Makar Sankranti : A Festival With Astronomical Connect
The festival called “Makar Sankranti”, is actually a celebration of an important celestial event. It also heralds the arrival of new season in Northern Hemisphere.
People, belonging to Sanatan Hindu culture ( residing mainly in Indian Subcontinent and South East Asia) celebrate this celestial phenomena as festival.
Extent
India, is called land of festivals. Festivals connect different lingual and regional communities of a geographical area, like the wefts connect and tie the warp yarns in a fabric. Festivals act as important cohesive force for any nation, to strengthen the feeling of “we”, the feeling of solidarity among its citizens.
Known by different names – Magh Bihu (Assam), Lohri (Punjab), Maagh Saaji ( Himachal P.), Sakraat (Haryana), Pongal( Tamilnadu), Uttarayan(Gujarat and U.P.), Khichari(Bihar and U.P.), Maghe Sankranti (Nepal), Songkarn(Thailand), Mohan Songkarn(Combodia), – it is observed almost through out the Indian Subcontinent and S.E. Asia.
Time
Makar Sankranti marks the first day of Sun’s transit from saggitarius to Capricorn. Due to addition of one day in leap year, it is observed on 15 January, and on 14 January in all other years.
Makar Sankranti Underlines The Progress Made In Astronomy And Mathematics By Ancient Indian Scholars.
This festival appeals me a lot, because I often get surprised when I think how since the time immemorial the ancestors of Indian people knew with precision about the apparent shift in Sun’s position with respect to Earth, and various other complexities of celestial phenomena.
These people had no modern equipment, no supercomputers, no artificial satellites and no telecommunication system. Neither they had any transoceanic and intercontinental connectivity to get to experience the seasonal variation between Northern and Southern Hemisphere of our Globe.
Therefore, I, at this day feel proud and astonished about ancestors of Indian people’s supreme observation capability and their superhuman deductive capabilities. Were they really Super Human beings? What do you say?
The work done by ancient Indian scholars such as Varah Mihir, Brahmagupta, Aryabhatta, Bhaskaracharya and others substantially helped the development of astronomy, mathematical geography, and cartography. Classical Indian astronomers were conscious of Latitudes (Akshansa) and Longitudes ( Deshantara) in determination of a point or place on earth surface.
Transition of Sun on the day of Makar Sankranti Festival.
Recognition Of Vitality Of Nature.
Ancient scholars of India knew that vitality of nature is essential for the existence of life on this planet. To conserve the trees, shrubs, forests and rivers they gave them a sacred status. This is the essence of Sanatan Hindu Culture where conservation of nature is deeply embedded at religious level. Festival of Makar Sankranti is the symbol of this thought process.
On the Makar Sankranti day people take dip in holy rivers and offer sacred water of these rivers to Sun as thanks giving ceremony. Because the apparent movement of Sun with respect to inclined Earth, causes advent of spring season in northern hemisphere. This triggers increased photosynthesis, growth of new leaves on trees, and start of new cropping season. Increased agricultural activity gives employment and production of food grains.
Fun And Food.
On the other hand, this festival is also associated with variety of food and fun.
People decorate their gates and floors with Rangolis. Children and youth are crazy for flying the kites.
Laddoos made of Sesame and jaggery are eaten on this day. jaggery and sesame have good warm effect on body during winter. Dahi Chuda ( curd and flattened rice) is also eaten with jaggery, during day time with ‘cokha’ ( mashed roasted brinjals, mixed with chopped ginger, garlic, green chillies and onions) on side.
In dinner, people eat ‘khichri’ along with Chokha , pickles and Papad. Khichri is made by cooking rice with plenty of moong lentils. It has soupy consistency. Moong lentil , again is a superfood that naturally detoxifies our whole system. Khichari is a kind of comfort food , loved by a large population of South Asia. It is easy to cook and is a wholesome food, full of nutritional value. It is also first food for new born babies.
Makar Sankranti also brings an opportunity to the youths of new generation to get to know what are their traditional cuisine and dishes, which their ancestors cooked and consumed.
Conclusion
Really, this festival of Makar Sankranti is like recreating the past and rediscovering the proud moments for Indians and the world !
Villages are not always synonymous with poverty and inconvenience. They are rich and interesting in many ways. Just take a pause, stare at them and listen to the loudness of their serenity.
Village Life
Harmony with Nature.
Life in villages seems to be in no hurry. It takes its time and lives to its full. It remains in conformity with nature and environment.
Village life sets your body clock to resonate with the planetary schedules. Simplicity here, transcends into cosmological scale, where you find village people invariably stuck to ‘Early to Bed, Early to Rise’ kind of routine.
A farmer in steppes of East Europe has to rise at the crack of dawn to bring his cattle, poultry birds out of shelter. They have to feed and milk their animals at right time and have to move to their fields with their tools.
