Understanding of spirituality full of Indian feelings and emotions that is, the land of raga and taal full of emotions, India means the land of those who keep it, India means the land of sages engaged in the search of light in the form of knowledge, India means the land drenched in the knowledge of Vedas and Puranas, India means the land where every statement There should be an emotion or feeling behind every thought and every action. Multi-coloured diversity with such sentiments, rich cultural heritage and the world's oldest civilization full of spirituality are the characteristics of our country. If one considers it as a country with only geographical boundaries of 28 states and 8 union territories then it is wrong. This country is a country with a population of 140 crores, full of diverse cultural activities, which is known not only for the richness of its demography, history, culture, costumes and language but also for the uniqueness, strangeness and scientificity of its festivals. That's why it always attracts everyone's attention. The arrival of a new festival every few days, the reason and method of celebration of which is completely different, paints a rich picture of Indian culture. In this picture there is a mixture of religion, spirituality, science, nature, society, happy family, health etc.
Natural and scientific approach
Festivals are rituals of Indian tradition. The ways of celebrating them, their enthusiasm enhance the color of our country and enrich our culture! Along with special prayers, food and fasting, sometimes the sun is worshiped, sometimes the moon, sometimes the festival of colors and sometimes the glowing lamps. The way of celebrating all these festivals is different, the ingredients are different, the time and moment are different, the kind of food to be eaten or when to fast, everything is completely defined. But have you ever wondered how these festivals were decided, what role the planets and constellations play in it, what might have been the purpose behind celebrating them over the centuries? If someone says that these festivals are only a part of a religious event which is limited to some methods of worship, then surely his information is incomplete. Actually, our festivals are not only a part of religious rituals but they are full of both scientific and psychological facts. With the change in region and dialect, there is a slight difference in the way of celebrating these festivals and the beauty of which is also of a different kind, yet the similarity among them is that every festival brings with it family, Along with social, religious and spiritual viewpoint, it also has natural and scientific viewpoint. This mixed approach of festivals has given such a wonderful color to the thoughts and feelings of this country which astonishes the whole world.
Not a mere imagination
A country with a long series of festivals and festivals where every day of the year is defined for its own specialty and the definition is not just like that but is based on complete scientific facts and mathematical logic and which benefits not only India but the entire world. This is the specialty of India and Indian festivals. If credit for this is given to anyone, then the rightful person is none other than our sages and sages who have taken their meditation practice to such a high level that even today the light of their knowledge is guiding modern science and scientists. Space travel, geographical calculations, computers, mobiles, internet and artificial intelligence are all seen as important inventions of science. But think about the intelligence of those sage scientists who had the power to see the invisible just by meditating, which today requires so many scientific instruments to see. This power of his was not just a figment of his imagination because even science is repeating the same today. That is why there is a scientific study of Indian festivals and the reasons and methods of celebrating them.
Importance of understanding the five elements
The year 2024 has started and the calendars have changed. With the changed calendar and the beginning of 2024, the wait for festivals has also started. The number of these festivals is so much that if one wishes, one can keep celebrating some or the other festival every month, not just every week. The beauty of these festivals is that everyone's methods are completely different. That is why India is also called the land of festivals and the wonderful thing is that the message of every festival, though unique, ultimately remains the same and that is the end of inauspiciousness. Inauspicious may be in the form of physical or mental illness or may also be in the form of family and social discord. This could be not only in the form of inauspicious social hatred but also in the form of natural disaster. This is the reason that our ancestors, from North to South and from East to West, gave the trend of celebrating festivals in different months of every state and community. He woven the fabric of these festivals in such a way that today it remains an integral part of every Indian's life. Even if any member of the family is staying away from the family to earn a living or to study, he should come back to his family as soon as the festivals come starting from Makar Sankranti in January, ending with Vasant Panchami in February, Mahashivratri and colorful Holi in March, Raksha Bandhan, Janmashtami, Navratri, Vijay Dashami, Karva Chauth, Diwali, Bhai Dooj, Chhath Puja, many other festivals, songs, music and dances. The tradition of celebrating India with great pomp and show with fasts, fasting and religious rituals not only reflects the rich heritage and vibrant traditions of India but it also makes us realize the importance of the five elements that make up the body. That is why our sages always gave importance to nature while organizing festivals and made a provision for worshiping trees, plants, animals, birds, sun, moon, rivers etc. The festival that underlines the importance of nature is the festival of Makar Sankranti celebrated in the month of January.
