Sacred sandhya

Vedic rishis had mastered the science of creation in totality. Their concepts can be applied to the minutest aspects of creation. Take, for example, the idea of sandhya. The term 'sandhya' loosely translates to junction. But a junction is also a point of diversion if you look at it from the other side. That is, sandhya is a point of conversion and separation of forces. But what are these two forces?

Our shastras say that creation began from Shiv's damru. A damru is a union of two opposing triangles - the upward-pointing triangle represents Shakti, and downward-pointing triangle represents Shiv. The union of Shiv and Shakti gives rise to creation. Their separation leads to transformation. The point at which two triangles meet is sandhya. You can see it as a point of merger or separation of two lines.

Holi sandhya is just around the corner. Aeons ago, on this day, Shri Hari intervened to protect his ardent devotee, Prahlad. His father Hiranyakashyap, frustrated with Prahlad's devotion to Hari, had ordered him to sit in the lap of his aunt Holika, who had the boon to remain unscathed in fire. They were set on fire, but thanks to Hari's intervention, Prahlad emerged unharmed. Holi sandhya is significant for sadhaks because it allows them to access Hari's protective force under the guidance of a guru.