Similarly a farmer in Gangetic plains of India retires to bed around 8 P.M. and wakes up next morning well before sunrise. He has to clean the mangers of his cattle, put their feed in, and mop the cattle shed. Fresh cow dungs have to be removed to some other assigned place, where these either have to be converted in to cow dung cakes or have to be stored for getting them decomposed in to manures. Dried cow dungs cake are emergency cooking fuel for farmers, especially during rainy season.
Fishing villages in coastal areas have their day and nights guided by many factors related to oceanic environment. They need to know the dynamics of home water. They need to know the behaviour of fish they are targeting. They need to love being outside and love the nature.
Shepherds in mountains graze their herds for a few hours in the morning, then resting through the high heat of the noon, and then grazing for the few hours in the evening.
Thus every activity in village, is in absolute conjunction with the diurnal and nocturnal attributes of the environment. Man, birds, cattle, ants, insects, flowers, dew, all are time bound in their activity.
In cities man has interfered too much with nature. Children of metro cities have no experience how dark starry nights look like. Or, how calm and soothing it feels while lying on the roofs under moonlight and staring at the moon. Glow of bulbs and neon signs have disturbed the darkness regime of night sky and this has also confused the birds whose biological responses are sensitive to sky light.
Villages Are the Places, Where Life Values Were Born and Established.
Village Life
Based on local resources, geography and climate, people of villages have their different occupations. Weavers, shepherds, farmers, artisans all complement each other by their specialized services. These village based occupations have inspired many quotes which depict the values and essence of life.
Quotes related to Farmers:
“When tillage begins, other arts follow.”
“A farmer is a magician, who produces money from the mud.”
“Those too lazy to plough in right season, will have no food at the harvest.”
Quotes related to milkman:
“If not milked regularly, cow looses its milk.”
“I hear the rattle of milkman on the stair. Sure that is music,”
“Democracy means that if doorbells ring in the early morning, it is likely to be milkman.”
Quotes related to fisherman:
“Many men go fishing all their lives without knowing that it is not fish they are after.”
Quotes related to weaver:
“A good life is like weaving. Energy is created in tension. The struggle, the pull and the tug are everything.”
Quotes related to artisans:
“Every man is artisan of his own future.”
“There is something deeply satisfying in shaping something with your own hands.”
“Art is not a handicraft, it is the transmission of the feeling the artist has experienced.”
Quotes related to pottery:
“Expectations are like fine pottery. The harder you held them, the more likely they were to crack.”
“Time is clay; make something.”
“Clay is molded to make a vessel, but the utility of the vessel lies in the space where there is nothing.”
At villages, You Realise The Mother Son Relation Between Earth and Man.
Village Life
Spend a few days in a village, and realisation will dawn upon you that earth plays a role of mother for man. Earth provides cradle for the growth and development of man and civilization. German thinker E.C. Semple explains this relationship in beautiful words, “Man is product of earth’s surface… earth has mothered him, fed him, set him tasks, directed his thoughts, confronted him with difficulties that have strengthened his body and sharpened his wits.”
Thus villages are places where environment with all its odds and opportunities becomes very much visible and discernible. You can analyse here that the particular course of action taken by the man is in accordance with the hints whispered by the mother earth in to his ears!
Villages Tell You How Giving Away Is a Bliss.
Village Life
Village life is full of examples of cooperative, collective and sharing approach. Pleasure of giving away is many fold higher than the pleasure of owning.
Trees bear fruits, but they are available to all. cow’s udder is full of milk, but cow itself doesn’t consume it. Fields have food grains, but these are meant for feeding millions of people. Clouds carry water which is utilised by the earth. Village people grow with many such examples present in nature. And knowingly or unknowingly all these lessons get registered in their subconscious.
Gary Bebout of Knox county ( Ohio, USA ), describes the unwritten etiquette of the county when he says, “if someone is sick, the neighbours get together and do their crops for them.”
Village people of India, often share their first round of produce especially fruits, vegetables and even the cow milk ( after new calf is born ), with their neighbours.
Urban culture especially in developing countries, has lost its respect for nature. Modern man has blindly exploited the natural resources beyond their capacity to regenerate.
Village people not only try to live in harmony with nature, but they respect the nature. They feel the pain of mother earth. They leave their lands fallow to recuperate its fertility. They allocate lands for pastures. They use their forests and water resources within sustainable limits. Similarly a concerned fisherman attaches importance to selective harvesting, i.e. keeping only what they can eat, and release some of the better fish for future generation of fish and people.
The famous Hindi novelist Munshi Premchand writes, “Indian peasant is too nature fearing. He perceives failure of rains, occurrence of flood and droughts as punishment for any of his wrong doings.” Such ethical values in village life encourage them to adopt sustainable living approach.
It Is Villages, Where Festivals Were Born and Nurtured.
