How to celebrate birthday? Cutting cake vs waving a lamp

Principal Investigator: Dr. Nandini Samant, MBBS, DPM

Please read our article Introduction to spiritual research using the electrosomatographic scanning technique before reading this article, so as to understand it better.

1. Introduction

There are various ways of celebrating birthdays. Most of them give us pleasure at the physical and mental level. But can we derive benefit through our birthday celebration at the spiritual level too?

In this experiment, we did a comparative study of the effect on the Kundalini chakras of the person whose birthday was being celebrated. The two methods used were – by waving a lit lamp in front of the person whose birthday was being celebrated, and by cutting a cake.

Kundalini chakras are subtle energy centres. They provide subtle energy that is required for the functioning of the various organs of the physical body, as well as the mind and intellect.

2. Some details of the experiment

2.1 Period of the experiment

19th February 2009 to 28th February 2009

2.2 Age of the subject

14 years

2.3 Methodology

Please refer to our article Introduction to spiritual research using the electrosomatographic scanning technique for details on the methodology.

Siddharth Purohit is a child seeker of SSRF without negative energy distress. His birthday as per the tithi, that is, as per the Hindu lunar calendar, fell on 19th February 2009. On this day, after recording the baseline reading corresponding to his Kundalini chakras using the DDFAO equipment, a lady seeker waved a lit lamp in front of him.

To gauge the effect of waving a lit lamp on his Kundalini chakras, we scanned him using the DDFAO equipment and recorded readings at 1-4 hour intervals till the readings came to the baseline reading on the 21st of February. Then this part of the experiment was concluded.

On 24th February, which was his birthday as per the Roman calendar, upon taking a new baseline reading, we asked him to cut a cake and the above process was repeated till he again reached the baseline state, which was on the 28th of February.

3. Observations

	Activity of upper four chakras				Activity of lower three chakras			Duration of effect of  celebrating birthday
Experiment	Sahasrar	Adnya	Vishuddha	Anahat	Manipur	Swadhishthan	Muladhar
Celebrating birthday by waving a lit lamp	Decreased	Decreased	Decreased	Decreased	Increased	Increased	Increased	50 hrs. 34 mins.
Celebrating birthday by cutting a cake	Decreased	Decreased	Decreased	Decreased	Decreased	Increased	Increased	95 hrs. 7 mins.

The following is the summary of our observations.

3.1 Effect of celebrating birthday by waving a lit lamp in front of Siddharth on the activity of his Kundalini chakras

3.1.1 Effect on the activity of the upper four chakras

There was a decrease in the activity of the upper four chakras.

3.1.2 Effect on the activity of the lower three chakras

There was an increase in the activity of the lower three chakras.

3.2 Effect of celebrating Siddharth’s birthday by cutting a cake on the activity of his Kundalini chakras

3.2.1 Effect on the activity of the upper four chakras

There was a decrease in activity of the upper four chakras.

3.2.2 Effect on the activity of the lower three chakras

There was an increase in the activity of two out of the three lower chakras.

3.3 Duration of effect of celebrating Siddharth’s birthday by waving a lit lamp in front of him on the activity of his Kundalini chakras

50 hours, 34 minutes

3.4 Duration of effect of celebrating Siddharth’s birthday by cutting a cake on the activity of his Kundalini chakras

95 hours, 7 minutes

4. Input from the subtle-knowledge section

We showed the tables and above observations to the seekers from SSRF’s subtle-knowledge section having subtle-analysis ability.

We asked them questions on some of the observations and sought their help in understanding what was actually happening at the subtle level. Their input gave us insight into the reasons underlying the observations, and an understanding of the different variables deciding the outcome. The following were our questions and their answers.

4.1 After celebrating Siddharth’s birthday by waving a lit lamp, the DDFAO readings corresponding to his upper four Kundalini chakras suggested a decrease in activity as the chakras went into the Non-materialised (Nirgun) state

Question: After a lit lamp was waved in front of Siddharth on his birthday as per the Hindu lunar calendar, why were the DDFAO readings corresponding to his upper four Kundalini chakras suggestive of decrease in activity?

Subtle-knowledge section: Contact with sattvik (Sattva-predominant) vibrations emanating from the action of waving a lit lamp activated the five vital energies in Siddharth’s body and the functioning of Chetana (That aspect of Divine consciousness that governs the functioning of the mind and body)in his body improved. As a result, the Sattva guna spread rapidly throughout his body.

Siddharth being a seeker with positive vibrations, as there was no resistance to the process of imbibing Sattva guna, there was an immediate increase in Sattva guna in him. That is why soon his upper four chakras became saturated with Sattva guna and went into the subtle, Non-materialised (Nirgun) state. This state is beyond and superior to the Materialised (Sagun) state of highly activated chakras. However, due to limitations of the DDFAO equipment in comprehending this nirgun state, it was reflected as readings suggestive of a decrease in activity.

4.2 Benefit of Divine consciousness from waving a lit lamp removing the black covering on the lower three chakras thereby leading to an increase in their activity

Question: Why were the DDFAO readings corresponding to Siddharth’s lower three Kundalini chakras suggestive of an increase in activity after celebrating his birthday by waving a lit lamp in front of him?

Subtle-knowledge section: The lower three chakras provide subtle energy for physical activities. Siddharth gained Divine consciousness (Chaitanya) upon waving the lit lamp in front of him. As a result, there was a decrease in the black covering on his lower three chakras. Hence, there was an increase in the activity of these chakras.

4.3 Condensation of Tama guna in the body upon cutting a cake leading to a decrease in the activity of the upper four Kundalini chakras

Question: After Siddharth celebrated his birthday as per the Roman calendar by cutting a cake, why were the DDFAO readings corresponding to his upper four Kundalini chakras suggestive of a decrease in activity?

