RSS Utsav - Makar Sankranti

Certain Hindu festivals are associated with the annual cycle of seasons. Pongal in the South and Sankranti in the North are celebrated to mark the withdrawal of the southeast monsoons as well as the reaping of the harvest. Pongal festivities are spread over several days. Like Deepawali in the north, the advent of Pongal is associated with spring-cleaning and burning of junk, symbolizing the destruction of evil. Decorative designs or rangolis are traced on floors and on the day of the Pongal, the newly harvested rice is cooked in homes to acclaim the bounty of the gods.

UTTARAAYANA PUNYA-KAALA - This holy day marks the commencement of the Sun's northern course in the Heavens - the Uttaraayana patha. This turn in the Sun's course takes place at the point of time when it enters the sign of Makara or Capricorn. From this day the day-duration increases and the night decreases. It is the harbinger of more light and sunshine in life and lessening of its darker aspects. This happy occasion is termed as Pongal in Tamilnadu and as Khichadi in northern Bharat - both of them being names of sweet delicacies specially prepared on that day! Light symbolizes the warmth, i.e., the love and affection, the quality of the heart.

In many areas of Bharat, this is symbolized by the distribution of til-gul - the til seed and jaggery. The til brimming with fragrant and delicious oil, stands for friendship and comradeship and jaggery for the sweetness of speech and behavior. The distribution of til-gul, therefore, forms a touching aspects of the Makara Sankramana celebration.

On the social plane, the Sankraanti carries a vital significance for national welfare. It is the warmth of love and fellow-feeling among the people of a country that ultimately makes them stand up in unison in adversity or in prosperity. It is the necessary lubricant to make the nation's machine work smoothly without friction. Even the great precepts of `liberty' and `equality' lose their meaning without the basic requisite of `fraternity' among the people. Fraternity alone will ensure a spirit of selfless service and sacrifice in the cause of fellow countrymen. Selfishness - the ultimate destructor of the social fabric - is cured and social consciousness generated where a spirit of fraternity is alive.

Sankraanti, signifying light, also gives the message of intellectual illumination. It is the capacity to discriminate between the right and the wrong, the just and the unjust, truth and falsehood, virtue and vice. It is this discriminative wisdom - Viveka - which leads the individual on the path of human evolution and human happiness. Mere dry reasoning power devoid of this insight will be like the charging of a wild horse without the stirrup and the rider. The present-day galloping race of science and technology is indeed turning the modern civilization into such a `wild horse'. The looming and growing catastrophic consequences of air, water and soil pollutions are a few instances of how far our modern intellect has strayed away from the true path of intellectual enlightenment.

Mahabhaarata defines pursuit of truth and real knowledge as that which leads to the welfare of all living beings - Yad bhootahitamatyantam tat satyamiti dhaaranaa. It is this supreme light and intelligence coupled with the warmth of the heart alone that can ultimately lead to all-round human harmony and happiness. The break of dawn heralding light also signifies the awakening of man from sleep. A day of physical, mental and intellectual activity ensues. It rouses the faculties of endeavour and diligent pursuit of one's duties in life. Sloth, indolence and sluggishness are shaken off giving place to vigor, vitality and manly efforts.

The Hindu philosophy has eulogized human endeavour as a supreme value without which nothing worth while can be achieved in life.
Says a Subhaashita:

Udyamam saahasam dhairyam buddhisshaktih paraakramaha |

Shadete yatra vartante tatra devaassahaayakrit ||

The Gods will help those who display the six attributes of endeavour, daring, fortitude, wisdom, strength and valour.

The very last shloka of Bhagavad Gita also highlights the supreme necessity of the human efforts in every field of human attainment:

Yatra yogeshwarah Krishno yatra Paartho dhanurdharah |

Tatra shreervijayo bhootirdhruvaa neetirmatirmama ||

Where Lord Krishna the master of yoga is, and Arjuna, great among archers, there, surely enough, is wealth, victory and glory.

Makara Sankramana gives the call for the awakening of all these latent powers in man not only for the flowering of his individual personality to its fullest unfoldment but also for the well-being and glory of society as a whole. It is for this holy day that Bhishma, after laying down his arms in the Mahaabhaarata war and lying on a bed of arrows, waited to give up his body. For, as the tradition goes, a person dying on this day reaches the Abode of Light and Eternal Bliss.

The biggest Mela - religious fair - on the face of the earth is held once in twelve years of Prayaag, the holy confluence of Ganga, Yamuna and the invisible Saraswati. The Kumbha Mela which is now-a- days drawing nearly one crore of devotees - drawn from all castes and creeds, sects and languages and provinces, saints and commoners - is the most inspiring testimony to the intrinsic cultural unity of the Hindu world.