Popular festivals of any country have their origin in agricultural activities in villages and rural setting.
If you categorize at more deeper level, the festivals in India like Lohri, Makar Sankranti, Pongal, Vasant Panchami, Holi, Baisakhi these all are predominantly related to celebration of onset of particular agricultural season, advent of new crops and its successful harvesting etc.
Similarly, in Portugal, they have year round cultural activity and festivals which often revolve around food. These are festivals of bread, olive oil, garlic, cheese and wine. On these occasions groups perform traditional dance and songs. St. John festival at Porto, dates back to 14th century. This most popular food festival is observed to honour the Sun God and to celebrate the year’s good harvest.
So, when the nature showers foodgrains in the fields of farmers, or bring huge catches to the nets of fisherman at particular time of year, or when cheese and wine reach their perfect flavour and aroma, it is time to celebrate. The harvest brings immense pleasure and contentment to the hearts of the family members of these farmers, planters, fishermen, and dairy owners. They feel rewarded , blessed and exalted.
Celebrations at villages are not driven by the lust or luxury, but are driven by the exhilaration of hard work and diligence. Children here, also learn the lessons and traditions of their parental occupation. They realise that real happiness emanates from the harmony between man and nature. And it endures.
Village Life Keeps You Inspiring and Learning.
French thinker Elisee Reclus, had a sharp eye on deplorable aspect of materialistic culture of urban life. He, in extreme cases, viewed cities, “where all grace and poetry have disappeared from landscape, imagination dies out, the mind is impoverished, and a spirit of routine and servility takes possession of the soul.”
Village life on the other hand, is for many reasons preferable to the life of cities. Village life pushes you for many physical works. You need to learn taking care of your animals, your trees, your water bodies and land. Eventually you find many ideas, you never knew!
You will work with soil, will hear the melody of swaying plants, will hear the rustle of leaves, will understand the season’s role in raising crops. And eventually, you will begin to clearly understand the metamorphosis of all this work culture in to folk songs, festivals, tradition and culture of that region.
Villages Teach You Social Cohesion.
In village life you must have to respect and accept the culture of social cohesion. Here there is no place for lifestyle related diseases like loneliness, depression, blood pressure, sugar etc. Everyone is your family. You know every person in village. If you fall sick, every person in village will talk and ask about your health. Guest to a family becomes guest of entire village. This is very much true and noticeable in oriental world, which I belong to.
In villages of India, you will find a large verandah in the front portion of house which has enough sitting space for eight to ten people. This place is used for relaxing or for spending the leisure hours with neighbours and other people. A range of topics are discussed here related to day to day life, agriculture, market, politics, or references from some epic. Many old persons interact here with children by telling them stories in the early hours of night. This reminds of a sharp contrast with cities where they have a king size bathroom, symbolising privacy and preference for personal life, where as village people have king size verandahs symbolising importance of community life.
Finally…
In villages, you can not remain aloof. And this adds many dimensions to your personality. Here you learn creating, protecting, preserving, foreseeing, caring, sharing, intermingling. Village life is very practical and direct. Here only, you can catch the true glimpse of a region’s culture, unfiltered and in raw.
Primary rituals related to chhath Puja 2022 are currently in progress. Chhath puja is the grand festival of mass faith. It is a 4 days festival, and mainly concentrated in most populous states of Bihar, Eastern U.P. and Jharkhand. Thus a substantial portion of India’s population observes this festival with great fervour and reverence. This festival is acknowledgement of the love and blessing, the nature has bestowed upon the human civilisation. It requires purity, simplicity, inclusiveness, social cohesion, and community participation. It is a festival of Hindu religion.
Chhath Puja.
Goddess Chhathi Maiya.
Chhath festival is worship of God Sun (along with his wives Usha and Pratyusha) and Goddess Shashthi (popularly called ChhathiMaiya). Goddess Shashthi is the sixth of NavDurga.
Important Dates ( Year 2022).
28th October 2022: Kartik Shukla Chaturthi : Nahay – Khay.
29th October 2022: Kartik Shukla Panchmi : Kharna.
30th October 2022: Kartik Shukla Shashthi : Sandhya Arghya.
31st October 2022: Kartik Shukla Saptami : Usha Arghya.
Rituals.
Chhath Puja
On the first day of the Chhath Puja devotees take bath in nearby river, pond, or in any local waterbody. In many houses even the meal of the day is also prepared using river water or well water. The meal or ‘the prasad’ includes boiled rice, pulse (gram), and Bottle gourd vegetable.
The meal schedule of the first two days is specially designed to prepare the body to withstand the next 36 hours fasting. Choice of food grains and vegetable is also made very wisefully to help the digestive system getting adjusted impeccably to the requirements of long fasting durations.
