(Makar Sankranti)
Hindu festivals fall on different dates every year, but Makar Sankranti festival falls on the same date every year. It is a festival of nature, not observed on account of someone’s birth or death, or even someone’s incarnation. This festival is pertinent toseasonal changes occurring in nature and every act of nature affects the human mind and body.
The Sun-god embarks on his northward journey from this day. Sunny days get longer and dark nights become shorter. The intensity of cold will gradually decrease. It will neither be hot, nor cold; the spring season will arrive. If you lovingly and heartily remember the Sun-god and perform His Arati (i.e. reverentially wave a lamp before the Sun), joy and bliss will surge in your heart. The joys of spring will undoubtedly arrive, and also, at the same time, you will experience the joy of your inner self, Supreme Self too.
A Highly Auspicious Day
Makar Sankranti or Uttarayana is a very auspicious day that imbues one with Sattva (and increases the Sattvic qualities of calmness, goodness and purity). Also, after Makar Sankranti, most of the shubha Muhurtas (an auspicious time for starting a venture) are selected. As per the Puranas, the gods wake up on these days. Six human months are equal to one celestial Ayan (Uttarayana or Dakshinayana). Uttarayana is the day of the gods and Dakshinayana is their night. From this day the Gods start moving with their astral bodies on the earth plane to receive Yajna (oblations), Havan (fire sacrifices), Naivedya (food offered in worship), prayers etc.
Make the most out of Makar Sankranti
One, who wakes up before sunrise on this day and takes bath with the water containing sesame seeds, gets the merits of donating ten thousand cows. Also, meditation on the Sun-god (mentally with the eyes closed) and praying to Him for a long and healthy life on this day is highly effective.
Bathing with Til-Ubatan, an unguent made of sesame seeds or with one made by mixing sesame seeds or barley flour with cow urine or cow dung, and eating sesame seeds, is considered to be beneficial and meritorious. On this day, one should offer Arghya to the Sun-god with water mixed with sesame seeds. Also make use of sesame seeds in drinking water and fire sacrifices. Donation of sesame seeds on Sankranti destroys one’s sins, the use of sesame seeds in food gives sound health, and the fire sacrifice performed with the offering of sesame seeds is meritorious. Also, drinking water mixed with some sesame seeds is good for health. However, it is prohibited to eat sesame seeds and foods containing sesame seeds at night.
Heliotherapy
Only with the grace of the sun and the moon all medicines used by harmless therapies get curative power. A sun-bath destroys many ailments. Cover your head and lay-down in the soft sun rays. Taking a sun-bath while lying-down is highly beneficial. Your entire body should get direct exposure to sunlight so that the imbalance of Vata, Pitta and Kapha, caused by the deficiency of whichever colour in the body, gets replenished. Taking a glass of lukewarm water prior to taking a sun-bath and bathing with cold water after taking a sun-bath will be more beneficial. Sun-rays have an exceptional immunising power. No doctor or remedy in the world can give as much spiritual health and firmness of intellect as bestowed by the radiance and energy present in the soft rays of the rising sun.
Sun-bathing is fine as an external means of keeping our body healthy, but in order to have sound mind and intellect, repetition of the divine Name (Japa) is required.
The message of Uttarayana
The way the Sun-God dries up water from oceans, rivers, drains, mud and other moist places, yet remains unaffected by the salinity of the ocean and the dirtiness of drains etc.; additionally, by being the cause of cloud-formation (through vaporisation) and the source of vigour and vitality for the entire world and its beings, remains engaged in benevolent acts; similarly, you too should pick up virtues from wherever possible and remain engaged in charity without being affected by anyone’s vices. Thus, you should set your goal high and repeat it every day. Then, even Mother Nature and God will help and inspire you in every single step that you take.
Take a vow to remain firm in your goal and repeat it aloud in seclusion; for example – ‘O Yakshas, Gandharvas, Kinnaras (demigods) and others; all listen to me! Today onwards, I won’t do anything that would hurt the feelings of my Gurudeva or God.’ This will increase your will-power. That’s it, everything else is automatically taken care by the protective grace of the Guru and God; thereby elevating you. Even illiterates become adorable with the grace of Guru.
