Have you noticed that things seem to be moving faster and faster and it takes a certain kind of mental flexibility to keep up? Have you noticed an inherent awareness within yourself that knows the truth? Have you sensed that you don’t really operate as an isolated individual, that your actions are interconnected with everyone? The yogis tell us that we’re experiencing all this because we are now in the Aquarian Age. As you might guess by its name, the Aquarian Sadhana was developed specifically for this time period. So let's take a closer look at what the Aquarian Age means and how the Sadhana can help us in these times.
What Is the Aquarian Age?
The Aquarian Age began November 11, 1991. However, there was a transition period (a cusp period) immediately following the previous time period (the Piscean Age), and this cusp completed after two decades on November 11, 2011. So we’re now officially in the Aquarian Age.
In the Piscean Age, everyone lived in a more selfish manner, really as if they were isolated individuals. We focused more on our career, making a name for ourselves, and pursuing security and power. To be frank, in the Piscean Age, we could get away with a lot more in terms of crimes against humanity and the earth. How things looked and seemed were a lot more important than how they actually were, so people wore a lot of masks—it was easier to wear one face on the outside but actually live in a totally different manner on the inside. It’s true that people sought out spiritual teachings in the Piscean Age, but the knowledge came from faraway places like the Himalayas or the Amazon, and that knowledge was guarded closely, delivered only from master to student, or kept hidden from the world altogether.
The Aquarian Age calls us to develop spiritual stamina. —Snatam Kaur Khalsa
By contrast, in the Aquarian Age we are all becoming more aware of our interconnection. Knowledge of every kind is available and easy to access. People can’t just hide behind their personas any longer; either the persona is too transparent, or people are just getting tired of wearing masks and trying to connect with disguises on. It just doesn’t work! And we can’t dump pollutants in unknown places anymore because there are no more unknown places. So, in several ways, the Aquarian Age makes it obvious that our interior space relates very directly to our exterior space. We are not isolated any longer. Our actions affect not only us but also the vast network of human beings and environments around the world. The Aquarian Age calls us to develop spiritual stamina, clarity of character, the capacity to forgive, the ability to process our emotions, and the will to surrender to do so. We must continue to grow and change through life because it demands it of us; we need flexibility both mentally and physically.
Yogi Bhajan's Aquarian Sadhana
If we try to operate from the motivations and energies of the Piscean Age it can lead to insanity in the Aquarian Age. Yogi Bhajan foresaw this, and he prepared us by offering the Aquarian Sadhana in 1992. With this practice, we have the capacity to transform and meet the pressure of this time and space through our own inner wisdom. Yogi Bhajan would often remind us that a diamond is made simply when a lump of coal undergoes tremendous pressure. Likewise, instead of resisting the pressure of our ever-changing lives, through spiritual practice we can meet that pressure with the light of the soul. Through Tapas—the fire of our discipline—we become the shining diamond within our being. This is the promise of every soul.
We do not need to be perfect; instead, let us surrender. We do not need information, or even knowledge; instead, let us experience our own well of wisdom within. We do not need to be right; only let us be intuitive, seeing the Divine play of the One.
In ancient times, when people did not have access to computers or books, wisdom was passed down through the ages in short phrases in such a way that people could memorize them. In India, this wisdom came in the form of sutras. Sutras remain powerful teaching tools today, and below are five, given to us by Yogi Bhajan for the Aquarian Age. Contemplate them in your own life and explore how they might assist you.
- Recognize that the other person is you.
- There is a way through every block.
- When the time is on you, start, and the pressure will be off.
- Understand through compassion or you will misunderstand the times.
- Vibrate the Cosmos; the Cosmos shall clear the path.
When you do your practice, I encourage you to write down these sutras and place them on your external altar or on the altar of your heart. Each has at one point helped me move through the intensity of this age with ease and flow.