Second day of the festival is called Kharna day. Again it is a day long fasting which comes to its end with intake of wheat chapattis, and kheer (Rice pudding), sweetened with jaggery.
On the third day, fasting remains continued, and it comes to its end with offering of milk and water to the rising sun of the 4th day.
Preparation of Prasadam (offerings.)
The prasad is prepared with great care for purity and in conformity to the tradition. For example, in place of mill sugar and sea salt, jaggery and rock salt are used to add sweet and salty flavour respectively. Firewood of mango tree is most desirable as cooking fuel, to be used in earthen stoves.
All kinds of new seasonal fruits, sugarcanes, and other herbs are also included in the prasad. Underlying sense behind including seasonal produce is that whatever new natural produce is available, will first be offered to Sun God as a gesture of thankfulness towards Him. Because without Sun, earth will go lifeless.
Days Go Hectic With Numerous Tasks.
Purity both internal and external is of utmost importance in the Chhath Puja. Wheat is cleaned, washed and dried in the Sun. Drying of wheat in the Sun is given full attention by every family member so as to prevent any of the birds peck at it.
Market Of Chhath Puja Articles.
Similarly there are many other cumbersome tasks which keep people busy all 4 days. Arranging firewood, purchasing earthen stoves, earthen wares, and earthen lamps (diyas) from potter, buying bamboo baskets (Daura and Suups) from artisan community, are all very time taking tasks.
People que up at flour mill shops for milling their wheat grains. Flour millers are also very much careful in maintaining cleanliness in their premises. People wash their vehicles to carry and transport the festival related materials.
Families co operate each other in cleaning the nearby river sides and constructing Ghats (flight of steps leading down to river) and decorating them to perform puja over there. This festival mobilizes massive peoples participation for mopping the streets and sprinkling water over pathways.
Devotional Songs: An Essential Part.
Chhath Puja.
And when the hard work is done with such devotion and dedication, with hope for wellbeing of family and society, it stirs emotions. And the vibes thus created, are manifested in the form of songs.
Chhath Puja festival has many folk songs associated with it . Devotees sway to the tunes and lyrics of these songs. Their individuality gets fused with the theme of the song.
These songs are related to day to day tale of the life of devotees, their hopes and desires, their gratitude, and wish for complete surrender in the feet of Goddess chhathi Maiya.
Songs mention the things and attributes of the rural life. Kaanch Baans (New Bamboos) , Bahangi ( primitive load carrying device), Suggas (Parrots), stalks of Banana, bunches of Coconut and Guavas , Aanhar Batohiya ( Ignorant wayfarer), emotions of departure when Sun sets, and emotions of waiting for the Sun to rise again, find mention in these songs.
Subject of Some Popular Songs.
The most popular song “kaanch Hi Baans Ke Bahangiya”, is about request of a lady devotee to her husband. She urges her husband to be Bahangi Bearer (kahaar), and carry the loads of offerings made for Chhathi maiya to the ghat at river side. She also calls her Dewar (Brother in Law) for help. She expresses disgust at the ignorance of the wayfarer (Anhar Batohiya), who doesn’t know that Bahangi is meant for Chhathi Maiya , who resides at the Ghat (River side).
Another song is ” Naariyal Je Farela Ghawad Se”. It is a story about how a defiant parrot is punished for pecking at the coconut, Guava and other fruits, which were to be offered to Chhathi Maiya. However, finally prayer is made to forgive and heal the defiant parrot to bring solace to its female parrot companion, who is wailing so inconsolably.
Song ” Kerwa Ke Paat Par Ugelan Surajmal” , is sung by veteran folk singer Sharda Sinha. The song in its various stanzas, puts forth the glimpses of rising Sun through the leaves of Banana , Guava and Coconut.
Here the lady devotee is being asked that for whom is she observing this fasting (vrat) ? The devotee answers, “like yours, me also have my son, and this fasting is meant for his wellbeing.”
In reply to another question, she says, ” like yours, me also have my husband, and this fasting is meant for him.”
When again asked, she replies this time, “like yours, I also have my daughter, and this fasting is meant for her wellbeing.”
Chhath puja lays stress in removing gender bias from society. Here along with sons , daughters are also considered equally important. One song is very famous for these lines: ” Runki Jhunki Betiya Mangila, Padhal Panditawa Damad, Hey ChhathiMaiya!” ( I urge you O! Mother Chhathi, to bless me with chirpy daughters and scholar son in law) .
So is the greatness of the Indian Hindu women, who keeps praying for the wellbeing of both families, her husband’s as well as that of her parents’.
Conclusion.
Chhath puja is a grand occasion of devotion and finding solace in complete surrender to the divinity.
It is the moment to express gratitude to the benevolence of nature that is too motherly. Sea of devotees gathered near river sides appears to find place in the vast embrace of mother nature.
