We are in the midst of eclipses. Solar and Lunar eclipse always come together with a 2-week gap. Solar eclipse takes place during a New Moon and Lunar eclipse takes place during a Full Moon. We had a powerful Solar eclipse on July 2, 2019 and we will have a big Lunar eclipse on July 16, 2019. See exact times in my Vedic Calendar here.

What is the fundamental difference between Solar eclipse and Lunar eclipse? What should we do during an eclipse?

Sun is the king of the solar system. Sun represents our soul. Solar eclipse is a time when Sun is engulfed / swallowed by Rahu or Ketu (the nodes of the Moon). Sun is the source of Light. Rahu and Ketu are shadow planets (no light). Rest of the 6 planets (Moon, Mars, Mercury, Jupiter, Venus and Saturn) receive their light from the Sun and simply reflect that light back. So when Sun is eclipsed by Rahu or Ketu, all the other 6 planets will be in the dark, they will not receive any light from the Sun. Solar eclipse is an eclipse of the Soul. It is a big deal.

But usually Lunar eclipse seems to have more impact on us than a Solar Eclipse. Why is that? Moon represents our mind. Moon (mind) reflects the light of the Sun (soul). On every Full Moon (eclipse or not), our mind experiences an emotional overflow. But on a Full Moon when Moon is eclipsed, our mind seems to have lost touch with our soul momentarily. So not only there is emotional overflow during a Lunar Eclipse but also there is no guidance from the Sun (soul). We may feel lost or overwhelmed.

So what do we do during a Lunar eclipse? There is no external light to guide us. Our mind has lost touch with the soul. First of all, we need protection of the mind. How do we do that? Through Mantras. The word Mantra comes from Man (mind) + Tra (protection). Mantra is something that protects our mind. So doing mantra during an eclipse is extremely important. Secondly, since mind is eclipsed, we need to try and go directly to the source, reach the soul without support of the mind. Just Be. Meditate. Discover our pure Self. Practice dissolution of our mind and body.

Namaste,
Amit