Lunar eclipse on July 16/ July 17, 2019

 Partial Lunar Eclipse July 16/ July 17, 2019 Date and Time: 

The partial eclipse will pass over most of Africa, the Middle East, most countries of Asia - excluding the northern most parts of Asian continent, Australia and New Zealand.

Parts of Europe, such as Norway and the UK will have to wait until moonrise on July 16, 2019 to catch a glimpse of the eclipse, while the  eclipse will be witness in late night of July 16, 2019 in Asia and Australia (i.e. past midnight of July 16, 2019 and early hours of July 17, 2019 per modern calendar reckoning).

The whole of North America will miss out on the event entirely.

TIMING OF THE ECLIPSE IN INDIA:  Beginning of partial phase of the eclipse - 1:32 a.m. IST on July 17, 2019....End of the partial phase of the eclipse - 4:30 a.m. on July 17, 2019.

For time of the eclipse at other places, kindly refer NASA website or sites like dateandtime.com

REMEDIAL RECOMMENDATION PER ASTROLOGICAL TRADITIONS REGARDING THIS ECLIPSE:

Those living in regions of visibility of the eclipse and born under the following stars: Uttaraashaada (Uttiraadam), Sravana (TiruvOnam), Poorvaashaadaa (Pooraadam), Krittika, and Uttaraphalguni (Uttiram) are advised to undergo simple remedial measures to counteract the impact of the eclipse.

You can have it done by good priests at your place. I am planning to do austerities for the well-being of my clients/ disciples living in the regions of visibility of the eclipse.

The suggested offering is Rs.375 (rupees three hundred and seventy five only) per person of the family afflicted by the eclipse (i.e. for each person whose star is impacted by this eclipse you may offer Rs.375).  Our clients who have availed service through us earlier can make the remittance directly to our bank account you have in your records; please indicate the purpose of remittance as "for grahanam remedy", and after making the remittance, send me an email giving details of your name, gothra, and birthstar for inclusion in the sankalpam.

Those who don't have personal spiritual mentors or knowledgeable vedic pandits to help them in the performance may do this remedy:  Donate 1/10th of your body-weight of good quality rice (like if you are 50kg. in weight, donate 5 kg. of good qualitiy rice) AND 1/100th of your body-weight ghee (like if you are 50kg in weight, donate half kg. of ghee) to any charitable organization or temple on July 17th (i.e. after sunrise that follows the night of the lunar eclipse).

Even those stars are not directly impacted by the eclipse can gain by performing austerities during the duration of the eclipse; per mantra shastra principles, any mantra recited during the duration of the eclipse becomes "siddh" and gives intense positive results.  It is auspicious to try for siddhi of mantras like mantras to remove poisons, mantras to immunize oneself against negativities, etc. during eclipses like these.  Of course, you can chant any mantra/ sthothra during eclipse duration for enhanced karmic benefits.  Those not inclined towards mantra practice/ meditation may simply spend time on reading/ learning activities. My personal experience is that I have mastered most of the rare works that are in my command in spiritual realm only during major eclipses, and can vouch for the fact that learning activities are very productive during eclipse periods.

PRECAUTIONS DURING THE ECLIPSE (not applicable to those living in regions where the eclipse is not visible).

a) Try to finish off your last meal before the eclipse about 6 hours prior to the onset of the partial phase; for those in India, ideally finish off your supper by 7:30 p.m. IST and don't have any solid food after that time (infants, nursing mothers, pregnant ladies, and very old persons may be exempt this; but it is generally preferable to avoid having heavy food in our system when the eclipse is on).  Limit even liquids/ water after 9:30 p.m. IST.

b) Those who wish to perform austerities or indulge in occult/ metaphysical/ spiritual experiments must take bath once during the onset of the partial-phase (1:32 a.m. IST on July 17th) and again another bath after the eclipse ends (4:30 a.m.IST on July 17th).

c) Pregnant ladies must avoid venturing out during the duration of the eclipse (this is per traditions - the same traditions that have given us wisdom regarding many occult/ spiritual things that are left untouched and unexplainable by current levels of scientific knowledge - so there must be something in this!; I am not even getting into the argument of what will happen if they venture out! Each one to their own wisdom/ discretion - and my guideline is for those who wish to benefit by traditional views on this matter where it is said that avoiding exposure to the outer atmosphere or the eclipsed Moon's rays is recommended for the welfare of the child in the womb).

d) Avoid negative thoughts or unnecessary brooding during the eclipse.  You may indulge in healthy introspection even if you don't wish to chant mantras or perform intense austerities.....BUT, don't cultivate guilt feelings/ unnecessary hang-overs...be a neutral observer and evaluator of events in your life to make the best of this period.  Of course, those who wish to chant mantras or strengthen protective shields in occult matters will benefit most during this period.  Countless are the persons who have got siddhi of their mantras during eclipses; so for spiritual persons or those inclined to occult experiments, this is a "must not miss" period.

e) Those who have lost parents may offer tarpanam in Honour of ancestors during this period.  Shastras say that the merits of offering tarpanam to parents during eclipse are infinite.  By tradition, it is the practice to do the tarpanam during the period when the lunar eclipse ends - but there are some devout people who do tarpanam both during the beginning and end of the eclipse.

f)  Best to clear off all cooked food (normal food preparations like gravy, rasam, etc.) before the duration of the eclipse - except for those that are meant for long-term storage and use.Food articles that are to be kept for long duration (like pickles, curd, ghee, etc.) should be covered with dharbha grass (a few pieces of dharba may be put in such containers).

g) Spend the duration of the eclipse in Divine Contemplation, intense meditation, learning/ training activities.  Traditionally, sleeping during an eclipse is prohibited...BUT, since the eclipse comes on a working day and it may not be feasible for everyone to keep a vigil at the late hours when this eclipse happens.  So, those who don't observe vigil and sleep must AT LEAST avoid sleeping on the normal bedding material they use everyday and instead use thin blankets or mats and sleep on them after spreading them on the floor (bedsheets used for such sleeping must be washed first thing in the morning after waking up; if you sleep on woollen material or silk sheets/ jute or straw mats, you need not wash the material).

May our members derive the best benefits of this celestial phenomenon.

Best regards,

Blessed be.

Pandit R DAKSHINA MOORTHI