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Friday, Dec 8 2023
SANKRANTI
Purpose:
There are three sacred festival nights for Bharatiyas:
Sankranti, Shivratri and Navratri. Each of these has
special significance. Sankranti enables man to turn
his vision towards the sublime. It is the day when the
apparent northward motion of the sun begins. (Uttarayana
Kaala). The day is considered auspicious for man to
embark on his journey towards the goal of a purposeful,
sacred and blissful life.
Sankranti promotes in one and all a feeling of happiness
and promotes mental transformation. It induces the unfoldment
of inner feelings. It brings about the manifestation
of the invisible atma within everyone. It influences
not only the mind, but also the powers of nature. When
the mind is turned towards the heart, and the heart
is filled with divine, the mind will cease to be a source
of trouble. When the senses are controlled, the mind
is under control. Only the master of mind can attain
Maadhava (the divine).
Story
relating to the festival:
According to the Hindu mythology Samja, one of the
wives of Sun who was unable to bear the effulgence of
Lord went into the forest to perform penance to obtain
sufficient strength to bear the effulgence leaving her
Chaya (shadow) in her place. In search of her, Sun God
left and on his way he found a beautiful mare and fell
in love with it. Changing his form as a horse he had
union with the mare, with the result they had two Aswins,
the God of death Yama and the holy river Yamuna. Chaya
too got a son and daughter and they named as Saturn
(Sani) and Tapti (the river) respectively. After some
time Samja again left for penance leaving her children
to the care of Chaya. Till children were born to her
Chaya looked after Yama and Yamuna with great care and
then began to show her stepmother treatment. Yama unable
to bear the partiality kicked her with his foot. Unable
to bear the humiliation, Chaya cursed Yama saying that
the foot, which kicked her should become a mass of rotten
flesh infested with loathsome worms. Yama approached
his father and explained how he got the curse of his
stepmother. The Sun God to certain extent reduced the
effect of curse consequent, of which the worms fell
with bits of flesh instead of permanently infesting
the flesh and causing trouble. Yama is always found
to be impartial and exposed to the cause of justice
and, therefore, he won the name of "Dharma Raja".
He was appointed to reign over the realms of the dead.
Swami's message on Sankranti:
"Sankranti should be hailed as the harbinger
of unity and peace. This was the immemorial message
of the Vedas. 'Let us leave together in harmony and
strive together.'"
- Sri Sathya Sai Baba
"Kraanti (change) and Shaanti (peace) both reside
in the heart. You need not search for them in the outside
world. Discover them within you. This is your duty.
Serve your parents and society. Lead a godly life, dedicating
all your actions to God. Live in love."
- Sri Sathya Sai Baba
The
Sun appears cool
The day gets shortened
And is made pleasant by chill wind
On the fields lit by moonlight
The crows caw over the grain heaps
While the farmers sing in joy
Over the golden harvest
The flowers express their joy
By putting forth their petals
While in every home, filled with grain,
The people welcome the advent of Sankranthi
(Telugu Poem)
How is the Festival celebrated:
Sankranti is a holy day for many reasons. It was
the day on which Adi Shankara took Sanyasa (renounced
all worldly ties and donned the ochre robe). On this
day, it is the usual custom to offer to people a mixture
of jaggery and sesame (til). Jaggery is sweet and is
a symbol of love. Til also means Sneha (friendship).
Therefore the offer of jaggery and til mixture means
offering to people love and friendliness. Because Sankranti
was deemed the most important festival, it was the day
on which the newlywed bridegroom visited the bride's
home. It was the day on which many people called on
others as a mark of goodwill.
Jai Sai Ram
Bro Vishnu
Young Adult
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