Submit Your Glimpses of the New Year's Day Sunrise

Dear reader,

The dawn of the new year—with all its hopes and dreams and prayers—is approaching. One way we can acknowledge and honor this occasion is by posting photos of the New Year’s Day sunrise on the Siddha Yoga path website.

The word dawn is both a noun, meaning “daybreak” or “beginning,” and a verb, meaning “begin, become apparent, start to exist.” This means that dawn is something we can both observe and participate in.

The inspiration for the “Glimpses of the New Year’s Sunrise” came on the first day of January 2013. That morning in Shree Muktananda Ashram, Gurumayi Chidvilasananda described to participants in the Sweet Surprise satsang how she had gone outside to view the year’s first sunrise and found the sky covered by thick clouds. Seeing this, Gurumayi envisioned the many members of the global Siddha Yoga sangham sharing their photos of the dawning of the new year, as they had seen it, for all to enjoy

Thus, that year—and every year since—Siddha Yogis from around the globe have joyfully responded to this now annual invitation, sharing their images of the sunrise that heralds the New Year. Their photographs depict the light of the year’s first dawn from New Zealand westward, all the way around the Earth, to Hawaii.

Continuing this wonderful tradition, I invite you to share with the Siddha Yoga sangham your view of the first moments of the sunrise—the dawn—in your location on New Year’s Day, Saturday, January 1, 2022.

Before you take your photos, please read the instructions listed below.

Information about Taking Your Sunrise Photographs

• If possible, include your surroundings in your photos, such as trees, mountains, and buildings. This will give the viewer a sense of where you are.
• When taking the photos, make sure the camera is as still as possible.
  • The best option is to use a tripod.
  • You can also place the camera on a flat surface.
  • Another option is to place your elbows on a flat surface to steady your hands.
• Reminder: When photographing the sunrise, please avoid prolonged viewing of the sun through the viewfinder of your camera, particularly when using a telephoto lens.

How to Send Your Photos to the Siddha Yoga Path Website

• You are welcome to share up to two photos of the sunrise.
• Please use a JPEG file format no larger than 2 MB in size for each photo.
• Make sure the photos are taken on Saturday, January 1, 2022.
• Please submit your photos as soon as possible, and no later than 7:00 a.m. on Saturday, January 8, 2022, eastern standard time.
• To submit your photos, click on the link below.

I look forward to joining all of you in welcoming the new year.

With warmest regards,

Sandeep Knoesel
Website Department Head
SYDA Foundation