It was in the Kumbha Mela of 1966 that the all-world organization of Hindus, Vishwa Hindu Parishad, held its first momentous World Hindu Meet. The Jagadgurus and Dharmaachaaryas, the Mathadhipatis and the scholars of all sects and creeds present there resolved to do away with the perversions which had entered into the Hindu society and to give it a new and dynamic thrust so as to make it capable of facing the many old and new challenges.

The birth of Swami Vivekananda on the Sankramana day is an inspiring indication of the passing of the long night of self-oblivion and birth of an effulgent era of resurgent Hinduism. Synchronising of one of their greatest festivals with an extremely meaningful and regular phenomenon of nature speaks of an innate quality of Hindus. They look upon themselves as children of Mother Nature and strive to sip her milk of bounty in all fields, and seek to unfold all the qualities of their body, the head and the heart. In short, Makara Sankramana embodies the ardent prayer of every Hindu heart -
Asato maa sadgamaya

Tamaso maa jyotirgamaya

Mrityoormaa amritam gamaya

Lead me, O Lord, from untruth to Truth from darkness to Light and from death to Immortality

The Harvest Festival - The Makar Sankranti festival is also known and referred to as the harvest festival because this is the time when harvesting is complete and there are big celebrations. This is the day we acknowledge all those who assisted in making the harvest. The farm animals play a huge role in harvesting, so the following day is for them and is called Mattu Pongal. The first day is for the earth, the second is for us and the third is for the animals and livestock. See, they are placed a little higher than us because we exist because of them, they do not exist because of us. If we were not here, they would all be free and happy. But if they were not here, we couldn’t live.

These festivals are a reminder that we need to craft our present and our future in a conscious manner. Right now, we have harvested the previous year’s crop. How to create the next one is being consciously planned by taking the animals also into a consultative process.

Cosmic Connect - Makar Sankranti is a festival for harvest. But there are celestial and spiritual connotations to it as well. It arose from certain yogic practices that common people took up in ways that were relevant to them. This time is most important for yogis to make a new, fresh effort in their spiritual process. Accordingly, people who have family also make a fresh attempt in whatever they do in their lives.

Many aspects of the yogic system were evolved and developed based on the connection between

the celestial system and the human system, in order to make use of the changes in position that

happen in an incremental way, from moment to moment, minute to minute, hour to hour, day to

day.

So Makar Sankranti is a festival to recognize the movement, movement being celebration, movement being life, movement being the process of life and the beginning and the end of life. At the same time, the word ‘shankara’ is used to remind you that the one behind this, Shiva, is a still one; stillness is the basis of movement. Though all the other planets are moving, the most important one is not moving. If the sun also takes a walk, then we are in trouble. He hangs there not moving. That is why everybody else’s movement is okay. But his stillness is relative because the whole solar system may be moving; the whole galaxy may be moving. So beyond that, the space which holds all this is absolute stillness.

Religious Significance:

1. The Puranas say that on this day Sun visits the house of his son Shani, who is the swami of Makar Rashi. These father & son do not ordinarily get along nicely, but inspite of any difference between each other Lord Sun makes it a point to meet each other on this day. Father in fact himself comes to his son’s house, for a month. This day symbolized the importance of special relationship of father & son. It is the son who has the responsibility to carry forward his fathers dream and the continuity of the family.

2. From Uttarayana starts the ‘day’ of Devatas, while dakshinayana is said to be the ‘night’ of devatas, so most of the auspicious things are done during this time. Uttarayana is also called as Devayana, and the next half is called Pitrayana.

3. It was on this day when Lord Vishnu ended the ever increasing terrorism of the Asuras by finishing them off and burying their heads under the Mandar Parvat. So this occasion also represents the end of negativities and beginning of an era of righteous living.

4. The great savior of his ancestors, Maharaj Bhagirath, did great Tapasya to bring Gangaji down on the earth for the redemption of 60,000 sons of Maharaj Sagar, who were burnt to ashes at the Kapil Muni Ashram, near the present day Ganga Sagar. It was on this day that Bhagirath finally did tarpan with the Ganges water for his unfortunate ancestors and thereby liberated them from the curse. After visiting the Patala for the redemption of the curse of Bhagirath’s ancestors Gangaji finally merged in the Sagar. Even today a very big Ganga Sagar Mela is organized every year on this day at the confluence of River Ganges and the Bay of Bengal. Lakhs take dip in the water and do tarpan for their ancestors.

We salute such a great devotee & benefactor of his ancestors. One who can express such gratitude to his ancestors, work with tireless resolve to redeem the pride, pledges & resolves of his

forefathers, alone possess a personality, which the history reveals to be a true benefactor of the world too. A person who has severed his own roots gets soon rooted out in the flow of time. Moral of the story is to see to it that the roots of the tree of ‘our’ life are not only intact but nourished well, thereafter alone the tree blooms & flourishes.

