that is only available at the highest levels of consciousness, only at that supreme level of awareness, that is always both transcendent and imminent, always beyond all boundaries, and beyond limitations of creative imagination. We are here to fulfill that creativity in every one of its possible forms, including destruction, sustenance and including rebirth. Each one of us is going through a death and a rebirth. And the secret to be aware of is that the rebirth begins before the death is complete. And the rebirth begins in secret. No one knows, but the flower is already sprouting underground before it appears above the surface. There is a secret growth within us, within the womb of the soul: the Self is growing its new identity, in its most pure, archetypal form, to be able to give rebirth to the world that is now dying.
It has become a yearly tradition to celebrate Mystic Rose day on February 28th, and bring forth from the unconscious and superconscious closets, our most royal garments and talents, to share with each other on a night dedicated to return of Supreme Beauty into the world and the use of our creative imagination in the service of Goodness and re-establishing the presence of God as the one Real we inhabit. Each year the vibrational frequency rises, and the straggling members of our sangha rise to higher internal occasions, for all to see as we parade under the (usually wet but often) starry firmament and then dine as the kings and queens of spirit we are cultivating ourselves to be.
The essence of Mystic Rose Day is celebrating the joy that ensues when the human soul is finally touched by Spirit. Once this happens, there is cause for celebration! And, a new renaissance can begin. The Master of our ceremonies and the peak of our evolving renaissance, Shunyamurti, gave two satsang ceremonies that evening and presided over the revelation of each sangha member’s highest archetypal self. There were queens, high priestesses, great Nothings, and many forms of magician and goddess present. Further sacred words were shared and then everyone filled Nataraj room for the second satsang and a celestial musical performance.
The Mystic Rose Choir had met for 7 weeks of intensive rehearsals. Sat Yogi amateur vocalists proved again that with the surrender to the Supreme, miracles are given. We sang one of Radha Ma’s neo-classical japeras, with lyrics by Shunyamurti and Radha Ma, “touched by the sun, touched by her God, there is light pouring forth…Mystic Rose, Shiva’s Beauty!”
Then everyone was invited to listen to the premiere of the overture to the ashram’s first japera-opera, The Sky of Arunachala. For 12 ½ minutes, Nataraj room was filled with stillness and the sounds of sangam yuga, the confluence of the old with the new. Japera is the name given by Shunyamurti and Radha Ma to the new musical form being created at the ashram, composed of jazz and classical harmonies of pandiatonic** “tonality”, operatic lyrical melodic lines, and filled in word, design and intention with japa, devotional chant, allowing for a music of vibrational purity, the guiding force of japera. A special guest, local composer and orchestrator, Spencer Corwin, who is working with Radha Ma on “Sky”, was present to play the piano and his own harp composition in a duet with our veteran musician, Hanuman.
Transmutation at the cellular level that began with the teachings and the music now was extended via feasting. No one ate less than two plates, and some ate more. The hermetic colors of white and red dominated the table, red for fire and white for purification: white palmito ceviche, red beet hummus, red quinoa risotto, golden-white casarecci pasta was topped with red tomato sauce and white parmesan, all cooked with alchemical passion and infused with secret entelechy and washed down with refreshing rose waters (a special tea by our most nectarine yogini, Amrita) and exquisite ginger soda by the king of yogis, Yogiraj. A cherished guest and friend of the ashram gifted pounds of grapes, enough to make new wine for the new yuga. All were truly grape-full.
The stage was set for the next act. Shunya has always linked the downfall of humanity to the fallen relationship between the masculine and feminine, how in the degradation of the higher chakra expressions of what it means to be male, and female, we have reached disorder in our world. Of course a new world renaissance would have to begin with just such an understanding, which was perfectly elucidated by our great thespians, Tara and Nirgun as the leading roles assisted by Purusha and Prema, in a scene enactment from The Taming of the Shrew. As we watched the tragic comedy unfold upon the stone stage of Shiva Niketan, we digested dinner and the beautiful lesson of Shakespeare’s play, which is that we all must tame our inner shrew (and outer ones too, where karma applies!).
We cannot ignore in our recounting of this magical day, all the logistics by Saraswati and her elves, Urvashi, Carolina, Arjun, Nirgun, Purusha and Ashoka, that created the spatial splendor and luminous setting for this roseate day. White and red ribbons, roses and relics decorated the Jerusalem Courtyard, Sat Purusha Pergola and Aleph Circle of Shiva Niketan. As this evening of transvaluation and transfiguration came to a close, yogis huddled on magic carpets, sharing their fantasies of liberation to each other while popping rose Turkish delight into their mouths. The taste of the rose, and the desire for God, became one on this day.
*ARCHAIC – in confidence; under pledge of secrecy
** Pandiatonicism is a musical technique of using the diatonic (as opposed to the chromatic) scale without the limitations of functional tonality. Music using this technique is pandiatonic.
