The COVID-19 pandemic became the ultimate stress test. It exposed fragilities and caused immense suffering, yet it also revealed humanity’s finest strength: cooperation. Vaccines were developed at unprecedented speed through scientific ingenuity and global collaboration—an achievement without historical parallel. IN the Bhāgavata Purāṇa, time is not described as a straight line rushing endlessly forward. It is portrayed as a cycle—of creation, preservation, dissolution, and renewal—governing the cosmos, nature, and human society alike. What rises must pause, what expands must correct itself, and what forgets must eventually remember. Civilisations, like living organisms, grow through such rhythms. The movement of stars and…
Author: Shailendra Srivastava
Shailendra Srivastava
Dr. Shailendra Srivastava, IPS 1986 MP (Retd.) Alumnus of Banaras Hindu University, Dr. Shailendra Srivastava is a former Director General of Police with over 35 years of distinguished public service in leadership, law enforcement, and governance. A scholar with interdisciplinary training—Ph.D., MCA, LL.B., and M.A. (Astrology – Acharya)—he brings a rare synthesis of administrative experience, legal insight, technological understanding, and Indian knowledge systems to his writing. His articles have been published in national and international platforms, and he is the author of the acclaimed non-fiction crime narrative Shackle the Storm (Rupa Publications). Dr. Srivastava is a practitioner of crisis communication and a committed scholar of Indian wisdom traditions, writing with clarity, evidence, and ethical urgency to bridge ancient insight with contemporary realities.
“Astrologically, the solstice places the Sun in Capricorn (Makara), ruled by Saturn. This is a sign not of display, but of discipline; not of brilliance, but of endurance. The Sun here is subdued, yet purposeful—preparing for resurgence” CHRISTMAS, celebrated as the birth of Jesus Christ, is often approached purely through theology. Yet, when viewed through the deeper lenses of astronomy, astrology, and comparative mythology, it reveals itself as a far older and universal human insight—one rooted in the Winter Solstice, the cosmic moment when light quietly begins its return. Astronomically, the Winter Solstice occurs around 21 December, when the Sun…