Subtle-knowledge section: The act of cutting a cake is tamasik due to a variety of reasons. The use of eggs in the making of a cake, the act of blowing lit candles placed on the cake and cutting a cake with a knife are all tamasik acts. Contact with Tama guna in the act of cutting a cake leads to condensation of Tama guna in Siddharth’s body thereby causing a decrease in the activity of his upper four chakras. Constant contact with such tamasik acts results in building up of Tama guna in the person and his temperament gets adversely affected permanently.

4.4 Cutting a cake being complementary to functioning of the black covering present on seekers due to the times, its effect lasting more than that of waving a lit lamp

Question: Why was the duration of effect on Siddharth’s Kundalini chakras of celebrating a birthday by waving a lit lamp 50 hours and 34 minutes; whereas that of celebrating a birthday by cutting a cake 95 hours and 7 minutes?

Subtle-knowledge section: In the present times, due to the spiritual (Raja-Tama) pollution of the environment, seekers already have a covering of distressing vibrations from the environment. Tama-predominant acts such as cutting a cake are complementary to the functioning of the black covering present on seekers. That is why the effect of cutting a cake lasted longer than that of waving a lit lamp

4.5 Siddharth’s Manipur chakra being inherently weak, becoming more inactive than his Swadhishthan and Muladhar chakras upon cutting the cake

Question: Why did the activity of Siddharth’s Manīpūr chakra decrease; whereas of his Swadhishthan and Muladhar chakras increase upon cutting the cake?

Subtle-knowledge section: Any Tama-predominant process results in creating a black energy covering on almost all the Kundalini chakras. Depending on the temperament of each individual, particular chakras are predominant in either imbibing or transmitting particular waves. Those chakras which are inherently weak in either imbibing or transmitting particular waves become even more inactive upon being exposed to a Tama-predominant act. In Siddharth’s case, as his Manipur chakra was weak, it became more inactive, that is, the black energy covering on this chakra increased further.

The activity of Swadhishthan and Muladhar chakra improved because their activity increased to fight the Tama-predominant process.

4.6 Adnya chakra decreasing due to moving to the nirgun state when a lit lamp was waved and due to the creation of a black energy covering when the cake was cut

Question: When Siddharth celebrated his birthday both by waving a lit lamp and by cutting a cake, the activity of his upper four chakras decreased. However, the activity of his Adnya chakra decreased the most. What is the reason underlying this?

Subtle-knowledge section: Distressing vibrations were present in Siddharth’s Adnya chakra.

When a lit lamp was waved: The distressing vibrations present in Siddharth’s Adnya chakra tried to obstruct the process of imbibing of the Chaitanya emanating from the act of waving a lit lamp. To overcome this obstruction, this chakra went into the nirgun state. This was reflected by the DDFAO equipment as decreased activity.

When a cake was cut: Cutting a cake being a tamasik act, the environment was polluted with Raja-Tama. Due to this, the attacks by negative energies from the environment increased.Hence, the chakra was covered with black energy and became inactive.

5. Conclusions

5.1 Our actions affect us

Each of our actions affects us and our environment. A tamasik act makes us and our environment tamasik; whereas a sattvik act makes us and our environment sattvik. Whenever most of us carry out an act or behaviour, it is usually with physical and psychological results in mind. For example, the common act of celebrating a birthday, which brings us happiness and joy. However, rarely do we take into consideration the spiritual implications. As spiritual research has shown us, the seemingly straightforward actions can have a strong impact on us and those around us at a spiritual level.

5.2 Detrimental effect of celebrating birthday by cutting a cake

Most acts which are devoid of a base of Spirituality and only give pleasure are Tama-predominant. Celebrating a birthday by cutting a cake is Tama-predominant because it consists of Tama-predominant acts like lighting candles on a cake, blowing them, cutting the cake with a knife etc. That is why they adversely affect the environment and the people present in the environment. Hence, the Kundalini chakras of those people become inactive or they become more active to imbibe the Tama guna. Only Sattva guna makes our life truly happy and blissful.

5.3 Benefit of sattvikta from celebrating birthdays by waving a lit lamp

As evident from the table, celebrating our birthday by waving a lit lamp reduces the Tama guna in our Kundalini chakras and they become active.

5.4 Importance of subtle-knowledge in gaining complete understanding of phenomena

It was only due to access to subtle-knowledge that we understood the true reason underlying the decreased activity of Siddharth’s Adyna chakra. The DDFAO equipment reported a decrease in activity in the Adnya chakra in both experiments, but for different reasons – moving to the nirgun state when a lit lamp was waved, andgetting covered by black energy when a cake was cut. This shows the importance of having access to subtle-knowledge to get a complete understanding of phenomena.

Please refer to our article Commentary on limitations of equipment

5.5 Value of subtle-knowledge in everyday life

Most of us do not have the luxury of seekers from the subtle-knowledge section to provide us insight into the implications of our every action. While we go about our day-to-day activities, under the assumption that we are acting in the best way possible for ourselves and the environment, we may very well not be doing things in our best interests at a subtle level. SSRF has a whole section dedicated to sattvik living, which can give us some basic guidelines to get started.

However, it would be nice to know from moment to moment if we are living such a lifestyle. The best way for us to develop activated sixth sense ability, start understanding the spiritual implications of our actions and acting accordingly, is to undertake regular, consistent spiritual practice as per the six basic principles of spiritual practice.

By doing so, we help others, as well as ourselves, to gain as much spiritual benefit from every day, not just birthdays.