With their folded hands and joined palms, with their moist eyes looking up to the Sun at the horizon, everyone longs for the blessings of Sun God and Goddess Shashthi (popularly called Chhathi), for the safety and prosperity of their progeny and expresses gratitude to the deities for their blessings.
June morning in Siliguri. A city in the foothills of Himalayas, in the Indian state of West Bengal. When the entire Northern Great Plains of India is swept by heat waves around this time, a cool wet climate hugs this place. And this is largely due to its location in Himalayan foothills combined with the maritime influence which it enjoys from the east. Like other cities, Streets in this city are also full of many life lessons to its connoisseurs.
The place belongs to my in-laws also, Where I was invited to attend a family function. Next morning I hurried to ATM to collect some cash for my return journey needs back home. Heading for the ATM point and then taking a return, was all going in very usual course, until an idea hit me to take notice of and record the life that was slowly and gently unfolding on this morning street. I was stunned to notice the volumes of life lessons and the extra ordinary secrets of life in its fold!
Lesson Of Cleanliness.
I felt like different departments of life getting ready to start this day afresh and with all promptness. Municipality truck and the cleaning staff had rolled their sleeves up for removing the garbage out of the city. And the lessons that were filtering out ranged from worldly context to the philosophical discourse!
Cleaning of external world is as important as cleaning of internal world.
While on one hand the scene cried loud that only by cleaning our streets, roads, city and villages, rivers and streams, forests and mountains, and oceans and sky, we can save this planet and can keep the life going on here.
Implicitly it leaves the message that we can prevent our relationships from being poisoned, by flushing out the mental garbage ( anger, arrogance, jealousy ) inside us. Regular inflow of pious thoughts of tolerance and forgiveness, courage and boldness, positivity and morality helps a lot in avoiding such situations.
Looking and realising the kind of work cleaning staff were doing, made me feel why our present Prime Minister suggests to hold these persons in high esteem. Though they are paid for their services, but it is a bitter truth that their service is priceless !
Lessons Of Coordination.
The trucks and night buses had arrived and the supplies to the city were being shifted to trolleys, and Rickshaws. From here these supplies will be sent to vegetable and fish markets as soon as possible so as to make them available in consumer’s kitchen fresh. This whole activity reminds how much efforts it takes to bring food in your plate. we should analyse them and realise that a proper system of coordination is necessary to achieve great community goals.
Coordinated Efforts Make The Life Easy.
Lessons About Value For Time.
Ice blocks on a mini truck reminds me of the fact that many things in life are time factored. Loss of time causes loss of utility. Thus time is the most valued thing in life. These ice slabs will certainly have to be utilised before they are melted in to water. And yes, on a lighter note, it has truly been said about life that, ” Life is like an ice cream. Enjoy it before it melts.” And to quote Harvey Mackay, ” Time is free but it is priceless. You can’t own it but you can use it.”
Like Ice, Life Is Also Time Factored.
Lessons About Self Care.
Morning time is also time of walking, exercising, and other personal care. Hair cutting salons in streets reminded that while giving a lot of your attention to external world, you should spend a bit on yourself also. Better care and grooming gives you an impressive look. Morning time is also time of taking breakfast and to give our metabolism its required. Street vendors sale variety of breakfast that suit to your taste and needs.
Self Care Is Important.
Lessons About Having Desire To Achieve.
As this writing is based purely on practical experience, this whole exercise comes as an opportunity to realise that you can get the things, if you really want them to have. Keep your eyes open. Opportunities have to be unveiled and acted upon.
Words have many things to notice about. Many great quotes on words have been made like, “Words can be forgiven but not forgotten”, and many more like this are worth noticing.
However the choice of words that is made during talks, speak volumes about the user’s regional, social, economic and educational conditions.
I have realised this correlation more often when I come across many such people, belonging to different regions and social strata.
Words Reflect your Present Times.
Covid pandemic has changed our lives in many ways. Knowingly, unknowingly many words associated with this pandemic has become part of our subconscious.
My niece was playing ‘Antyakshari’ ( a game of forming words that are linked end-wise by the same letter and is a very popular time-pass indoor game among the children of South Asia.), with her younger brothers and elders of the family.
Every participant has to speak a word which was to start with the last letter of the word, spoken previously by the another participant.
” ‘I’ for Isolation ward”, she replied back. I turned to her in surprise at such choice of word from her mouth! Soon realisation dawned upon me that how this Covid pandemic has added these medical terms in to common parlance. This word once again reminded me about how deep is the problem the whole humanity is into.
Another incident related to the choice of words by the children is, when I had been to one of my acquaintances where father of children was an officer in police. The children were playing thief-police game.
In this game, children on their respective turn, had to play the role of police officer, his driver, constable and thief.