Opportunity to connect with the divine
The country of India is located in the Northern Hemisphere, hence this festival has a very important place in the Indian culture which proclaims 'Tamso Ma Jyotirgamaya'. Although every festival surrounded by traditions and rituals gives some message in the interest of the society and the nation, but the message of the festival of Makar Sankranti is something special which not only provides an opportunity to understand the heritage of nature and its importance but also provides an opportunity to the scientific community. It also gives the message of focusing on the energy of nature on the basis of facts. Generally, all the dates of the Indian calendar system are determined based on the movement of the Moon, but Makar Sankranti is determined based on the movement of the Sun. Sankranti means change of Sun's zodiac sign i.e. transition or entry of Sun from one zodiac sign to the next zodiac sign i.e. Capricorn. Ancient astronomers and scientists, while studying the sun's rays, divided the sun's path into 12 parts and called each part a zodiac sign. Thus, the entry of Sun from one zodiac sign to another is called Sankranti. There are a total of 12 Sankrantis in a year and the time between one Sankranti and the next is called solar month. Makar Sankranti is also mentioned in Skanda Purana and according to it, on the day of Makar Sankranti, the gods come to earth to receive the food given in the yagya, hence it is also considered the time of gods and divinity. That is, Makar Sankranti also provides an opportunity to contact divinity, due to which it becomes of special importance for spiritual seekers.
Festival based on astronomical calculations
We know that the position of the planets and stars in the sky is always it does not remain the same and our Earth also always keeps changing its location. Due to the Earth's spherical shape and rotation on its axis, there is day and night. The part of the Earth that faces the Sun is day and the part that does not face the Sun is night. This motion of the Earth is called daily motion but the Earth also has an annual motion and it revolves around the Sun once in a year. Due to this annual movement of the Earth, different seasons occur at different times in its different parts, which is called seasonal change. The year and month etc. are calculated with the help of this annual movement of the Earth. In this sequence, when the movement of the Sun is from south to north, it is called Uttarayan and when it moves from north to south, it is called Dakshinayan. In this way the entire year is equally divided into two parts, Uttarayan and Dakshinayan. The period in which the Sun's orbit changes is called transition period. Since every year on 14 January the Sun changes its orbit from Dakshinayan to Uttarayan and enters Capricorn, hence Makar Sankranti is celebrated every year on 14 January. The change in the orbit of the Sun on the day of Makar Sankranti is considered to be a change from darkness to light. The importance of the Sun being in Uttarayan has also been explained by Lord Krishna in Chandogya Upanishad and the eighth chapter of Srimad Bhagavad Gita.
One festival Varoous forms
The festival of Makar Sankranti is celebrated all over India and its specialty and beauty is different in every state. The festival is one but the traditions of celebrating it are different. For this reason, this festival also presents a unique example of the unity and integrity inherent in the diversity of vast India. In Haryana and Punjab, it is celebrated a day before as Lohri, in which as soon as it gets dark, a fire is lit and sesame seeds, jaggery, rice and roasted gram are offered as offerings to Agnidev. In Rajasthan and Gujarat, there is a special tradition of flying kites on this day, whereas in Uttar Pradesh it is mainly known as the festival of bathing and charity. In the Gorakhnath temple of Gorakhpur in Uttar Pradesh, people gather early in the morning to offer Khichdi on this festival. In Bihar too, Makar Sankranti is known by the name Khichdi, whereas the people of Assam celebrate it by the name Magh-Bihu or Bhogali-Bihu. Similarly, the festival of Makar Sankranti is celebrated with great pomp in all the states from Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana to Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Kerala.
Science of health with bath donation
Like every year, this year too the festival of Makar Sankranti will come and go. As soon as the dawn dawns, thousands and lakhs of people across the country will take a dip in the rivers, temple bells will ring, donations will be made in the hope of virtue, khichdi will be prepared in the kitchen as food in the form of prasad, jaggery and chuda along with curd will spread their sweet taste and these Tilkut and Gajak market will be decorated with everyone and there will be kite flying along with it. How much of these characteristics are religion, spirituality and science, how many people would know. On one hand, in North India, due to the cold, people hide under quilts and on the other hand, there is a tradition of taking bath in the river early in the morning before sunrise. It may seem contradictory or strange to some people, but the science of health is hidden in this. Little do they know that when the amount of phlegm in the body increases in winter and the skin also becomes dry, then bathing in the river and the rays of the sun both work as great medicines. Not only this, bathing in the river not only calms the mind but also removes negative energy. Similarly, there is a special provision for consumption of sesame seeds during Makar Sankranti, which is known as a cough suppressant, tonic and highly effective medicine. According to Ayurveda, both sesame and jaggery have rich medicinal and nutritional properties. While sesame increases the amount of good cholesterol and reduces the risk of heart disease by reducing bad cholesterol, jaggery, being a good source of iron, is effective in increasing blood. Similarly, what other food can be more easily digestible and better from health point of view than Khichdi prepared on the day of Sankranti. According to Ayurveda, moong dal balances the tridoshas i.e. Vata, Pitta and Kapha and Khichdi made from it, being nutritious and easily digestible, helps in keeping the stomach healthy it is also extremely beneficial for. It is clear that Makar Sankranti is such a wonderful blend of astronomy and Ayurveda that it presents a wonderful picture of our rich heritage of knowledge. In order that the colors of this picture of cultural heritage, which includes different colors of many such festivals, should not get blurred, our ancestors have inherited them by associating them with worship and religious rituals. And now it is our responsibility to maintain the objectives of these festivals and our enthusiasm in celebrating them so that the next generations can also understand the messages of these festivals which will enhance the picture of Indian culture and may continue to prosper.
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