When an acquaintance called to enquire about the timings of Friday’s annular eclipse of the sun, the longest anyone will witness from Earth this millennium, I was reminded of the another spectacular sky show that took place last year.
While the high point of Friday’s event was a fiery ‘golden bangle’ seen from many parts of the world including the southern tip of India, the solar eclipse of July 22 was all about totality – the complete obscuration of the sun with its ‘corona’ dramatically glowing in a near dark sky.
The moments seem frozen in time.
We were at the Assi Ghat in Benaras.
A sadhu, bathing in the Ganga among thousands of other devout, stood transfixed.
In fact, if a spiritual experience expands human consciousness, helps a person see things in a new light and connects him to a larger reality, then it can be deeply spiritual to watch a celestial spectacle such as an eclipse.