I was not very far from their place of playing. Actually there was a splendid campus in which a thatched outhouse was built for the visitors to sit. I was just sitting in this outhouse and was flipping through the day’s newspaper.
one of the children who was playing the role of cop, spoke in stern loud voice, “bring out five hundred bucks and you will be spared.” And this was repeatedly being said to the child in role of thief, when my ears caught these words.
Surprised me, didn’t take time to figure out the source of such sentences in child’s mind. Thanks to the care taken of by the father police officer to his duty and his professional ethics! Child had well soaked the father’s legacy and the ambience he was into.
Words Indicate Past Times.
In India where we have colonial history, the legacy of English has touched every strata and hierarchy of society.
Presently and specially after year 1991, when India stepped in to era of economic reforms and got integrated with the world market, a good size of young population became skilled in English. Because, you couldn’t dispense with English if you are in search of job in private sector.
But there is also a lighter side to all this. A foreign language spreads by trickle down effect. And in this way, over the decades, many English words have permeated into the communication of people, who are living away from the big cities and Metros.
Such people being poorly informed about the proper pronunciation and usage of words, create strange situation. They just stuff the words in their sentences, force them to produce desired meaning by tone of their voice and by hand gestures. And interestingly, his audience gets it! Being proud of my fellow citizens, I appreciate this spirit of customization!😊
One such my friend was explaining an incident of fire, saying that the leather (he meant ‘skin’) of one family member was badly burnt.
Similarly, one Mr. X is an insurance agent. Whenever his insurance company launches a new policy, he has to find clients to purchase it. He explains his policy by saying, “Our company has lunched (he means ‘launched’) a new policy for…. .” He further continues, “…its silent (he meant ‘salient’) features include… .”
So this is how the use of words speak volumes about person’s personal, regional and historical background.
Since rural India is more or less a male dominated society, most of the government officials are male. And the popular word to address them is “Sir”. Gradually this word “Sir” found place even in the illiterate persons’ vocabulary. They used this word for the persons cutting across the gender.
One such reflection I found in the communication between my Mom and our house sweeper, who served us with great affinity till his last. He often nodded to my Mom’s suggestions by bowing his head in respect, and saying “Ji Sir” ( He meant “yes Ma’am.”).
Thus, to our rural folks, rules of language hardly matters! Words can not disobey them! Before them words are helpless and have to produce meaning what these people have commanded them to do! After all, all this is matter of heart and feelings! Perhaps “Mem Sahab” word used in rural North India is the metamorphosed form of the English word “Madam”. You see even “Madam” couldn’t deny to become “Mem Sahab”!😊
Often on the eve of new year we sink ourselves in the same repetitive practice of fireworks, pompous parties, hilarious dances and extending greetings. Of course these activities prove a break in our monotonous routine and infuse energy in us to stride in to next year.
How To Turn “Next Year” Into “New Year”.
The “next” may become “new” also, if the thing called “internal you” also becomes renewed. New is the year when the mindset also replaces its old attire with new. Unless you have a fresh mindset how can you think of new ideas.
My house has a good comfortable lawn in its front. It has an extensive strip of rose bed. Every year in the month of October pruning of its branches is done. This follows replacing exhausted layer of soil with manured soil. Result is luxurious blooming of big sized, deep pink hued thick petaled roses.
Harstudio
This analogy of renewed soil holds true in case of mindset also. Your mindset also needs to be renewed. This renewal means getting rid of your mental garbage – the garbage of bad old memories, the garbage of bitter experiences, the garbage of fear of failure, etc. Till the shadow of this garbage remains cast on your eyes, you can not have flawless vision to introspect immaculately.
If you want to visualise the life you are living, then just don’t let words interfere. Just visualise, and that too , heartily. Such visualisation will refine your sight. Secondly, live in the moment that is present and current.
Suppose you see a person , see him the way he is at present. If the person is one of your acquaintances , don’t bring the old memory related to him in your mind now. Just see him the way he is now and now. Nothing else. May be you will find in him a new individual.
To see newness in a person, you yourself need to get morphed into a new entity. It is quite an iridescent and interesting experience. By practicing this, you everyday will turn fresh. Thus blending your thought with the present and current, can make it possible for you to make this “next year” a really “new year” too.
Harstudio
So How To Connect With Present ?
Everyday for sometime give rest to your mind. It is like leaving an agricultural land fallow for sometime so as to recoup its fertility. No TV, no talk with anyone, no reading, only keep sitting with yourself. Just feel and observe the waves of your mind. Soon the waves will calm down and settle down. And you will feel cool, calm, and stable. This coolness will morph you in to a confident and strong person. This will help you feel your days and year, really new.
Positivity: A Life Mantra.
The havoc of Corona pandemic, which had started two years back is still showing no sign of slackening. ‘What does it mean having family and friends in life? ‘How valuable are our owns? ‘What a companion is? ‘Why there is need of life?’ ‘What is needful for life?’ All such fundamental questions were well answered by this pandemic itself. Actually seeing positive aspects of even a deadly pandemic is the kind of attitude we need to be equipped with. So what a better lesson than this would be for this next and new year!
