Today is Makar Sankranti, the festival that marks the day when the sun begins its northward journey and enters the sign of Makar (the Capricorn) from the Tropic of Cancer. In other words, the sun moves from Dakshinayana (south) to Uttarayana (north). (For more details and significance of the festival click on the title)
This festival, unlike other Hindu festivals, is not dependent on the position of the moon, but on position of the sun. On this day, the sun enters the zodiac sign of Capricorn. To compensate for the difference that occurs due to the revolution around the sun, every eighty years the day of sankrant is postponed by one day. That is the reason it is on 15th this year instead of usual 14th.
The importance of the day was noted even by the Aryans who celebrated the auspicious day as a festival. Also, an episode from the great epic Mahabharata shows that people in early times marked the day as auspicious. Warrior-hero Bhishma Pitamah even after being wounded in the Mahabharata war lingered on till Uttarayan set in. Death on this day is set to bring Moksha or salvation for the deceased.
Makar Sankranti is one of the most auspicious occasions for the Hindus, and is celebrated in almost all parts of India in myriad cultural forms, with great devotion, fervour & gaiety. It is a harvest festival.
To Hindus, the Sun stands for knowledge, spiritual light and wisdom. Makar Sankranti signifies that we should turn away from the darkness of delusion in which we live, and begin to enjoy a new life with bright light within us to shine brighter and brighter. We should gradually begin to grow in purity, wisdom, and knowledge, even as the Sun does from the Day of Makar Sankranti.
On this day of 'Festival of Transit' I have come up with some issues that need immediate attention and corrective transition, so as to say.
1. The ever-growing disparity in forms of ‘have too much’ and ‘don’t have enough’ has surpassed all boundaries while poisoning the social and cultural health of the society.
2. While being a global village through advanced technologies and fastest communication systems, world is witnessing the biggest outburst of racial discrimination cutting through the humanity deeply.
3. An honest belief and strong faith is scarce but pitiful helplessness and alarming uncertainty is in abundance providing opportunity for phony devotees and begging prayers.
4. The contaminated social scenario has paved path for the criminal activities being almost routine and our minds are developing insensitive to accept this as a matter-of-fact.
5. We can have 500+ people in our network but that never extends beyond a formality, why, we don’t even know 100s of them personally.
6. We have Twitter, Face book, Blogger and SMS that ends with ‘Take Care’, how many times we really mean it and do something in that accord…?!?
7. Globalization has taught and favored individualism and supported freedom of being, freedom of expression, but what about it never helped rising the thought process or social awareness of an individual in turn. On the contrary it only facilitated making every human more and more self-centered and narcissistic.
8. Women liberation and empowerment of women has definitely helped widening her potential horizon but it made her more insecure on other hand.
9. Of all the ages, Child-psychology has gained highest importance ever, so has the increased rate of child-death, child-abuse and child-labor.
10. Finally, while running like a donkey in the rat-race for making money, enjoying all the worldly possessions bought with all the money ‘would be’ earned from all the sources, thinking and expressing profoundly on the global and local issues among friends and on national television, calculating the amount to be raised for happy retirement in view of the exorbitant inflation rate, taking either alcohol or a sleeping pill for tranquilizer, when would we get time to think ‘where are we heading’ and ‘what happened to that little boy/girl inside with glittering eyes and innocent smile’…!?!
I can realize, it is quite a long post but I won't find such an apt occasion for this kind of dialogue. I believe you will understand my urge as always and start your Sankraman – the change…!
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