Spiritual Import of Religious Festivals : Ch-1. Part-1.

1. Sun – The Eye of the World : - Makara Sankranti - ( January )
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Part-1.


In Sanskrit, Makara Sankranti means the time when the sun crosses the tropic of Capricorn.


The day is of special significance to all those leading a spiritual life and mention has been made of the commencement of this new period in such scriptures as the Upanishads and the Bhagavadgita.

The sun comes to the North, energising and invigorating all life wherever it is, and on whatever he sheds his light.

In esoteric parlance, in mystic terminology, the sun is regarded as the presiding deity over the self of man, while the moon is the presiding deity over the mind of man.

The self or the soul is different from the mind; the Atman and the Manas are differentiated by their metaphysical and psychological characteristics, respectively.

The self of man is presided over by the sun or Surya.

The sun is designated as Atmakaraka. "Surya atma jagatas tasthushascha," says the Veda.

The Rig Veda proclaims the spiritual presiding principle in the sun as the invigorator, energiser of the self of all created beings.

That is the meaning of the Vedic prayer mentioned above.

Of all the things that move and do not move, of all that is organic or inorganic, of everything in creation, the solar principle is the self, as it were, the pivot around which all individual energies revolve.

We live by the sun and die if the sun is not to be. Spiritually envisaged, esoterically conceived, the sun is not merely a huge orb of atomic energy as the physicists would tell us, but a radiant mass of life-giving vitality to everyone.

The sun is not merely a heating principle, like an electric heater or a fire-like burning mass, or a huge conflagration of fire, because these cannot give you that energy which the sun supplies to you.

I shall give a small analogy to give you an idea as to what the sun can contain and does contain.

Swami Krishnananda

To be continued  ....