MAY
MAY 2024
Motto:
“We are not human beings having a spiritual experience. We are spiritual beings having a human experience.” - Pierre Teilhard de Chardin.
Phenomena:
1 Venus square Pluto, Moon’s last quarter
8 New Moon
13 Sun conjunction Uranus
15 Moon’ first quarter
17 Mercury square Pluto
18 Sun conjunction Jupiter, Venus conjunction Uranus
21 Sun enters Gemini
22 Sun square Pluto
23 Venus conjunction Jupiter, Full Moon
25 Venus trine Pluto
30 Moon’s last quarter
31 Mercury conjunction Uranus
Many years ago:
May 1
- On this day in 1889, May Day was first observed as a labor holiday. Traditionally May Day was a celebration of the return of spring.
- Teilhard de Chardin: Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, born this day in 1881, was a French philosopher who trained as a paleontologist and geologist and took part in the discovery of Peking Man. Teilhard conceived the idea of the Omega point (a maximum level of complexity and consciousness towards which he believed the universe was evolving) and developed the concept of Noosphere.
May 3
- The National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, usually referred to simply as the University of Athens, was founded on May 3, 1837, and was housed in the residence of architects Stamatios Kleanthis and Eduard Schaubert, on the north slope of the Acropolis. It was the first University not only in the newly established Greek State but in all the Balkans and the Eastern Mediterranean in general.
May 6
- Vesak Festival. Vesākha or Vesak is a holy day observed traditionally by Buddhists in Sri Lanka, India, Nepal and the South East Asian countries. Sometimes informally called “Buddha’s Birthday”, it actually encompasses the birth, enlightenment, and death of Sakyamuni Buddha.
- Orson Welles was born this day in 1915 in Kenosha, Wisconsin. George Orson Welles was an American actor, director, writer and producer who worked extensively in theater, radio and film.
- Sigmund Freud, the Austrian founder of psychoanalysis, was born in Freiberg, Moravia, Austrian Empire this day in 1856. Sigmund Freud was an Austrian neurologist who became known as the founding father of psychoanalysis.
May 7
- The Russian composer Pyotr Ilich Tchaikovsky was born this day in 1840.
- The Theatre Royal, opened in London this day in 1663.
- Tagore: Rabindranath Thakur, born this day in 1861, was a Bengali Pandit who reshaped his region's literature and music. Author of Gitanjali and its "profoundly sensitive, fresh and beautiful verse", he became the first non-European to win the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1913.
May 9
- Europe Day.
- Carter: British archaeologist Howard Carter was born this day in 1874. Carter was an English archeologist and Egyptologist known for discovering the tomb of 14th-century BC pharaoh Tutankhamun.
- Sir James Barrie, dramatist and creator of Peter Pan, was born in 1860 this day in Kirriemuir, Angus, Scotland.
May 10
- Yukteswar: Sri Yukteswar Giri, the guru of Paramahansa Yogananda. Yukteshwar, born this day in 1865, was an educator, astronomer, yogi and a believer in the Bhagavad Gita. He was a disciple of Lahiri Mahasaya of Varanasi and a member of the Giri branch of the swami order.
May 11
- Salvador Dalí: Salvador Domingo Felipe Jacinto Dalí i Domènech, (1904-1989), known as Salvador Dalí was a prominent Spanish surrealist painter born this day in Figueres, Spain.
- On this day in 330, Constantine the Great dedicated Constantinople as the new capital of the Eastern Roman Empire.
- Feynman: Richard Phillips Feynman, born this day in 1918, was an American theoretical physicist known for his work in the path integral formulations of quantum mechanics and the theory of quantum electrodynamics, as well as in particle physics. For his contributions to the development of quantum electrodynamics, Feynman, jointly received the Nobel prize in physics in 1965.
May 12
- Jiddu Krishnamurti (May 12, 1895 – February 17, 1986) was an Indian speaker and writer on philosophical and spiritual subjects, and was widely considered as a World Teacher. His subject matter included: psychological revolution, the nature of mind, meditation and human relationships. He authored many books, among them The First and Last Freedom, The Only Revolution, and Krishnamurti’s Notebook.
