Birthdays Series -1

The time of the year when everyone waits for

wonderful cake lit  brightly with candles. The birthday person blows the candle out while loving people around sing “Happy Birthday” songs. But have people ever wondered why do we blow out the lit candle.

Truly we know that this is not part of Indian Culture, it came from west and it has slowly become part of our culture.

Cakes have their root in the viking culture where they were known as “Kaka” meaning baked flour confection sweetened with honey. Ancient Egypt was the first culture bring about evidence of baking. Greeks and Romans used to have fruitcakes having raisins, nuts and fruits. This culture moved into Britain by 14th century.

Greeks used to put the candles on the cakes. The core of their belief in baking round cake was to symbolise the moon goddess, Artemis, the candles represented the rays of the moon.

For the Ancient Greeks, putting candles on a cake was a special way to pay tribute to the Greek moon goddess, Artemis. They baked round cakes to symbolize the moon. Candles were added to represent the reflected moonlight. One of the candles was placed in centre representing the “Tree of Life”. The smoke from the lit candles were believed to carry the wishes and prayers as well as warding off evil spirits obstructing the efforts of life. People never blew the lit candle for it is against the norm.

In 1746, Count Ludwig Von Zinzindorf (Germany) celebrated his birthday with the largest cake any oven could bake. It was first time holes were made in the Cake according to the Years of the Person’s Age, every one having a Candle stuck into it, and one in the Middle.

Later on Christian Germans had used candles during a birthday celebration for children called Kinderfest. Even during this time one central candle was lit and kept in the centre of the cake to represent “Light of Life” and one extra candle representing the way of light for future year. The candle would be lit throughout the day and whenever the candle burnout, it was replaced with a new lit candle. At the end of the day, the child would blow out the candles and make a wish.

Ancient religions and cultures never allowed the lit light to be blown out for the light represented Knowledge, Wisdom, Grace, Blessings and Awareness of the inner light. The fumes coming from the lit candles or lamp represented the connection of the inner wish with the universal grace, allowing the wish to be fulfilled. The lamp lighting itself is a beginning of prosperity, auspiciousness, good health, abundance of wealth and destruction of ignorance. Once lit, the lit lamp or candle, it represents the origin of creation, burning away all the pains resulting from my omissions and commissions in the way of living.

Blowing away the lit light truly shows the basic need of a person to seek ignorance from knowledge. I could never find any modernity in this rather a crude way of saying that light never has a value in their life. Light represents fire energy at five levels of life; Physical fire (Bhuta agni), Jatragni (Digestive Fire), Manas Agni(Heart+Mind Fire), Citta agni(Fire of Consciousness), Atmagni(Fire of Soul). The light and fire energy of the light is auspicious and one should only respect it, blowing air from mouth in whatever form is considered inauspicious. Lighted lamps should only be closed by palm or by a flower. Light is part of every culture and every religion. The core is the intrinsic value of light to burn away all negative energies, leading one from darkness to light. All major religious rituals of ancient cultures follow the path of light, for light is life, life one can connect and expand upon it.  Physical fire (Bhuta agni) followed by Jatragni (Digestive Fire) are the first connection one has with fire and light, which remains with one till the body perishes. It is this connection with fire that allows one to connect with other fires allowing one to expand one continuously throughout life on the path of evolution. The more one blows out the lit light one finds the restrictions and boundations filling one’s own life. It may look like a insignificant move but with time it becomes a dangerous scenario for one loses out the force of oneself with the core of self.

How does blowing of a candle show any achievement, a birthday is not an achievement it is just a way of saying that one more year has passed in your life. The passage of life in that year has relevance only when one has some achievement. When achievement happens one is satisfying the Ego and also loves to celebrate. The celebration happens with a lighted room full of people.But on a birthday, lighted room filled with people or from family  wish that the person whose birthday is to blow out the candle. Imagine while blowing out the lit candle on cake if the power in the room goes off. Would there happiness or one would search for light, secondly would a doubt emerge. Something missed is something lost, a breath is lost a life is lost.

~ Maitreya Rudrabhayananda

Soul Searchers intends to raise the consciousness of people and to help create a turning point on this planet—a world where people are in tune with their inner-selves, living healthy and creative lives and are no longer swayed by religious dogma or politics.  The purpose is to bring the state of righteousness (dharma) back again in current state of political turmoil and selfishly motivated people.  We believe the truth can be known and realised through guided and workable ways. Thousands have benefited from the process of initiation and share them with your friends and family and together we’ll touch and transform lives. 

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