Though we see nature all around us, we feel nature inside us. The beauty, power, charm, harmony, subtlety, variety, intensity and immensity of nature that we love, admire and wonder at, is at once a projection and reflection of our own inner universe. All that we see without, we have and we are within.

Of all the phenomena of Nature, none is more mysterious, alluring, captivating and enthralling than the moon. Like the moon, we too cycle through phases of waxing and waning revelation; like the moon, we too have a brighter and a darker side; like the moon, we too are detached from the earth, yet captive to its orbit; like the moon, which is reliant entirely on the light of the sun for the revelation of its beauty, we too rely utterly on the light of our own soul for our very consciousness.

Sri Chinmoy urges us to meditate on both the outer and the inner moon:

“When you meditate on the full moon, feel that your consciousness is fully blossomed inside you. The lotus has many petals. So think of a lotus fully blossomed inside you. You can appreciate the beauty of the fully-blossomed lotus. When you meditate on the new moon, at that time you have to feel that one petal has opened, and there are many more petals to be blossomed. Here again you get joy because when one petal of a flower is blossomed, you have the hope that tomorrow another petal will open, and the day after tomorrow, another. In that way you will see the gradual progress. Once you see some progress, you feel it will soon be complete. The full moon gives you joy from completion, and the new moon gives you joy from seeing gradual progress.”
– Sri Chinmoy