May 13
- Three children - Lucia dos Santos and her cousins Francisco and Jacinta Marto reported seeing this day in 1917 the Virgin Mary near Fatima, Portugal.
- Shankar: Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, was born on 13 May 1956. He is also frequently referred to simply as "Sri Sri" or Gurudev. He is a spiritual leader and founder of the Art of Living Foundation (founded 1982), which aims to relieve individual stress, societal problems and violence. In 1997 he established a Geneva-based charity, the International Association for Human Values.
May 18
- Omar Khayyam: Ghiyāth al-Khayyām Nīshāpūrī, born this day in 1048, was a Persian polymath, philosopher, astronomer and poet. Born in Nishapur, at a young age he moved to Samarkand and obtained his education there. Afterwards he moved to Bukhara and became established as one of the major mathematicians and astronomers of the medieval period. He is the author of one of the most important treatises on algebra written before modern times, the Treatise on Demonstration of Problems of Algebra, He contributed to a calendar reform.
- Bertrand Russell: Bertrand Arthur William Russell, born this day in 1872, was a British philosopher, mathematician and historian. He is considered one of the founders of analytic philosophy along with his protégé Ludwig Wittgenstein. He is widely held to be one of the 20th century's premier logicians.
May 20
- International Bureau of Weights and Measures: Convention du Mètre, also known as the Treaty of the Metre, is an international treaty, signed in Paris on 20 May 1875 by representatives of seventeen nations which set up an institute for the purpose of coordinating international metrology and for coordinating the development of the metric system.
May 21
- Sakharov: Andrei Dmitrievich Sakharov, born this day in 1921, was a Russian nuclear physicist and human rights activist. Sakharov was an advocate of civil liberties and civil reforms in the Soviet Union. He was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1975.
May 22
- Arthur Conan Doyle: Sir Arthur Ignatius Conan Doyle, born this day in 1859, was a Scottish physician and writer, most noted for his stories about the detective Sherlock Holmes. He was a prolific writer whose other works include fantasy and science fiction stories, poetry and historical novels. Following the death of his wife Louisa in 1906, he found solace supporting spiritualism and its attempts to find proof of existence beyond the grave. He also was a member of the renowned supernatural organization The Ghost Club. Its focus, then and now, is on the scientific study of supernatural activities in order to prove the existence of supernatural phenomena.
- Rocard: Yves-André Rocard, born this day in 1903, was a French physicist who helped develop the atomic bomb for France. Later in his career he studied subjects ranging from semiconductors to seismology. Eventually his professional reputation became tarnished by his increased research in less conventional subjects such as biomagnetism and dowsing. He is the father of Michel Rocard, prime minister of France between 1988 and 1991.
- An earthquake measuring 9.5 on the moment magnitude scale, now known as the Greath Chilean Earthquake, hits southern Chile this day in 1960. It is the most powerful earthquake ever recorded. It occurred in the afternoon and its resulting tsunami affected southern Chile, Hawaii, Japan, the Philippines, eastern New Zealand, southeast Australia, and Alaska.
- Wagner: Wilhelm Richard Wagner, born this day in 1813, was a German composer, theatre director and conductor primarily known for his operas.
May 23
- Ashmole: Elias Ashmole, born this day in 1617, was a celebrated English antiquary, politician and officer of arms. A less known side of his character was his profound interest in astrology, alchemy and mystical lore. From his diaries we learn that was associated with various astrologers, kabalists, Rosicrucians and alchemists. Ashmole published anonymously his works Theatrum Chemicum Britannicum and The Way to Bliss.
- Mesmer: Friedrich Anton Mesmer, born this day in 1734, was a German physician with an interest in astronomy, who theorized that there was a natural energetic transference that occurred between all animated and inanimate objects that he called magnétisme animal and other spiritual forces often grouped together as mesmerism. Mesmerism is considered to be a form of vitalism that emphasizes the movement of life energy through distinct channels in the body.
May 28
- Amnesty International was founded in London on this day in 1961.
- A solar eclipse occurs, as predicted by Greek philosopher and scientist Thales, while Alyattes is battling Cyaxares in the Battle of the Eclipse, leading to a truce. The Battle took place at the river Halys on May 28, 585 BC between the Medes and the Lydians.
