Celebrating Makar Sankaranti…Y?

Makar-sankranti is the day when the chariot of the Sun-god enters the Makar-rashi (one of the zodiacs). The process of entering a new sign of zodiac occurs every month, but since the Sun enters the makar-rashi in this month, thus a distinguishing meritorious period is generated.  During this span, the sattvaguna (quality of goodness) is specially enhanced and the elements increasing the resistance towards diseases are acquired.

Sun for the Hindus stands for Pratyaksha-Brahman - the manifest God, who symbolizes, the one, non-dual, self-effulgent, glorious divinity blessing one & all tirelessly. Sun is the one who transcends time and also the one who rotates the proverbial Wheel of Time. The famous Gayatri Mantra, which is chanted everyday by every faithful Hindu, is directed to Sun God to bless them with intelligence & wisdom. Sun not only represents God but also stands for an embodiment of knowledge & wisdom. Lord Krishna reveals in Gita that this manifested divinity was his first disciple, and we all know it to be indeed a worthy one too.  This whole month is considered a festival month. (The vow of bathing in the Ganges during this Magh month) On the other days, the merit of bathing in the Ganges is obtained only when we actually take a dip in it, but during the Magh month, the effect of Sun-rays is such that the waters of all the water-reservoirs on earth are considered as pure and beneficial as Gangajal.

Religious Significance:

·        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.

·        There is another spiritually symbolic aspect of this story. The 60,000 cursed son of Maharaj Sagar represent our thoughts, which 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.

·        Also, this is the day when the great grand sire 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. 

Health Significance:

 

Food items made of Til and Jaggery are eaten and donated. According to Ayurveda, having Til on Makar Sankranti, prevent from arthritis disorders. If Til and jaggery is not taken today, then you may have cough in spring season and arthritis may affect you fast during rainy season. A special category which cannot afford these items, get them as donation. By this, they are also able to eat them.

Concentrating minds in God on the day of Makar Sankranti is the thing which gives this festival a spiritual base. With this resolution, a person moves forward in life with the thinking of God and gaining knowledge about God. In search of ultimate peace and happiness, a person has to wonder in many lifetimes. Makar sankranti is the most auspicious day for taking such a resolution.

Wishing all a healthy and prosperous New year & Uttaryana

Dr saurabh