Control Your Mind.
Every time You can not label a person or thing as good or bad. Many times your attitude towards that thing, object or relationship makes them good or bad. And you know it well that your attitude is determined by your mental setting.
Hence control over mind is a lesson of absolute importance, to be learnt and applied for sure, in this next and new year. Prejudiced mind is polluted mind. Its renewal and reboot will make you a fresh new person, who is conditioned enough to make his year – a truly new year!
The previous months that rolled by, witnessed the influx of epic festivals like Dussehra, Diwali and Chhath puja on the face of Indian Geography.
Among all these festivals Diwali is celebrated with great grandeur. The entire country with all its cities and villages come alive with dazzling ‘Diyas’ (Earthen lamps), candles, and meticulously carved clay lamps along with tiny electric bulbs. You will fall in love with the stunning Diwali view of Indian cities. Diwali view of beautiful lakes of Udaipur and that of Ganga Ghats of Varanasi will literally leave you speechless. Even in remote Indian villages steady gleam of earthen lamps and the cascading flash of sparklers feels amazing against the splendid darkness of night.
Diwali decoration
People wear fresh or new cloths, participate in family puja, burst crackers and share sweets with family, friends and neighbors. Craving for food, fashion and social cohesion runs high at this time. Shoppers dot the market all around these months, exploring the bustling ‘Bazars’ (small markets) in their places.
After the end of the festivals of such caliber , we need to reset our schedules for food intake, physical workouts, and of course, also, having a review of our thought process.
Resetting Our Food Habits.
During Diwali, people enter the festive mode. Parties, late nights, lots of food and drinks make appearance in our lives.
People often can not resist the tempting dishes followed by those “Laddoos” and “Barfis” and tend to cross the boundary line, which can create havoc to or health. During festivities, people binge eat due to social obligation and or due to their emotional connection with food.
Despite all this you can always get back to track by following certain dos and don’ts strictly. Though it is quite a task but not impossible.
1. Get over the guilt of over eating and be indifferent to the temptation of junk food. If you don’t, you know the trap awaits.
2. Choose a natural sugar option such as Grapes, Date, raw Chocolate, to beat the cravings for refined sugar.
3. Never go for skipping meals to make up for those extra calories taken during the festivals. Because you will not only end up feeling hungry and will start over eating again, but, the blood sugar level may also go down and causing harm to your body.
4. Opt for lighter and healthier meals instead. Increase your fibre and protein intake to beat the cravings.
5. Regular schedule for breathing exercises and other physical work outs must be there. Regular morning walk ,if you do, will make you feel lighter.
6. Up your water intake to keep yourself hydrated. It will not only beat the subsequent cravings but also helps flush out the toxins out of your body.
Rekindle Your Social Contacts.
Social cohesion is the glue that holds the community together. Without them community undergoes stagnation and quality of life declines. Festivals provide us ample opportunity for this to happen. Festivals like Diwali set an environment which is full of positivity. people sink their differences and meet and greet each other with warmth. A piece of Diwali greeting message not only melts the bitterness of relationship but also wipes out the ‘lapse-of -communication-guilt”.
So keep this relationship freshener effective all through the year by communicating with all those persons whose affection you won this Diwali.
Take This Lesson: “Lamps kindle Till There Is Oil In Them”.
“Every day is not Diwali day”. So if you blindly spend time money and attention in merry making and in your pursuit for luxury, it will result not only in depletion of your resources but will also harm your health. Diya ( Earthen lamp) urgently suggests – “Till there is oil there is gleam”. So “Cut your coat according to your cloth” and always maintain balance and harmony in your activity and avoid excesses and imbalance.
Burst The Crackers Of Zeal And Enthusiasm.
In Diwali you burst crackers. This symbolizes the burst of passion in us to excel in what we do in our fields. This also suggests to remove the fear of failure in us and tread on our path with heart filled with enthusiasm and hopefulness.
Just Decorate Your Inner World Too.
Last few days you have spent days refurbishing and decorating your home shop and offices.
Wouldn’t it be better now to decorate our soul and mind with those positive thoughts which inspire us for success in life and motivate us for good things in life.
1. Believe in yourself by counting and concentrating on your accomplishments.
2. Stay positive by focusing on your strengths and find ways to overcome your weaknesses.
3.Love yourself and love your entity. This will give you immense strength and self trust in handling your issues.
4.If you feel bitterness for someone’s behavior towards you, then, just forgive him for your own sake, and bless him for his betterment. This will help you get rid of the bitterness that is inside you for him ,and is gradually poisoning you too. In this way you can feel light fresh and detoxed.
