Blessed Makar Sankranti!

My grandfather sitting as he did on his chair where all came to chat and seek advice. Dressed all in white and sporting his ever famous Gandhi cap that would have had him mistaken for a member of parliament had he been in India! I (in T shirt and black jeans) with a cousin on the other side.Picture taken sometime around 1997 or abouts.

Today the Hindu world celebrates Makar Sankranti in myriads of forms and fashions depending on where in India and the rest of the world it is celebrated. The festival culturally is expressed in different ways from state to state in India and is to mark various things in Hinduism and Vedic Astrology. However here are three of the things that stand out about the festival to me and I don't really celebrate it but if I did I'd like to embrace these three things:

As described on this site-Vedic Mission:

'1. Another well-known reference of this day came when the great grandsire of Mahabharata fame, Bhishma, declared his intent to leave his mortal coil on this day. He had the boon of Ichha-Mrityu from his father, so he kept lying on the bed of arrows till this day and then left his mortal coil on Makar Sankranti day. It is believed that the person, who dies during the period of Uttarayana, becomes free from transmigration. So this day was seen as a sure-shot Good Luck day to start your journey or endeavors to the higher realms beyond. '



'2. Have a special session of Meditation, wherein you bring about the awareness of the self-effulgent subjective divinity. Affirm the greatest importance of your spiritual goal very clearly, and pray to God to bless you with the capacity to constantly revel in your true self. May the graph of your rise like the Uttarayana Sun. May there be greater 'Love & Light' in your life & the world.'


'3. Have the lunch of Khichiri. This stands for inculcating simplicity in your life & habits.'

And of course you might want to know why although some of it might be obvious. Well I think Bhishma was a man or principle and ethics generally speaking. He made his vow and he stuck by it...thick and thin...it would be grand if we could all be so steadfast in pursuit of our goals and be able to set our intents so strongly and follow up on them...perhaps then we too would be able to decide when we should
not only leave this mortal coil but whence we should re-enter it too! :)

Well I think the second one on the list would be pretty obvious for anyone who follows my writing as they will know I'm always quoting Shakespeare's 'To thine ownself be true!' and always wishing that there be light and that we can all find or continue to find love and its pure, clear, light! :)

As for the third one those who follow my writing may know of my journey into the world of raw or semi-raw foods and that I am vegetarian. What they may not know is one of my fav meals ever and I used to in particular love having it together with my Grandfather (see pic above)when he was alive is: Dhal Kichari, Aloo Chokha and Tomato Choka! So I so wish I could have been home tomorrow for lunch to have that...perhaps I can still do it for dinner. And perhaps I will be sharing it in spirit with my gramps. For those who may not know what those dishes are...it is dhal (Usually yellow dhal in my case) mixed with equal amounts of rice and boiled together and then seasoned. Choka is kinda when you boil something or roast it (in the case of eggplant) i.e. you cook the vegetable and then you crush it up and season it. Aloo of course is potato in English. I promise to share my mum's recipe for dhal kichari, aloo chokha and tomato chokha tomorrow! But for now I hope all of you in whatever form or fashion enjoy or make good of the auspicious time of Makar Sankranti! And I leave you with Bhishma from the Mahabharat as he lies on the bed of arrows.