The pun in the “pulses of the Earth,” is everything as it means and yet, nothing of what it is!
The pulses of the Earth are the very bedrock of everything that is sustained and sustainable on our sacred Bhumi Mata (Mother Earth).
It is in giving, She provides, shelters, nurtures and preserves all that there is, that
there has been and that will ever be.
The harvest festival is both a religious as well as a seasonal observance and is known to be dedicated to Lord Surya, the Sun God. Makar Sankranti marks the sun’s transit from Sagitarius into Makara (Capricorn) raashi (zodiac sign).
The general perspective of this festival is that of offering obeisance to Lord Surya, but the ancient ritual that was practised by the farmers of the land was to offer ‘navdhan,’ (9 grains/pulses), in an earthern pot to the Goddess of the Earth, known as Bhumi Mata, as their gesture of thanks for the harvest of the year.
The ritual starts 3 days in advance where the women folk place navdhan into an earthen pot with soil and water, waiting for the navdhan to sprout. As the pulses come to full sprout on the final day of the festival, the earthen pot is cracked at the base of the pot and is placed in the East quadrant of the land so as to create a marking for the sacred offering. The sprouts are left there to continue to grow to indicate the beginning of a new cycle of life.
Ghee lamps and incense sticks are offered with flowers and the singing of hymns to honour that Bhumi Mata, the very sacred Earth that supports the cycle of life, death and rebirth.
Throughout the history of this wondurous planet, man has continuously sought to find himself – grounded or aflight; needing to anchor himself to something that holds him true to his vision, to his journey of unravelling who he is.
Lao Tzu said, “The journey of a thousand miles, begins with a single step,” – the very step on which we give thanks and recognition to the powers that support us relentlessly; energies, power, vibrations or whatever we may call it that without fail, show up for us every single day of our lives, even when we gave up hope on that power or energy, it never failed us.That power, that energy, that vibration that we must bow down to every single day of our lives – that power, that energy, that vibration, that Bhumi Mata…
Subh Makar Sankranti 2023 to all of you. May you live in honour of Bhumi Mata.
Om Shri Matrè Namah.
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SUJATA NANDY WORLD GURUKUL
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