May 29
- John F. Kennedy, the 35th U.S. president, born this day in 1917.
- Edmund Hillary of New Zealand and Tenzing Norgay of Tibet surmounted Mount Everest, the highest mountain in the world on this day in 1953.
- Albéniz: Isaac Manuel Francisco Albéniz y Pascual was born on this day in 1860. Albeniz was a Spanish pianist and composer best known for his piano works based on folk music idioms. Many of his pieces such Asturias, Granada, Sevilla, Cordoba and the Tango in D, are amongst the most important pieces for classical guitar.
May 31
- Walt Whitman: Walter Walt Whitman was born this day in 1819 on Long Island, New York. Whitman was an American poet, essayist and journalist. A humanist, he was a part of the transition between transcendentalism and realism, incorporating both views in his works. His work was very controversial in its time, particularly his poetry collection Leaves of Grass.
1. The eternal Spirit is everywhere. It stands encompassing the whole world.
2. He who feeds the hungry before he has assuaged his own hunger, prepares for himself eternal food. He who renounces that food for the sake of a weaker brother is - a god.
3. The altar on which the sacrifice is offered is Man; the fuel is speech itself, the smoke the breath, the light the tongue, the coals the eye, the sparks the ear.
4. One moment in eternity is as important as another moment, for eternity changes not; neither is one part better than another part.
5. Better it would be that a man should eat a lump of flaming iron than that one should break his vows.
6. Even a good man sees evil days, as long as his good deeds have not ripened; but when they have ripened, then does the good man see happy days.
7. By oneself the evil is done, by oneself one suffers; by oneself the evil is left undone, by oneself one is purified.
8. Purity and impurity belong to oneself; no one can purify another.
9. Self is the lord of self: who else could be the lord! With self well subdued, a man finds a master such as few can find.
10. If one man conquers in battle a thousand times a thousand men, and if another conquer himself, he is the greater of the two conquerors.
11. Who is the great man? He who is strongest in patience; he who patiently endures injury, and maintains a blameless life — he is a man indeed!
12. If thou hast done evil deeds, or if thou wouldst do them, thou may arise and run wherever thou wilt, but thou canst not free thyself of thy suffering.
13. There is a road that leads to Wealth; there is another road that leads to Nirvana.
14. An evil deed does not turn on a sudden like curdling milk; it is like fire smoldering in the ashes, which burns the fool.
15. An evil deed kills not instantly, as does a sword, but it follows the evil-doer into his next and still next rebirth.
16. The calumniator is like one who flings dirt at another when the wind is contrary, the dirt does but return on him who threw it.
17. The virtuous man cannot be hurt, the misery that his enemy would inflict comes back on himself.
18. Nature is upheld by antagonism. Passions, resistance, danger, are educators. We acquire the strength we have overcome.
19. If a man understands the self saying "I am He," what could he wish or desire that he should pine after the body?
20. That word which all the Vedas record, which all penances proclaim, which men desire when they live as religious disciples, that word I tell thee briefly, it is OM.
21. As a person having seen one in a dream, recognizes him afterwards; so does one who has achieved proper concentration of mind perceive the Self.
22. It is better to do one's own duty, even though imperfectly, than to perform another's duty well.
23. The wise who knows the Self as bodiless within the bodies, as unchanging among changing things, as great and omnipresent, does never grieve.
24. The path of virtue lies in the renunciation of arrogance and pride.
25. He who wrongs another unjustly will regret it, though men may applaud him; but he who is wronged is safe from regret, though the world may blame him.
26. There is more courage in facing the world with undisguised truth, than in descending into a wild beast's den.
27. True clemency is in foregoing revenge, when it is in one's power; true patience is in bearing up against disappointments.
28. The happy man must prepare ere the evil day comes; and when it does, let the thought that every good and great man has been made to suffer at some time console him.
29. Wealth in the hands of one who thinks not of helping mankind with it, is sure to turn one day into dry leaves.
30. Like as the night follows the day, so misfortune is the shadow of joy; karma bestowing her lots with both hands.
31. The eagle catches not flies; but even the eagle is disturbed by them.