Come, Let us kindle a lamp of compassion and forgiveness, of purity and piousness, inside us, to enlighten our heart, soul and mind and make the celebration of this Diwali a truly physical spiritual success.
A Lamp of Hopefulness
Awaiting for your comments for above lessons of life from Diwali festival!
While writing this article, I myself find in me an apt reader for this topic. Because every person in his life has to face a phase when he has to confront certain unwanted strange situations, which, if left unaddressed, continuously erode mental peace and prove a huge drain on his energy level.
Snowballing of Worries.
Worries, if left unaddressed or staved off for long time, begin to snowball and create troubles in our psycho- physical world.
It is very obvious then that your continuous brooding over your worries will drain your energy and that you are sometimes irritable. It is no wonder then that, you will feel discontented with some areas of your personal and professional life. Even you may get pushed to an extreme where you may turn clueless about what you want and why you fail to achieve your goals. Worries generate troubles which may further develop into crisis.
Types Of Troubles.
Broadly speaking, troubles may be categorised in two groups:
Some troubles are inherited, and;
Some others, which are self created due to our indifference towards our priorities.
Troubles create physical, mental and emotional bottlenecks in life resulting in complete blockade to new things in your physical, mental and emotional ecosystem. Once you remove these bottlenecks; you free up your energy and create space for new things to happen and for new dreams to see.
Prepare The List Of Troubles.
What is required then is to identify and mark the impediments, and, eliminate them by adopting suitable specific measures.
First make a list of troubles and bottlenecks on a sheet of paper.
Shortlist those troubles which need to be tackled on urgent basis.
Work out a comprehensive plan of action including necessary sub plans and related steps.
Since no plan is perfect, hence make your plan on trial and error method.
The plan should never be lengthy and messy.
Activate your plan immediately.
Adopting pro active approach towards your impediments is always preferred. Because you take an active role in dealing with something, before it urgently needs to be taken care of.
Any action is better than no action. If you start activating your plan, two things may happen. Either you will get success, or you have a lesson. But because you have started early, you have sufficient time to learn and move on by restructuring your plan.
As you resolve a small portion of a big problem, you have a relaxed feel of a lightened burden. A sense of lightness will prevail and you will feel courage and excitement to handle your next barrier.
After resolving each small part of a big problem, you must write your experiences in your diary. This will act as a guide lamp, that will always inspire and encourage you.
Someone has rightly said,” Running away from a problem only increases the distance from the solution.”
Now, for me in my forties, I feel no compunction in admitting that, until recently I was in some kind of mess. Although this mess, if you hear for once, will find quite insignificant. However it proved instrumental for me in knowing the life lessons and life skills. There was constant tug of war going inside me on the issue that – are the knowledge and the wisdom equivalent or different?
My surprise.
Often, I got surprised whenever I discovered that a person whom I rated average or even below ( on the basis of the education level and the unimpressive background he had), was producing results that were unbelievable. Later realization dawned upon me that all this was possible due to presence of’ ‘wisdom element’ in humans. Power of wisdom always supersedes the ‘knowledge element’ in human beings. Gradually I started to understand the underlying meanings of various related phrases and sayings such as – ‘smart work Vs hard work‘ , ‘intelligent guess’ , ‘Save thevalues and change the rules‘ , etc.
Meaning of wisdom.
Rainy season sets on time in certain month of each year, is an information or knowledge. Getting our roofs repaired before onset of rainy season, is wisdom. So a feel of right application of acquired knowledge at right time is wisdom. Wisdom is the name of ability to discern and judge that which aspects of the acquired knowledge are applicable to your situation.
Wisdom – A true guide.
Wisdom guides you to use a knowledge properly and in right time. It also cautions you against any possible misuse of knowledge.
Here I remember an old Sanskrit story, which I gathered from my son’s 7th class story book. Title of this story was –‘ Vidyayah Buddhiruttama’ ,means , wisdom is greater than learning.
In this story there are four disciples studying in a Gurukul (ancient form of educational institution in India). Three of them were expert in their textual knowledge but totally divorced from wisdom. The fourth was opposite. He was wise but lacked textual knowledge. A situation develops where the knowledge rich three disciples infuse life in carcass of a dead lion without judging its repercussions. On the other hand the fourth disciple sensed the possible repercussion (of being killed and eaten by the live lion) of this act , and saves his life by climbing a nearby tree. All three knowledge rich disciples lost their lives by their scholarly but foolish act!
Wisdom at micro level.
One should remain awakened enough to care for wiseful approach through out their journey.
Taking decision to join a particular coaching to assure a seat in medical entrance exam is surely an wise step. But it just one wise step. A series of many such wiseful steps one has to think of during his course of preparation. It is not all about how you work hard, but is about how you manage your resource ,time, and mind to work together for better output.
Hence only when hard work is groomed in to smart work, the success results.