There is another spiritually symbolic aspect of this story. The 60,000 cursed son of Maharaj Sagar represent our thoughts, who become dull & dead-like because of uncultured & blind ambition. Redemption of such people is only by the waters of Gangaji, brought down ‘to’ & later ‘from’ the Himalayas with great tapasya. This represents dedicated hard work to get the redeeming Brahma- Vidya, which alone enlightens, enthuses & enlivens the life of anyone.

5. Another well-known reference of this day came when the great grandsire of Mahabharata fame, Bhishma, declared his intent to leave his mortal coil on this day. He had the boon of Ichha-Mrityu from his father, so he kept lying on the bed of arrows till this day and then left his mortal coil on Makar Sankranti day. It is believed that the person, who dies during the period of Uttarayana, becomes free from transmigration. So this day was seen as a sure-shot Good Luck day to start your journey or endeavors to the higher realms beyond.

Culture & Festivities:

This festival is celebrated differently in different parts of the country.

Uttar Pradesh: In Uttar Pradesh, Sankrant is called ‘Khichiri’. Taking a dip in the holy rivers on this day is regarded as most auspicious. A big one-month long ‘Magha-Mela’ fair begins at Prayag (Allahabad) on this occasion. Apart from Triveni, ritual bathing also takes place at many places like Haridvar and Garh Mukteshwar in Uttar Pradesh, and Patna in Bihar.

Bengal:In Bengal every year a very big Mela is held at Ganga Sagar where the river Ganga is believed to have dived into the nether region and vivified the ashes of the sixty thousand ancestors of King Bhagirath. This mela is attended by a large number of pilgrims from all over the country.

Tamil Nadu: In Tamil Nadu Sankrant is known by the name of ‘Pongal’, which takes its name from the surging of rice boiled in a pot of milk, and this festival has more significance than even Diwali. It is very popular particularly amongst farmers. Rice and pulses cooked together in ghee and milk is offered to the family deity after the ritual worship. In essence in the South this Sankrant is a ‘Puja’ (worship) for the Sun God.

Andhra Pradesh: In Andhra Pradesh, it is celebrated as a three-day harvest festival Pongal. It is a big event for the people of Andhra Pradesh. The Telugus like to call it 'Pedda Panduga' meaning big festival. The whole event lasts for four days, the first day Bhogi, the second day Sankranti, the third day Kanuma and the fourth day, Mukkanuma.

Maharashtra: In Maharashtra on the Sankranti day people exchange multi-colored tilguds made from til (sesame seeds) and sugar and til-laddus made from til and jaggery. Til-polis are offered for lunch. While exchanging tilguls as tokens of goodwill people greet each other saying – ‘til-gul ghya, god god bola’ meaning ‘accept these tilguls and speak sweet words’. The under-lying thought in the exchange of tilguls is to forget the past ill-feelings and hostilities and resolve to speak sweetly and remain friends.

This is a special day for the women in Maharashtra when married women are invited for a get- together called ‘Haldi-Kumkum’ and given gifts of any utensil, which the woman of the house purchases on that day.

Gujarat: - In Gujarat Sankrant is observed more or less in the same manner as in Maharashtra but with a difference that in Gujarat there is a custom of giving gifts to relatives. The elders in the family give gifts to the younger members of the family. The Gujarati Pundits on this auspicious day grant scholarships to students for higher studies in astrology and philosophy. This festival thus helps the maintenance of social relationships within the family, caste and community.

Kite flying has been associated with this festival in a big way. It has become an internationally well- known event.

Punjab: In Punjab where December and January are the coldest months of the year, huge bonfires are lit on the eve of Sankrant and which is celebrated as "LOHARI". Sweets, sugarcane and rice are thrown in the bonfires, around which friends and relatives gather together. The following day, which is Sankrant, is celebrated as MAGHI. The Punjabi's dance their famous Bhangra dance till they get exhausted. Then they sit down and eat the sumptuous food that is specially prepared for the occasion.

Kerala: The 40 days anushthana by the devotees of Ayyappa ends on this day in Sabarimala with a big festival.

Bundelkhand: In Bundelkhand and Madhya Pradesh this festival of Sankrant is known by the name ‘Sakarat’ and is celebrated with great pomp & merriment accompanied by lot of sweets.

Tribals of Orissa: Many tribals in our country start their New Year from the day of Sankrant by lighting bonfires, dancing and eating their particular dishes sitting together. The Bhuya tribals of Orissa have their Maghyatra in which small home-made articles are put for sale.

Assam:In Assam, the festival is celebrated as Bhogali Bihu.

Coastal Region: In the coastal regions, it is a harvest festival dedicated to Indra.