Pongal (Makara Shankranti) by Swami Sivananda

SALUTATIONS and adorations to the Supreme Lord, the primordial power that divided the year into the four seasons. Salutations to Surya, the Sun-God, who on this great day embarks on his northward journey.

The Sanskrit term “Shankramana” means “to begin to move”. The day on which the sun begins to move northwards is called Makara Shankranti. It usually falls in the middle of January. Among the Tamilians in South India this festival is called the Pongal.

To many people, especially the Tamilians, Makara Shankranti ushers in the New Year. The corn that is newly-harvested is cooked for the first time on that day. Joyous festivities mark the celebration in every home. Servants, farmers and the poor are fed and clothed and given presents of money. On the next day, the cow, which is regarded as the symbol of the Holy Mother, is worshipped. Then there is the feeding of birds and animals.

In this manner the devotee’s heart expands slowly during the course of the celebrations, first embracing with its long arms of love the entire household and neighbours, then the servants and the poor, then the cow, and then all other living creatures. Without even being aware of it, one develops the heart and expands it to such proportions that the whole universe finds a place in it.

As Shankranti is also the beginning of the month, Brahmins offer oblations to departed ancestors. Thus, all the great sacrifices enjoined upon man find their due place in this grand celebration. The worship of the Cosmic Form of the Lord is so well introduced into this, that every man and woman in India is delightfully led to partake of it without even being aware of it.

To the spiritual aspirants this day has a special significance. The six-month period during which the sun travels northwards is highly favourable to them in their march towards the goal of life. It is as though they are flowing easily with the current towards the Lord. Paramahamsa Sannyasins roam about freely during this period, dispelling gloom from the hearts of all. The Devas and Rishis rejoice at the advent of the new season, and readily come to the aid of the aspirant.

When the renowned Bhishma, the grandfather of the Pandavas, was fatally wounded during the war of the Mahabharata, he waited on his deathbed of nails for the onset of this season, before finally departing from the earth-plane. Let us on this great day pay our homage to him and strive to become men of firm resolve ourselves.

As already mentioned, this is the Pongal festival in South India. It is closely connected with agriculture. To the agriculturalist, it is a day of triumph. He would have by then brought home the fruits of his patient toil. Symbolically, the first harvest is offered to the Almighty—and that is Pongal. To toil was his task, his duty, but the fruit is now offered to the Lord. This is the spirit of Karma Yoga.

The master is not allowed to grab all the harvest for himself either. Pongal is the festival during which the landlord distributes food, clothes and money among the labourers who work for him. What a noble act! It is an ideal you should constantly keep before you, not only ceremoniously on the Pongal day, but at all times.

Be charitable. Be generous. Treat your servants as your bosom-friends and brother workers. This is the keynote of the Pongal festival. You will then earn their loyalty and enduring love.

The day prior to the Makara Shankranti is called the Bhogi festival. On this day, old, worn-out and dirty things are discarded and burnt. Homes are cleaned and white-washed and lovely designs are drawn with rice-flour on the door front. The roads are swept clean.

These practices have their own significance from the point of view of health. But, here I remind you that it will not do to attend to these external things alone. Cleaning the mind of its old dirty habits of thought and feeling is more urgently needed. Burn them up, with a wise and firm resolve to tread the path of truth, love and purity from this holy day onwards. This is the significance of Pongal in the life of the spiritual aspirant.

If you do this, then the Makara Shankranti has a special significance for you. The sun, symbolising wisdom, divine knowledge and spiritual light, which receded from you when you revelled in the darkness of ignorance, delusion and sensuality, now joyously turns on its northward course and moves towards you to shed its light and warmth in greater abundance, and to infuse into you more life and energy.

In fact, the sun itself symbolises all that the Pongal festival stands for. The message of the sun is the message of light, the message of unity, of impartiality, of true selflessness, of the perfection of the elements of Karma Yoga. The sun shines on all equally. It is the true benefactor of all beings. Without the sun, life would perish on earth. It is extremely regular and punctual in its duties, and never claims a reward or craves for recognition. If you imbibe these virtues of the sun, what doubt is there that you will shine with equal divine lustre!

He who dwells in the sun, whom the sun does not know, whose body the sun is, and by whose power the sun shines—He is the Supreme Self, the in-dweller, the immortal Essence. Tat Twam Asi—“That thou art”. Realise this and be free here and now on this holy Pongal or Makara Shankranti day. This is my humble Pongal prayer to you all.

During Shankranti, puddings, sweet rice and other delicacies are prepared in every home, especially in South India. The pot in which the rice is cooked is beautifully adorned with tumeric leaves and roots, the symbols of auspiciousness. The cooking is done by the women of the household with great faith and devotion. They feel from the bottom of their hearts that it is an offering unto the Lord. When the milk in which the rice is being cooked boils over, the ladies and the children assemble round the pot and shout with great joy and devotion, “Pongalo Pongal!”

Special prayers are offered in temples and homes. Then the people of the household gather together and partake of the offerings in an atmosphere of love and festivity.

There is family re-union in all homes. Brothers renew their contacts with their married sisters by giving them presents.

The landlord greets the farmer lovingly and gives him gifts of grain, clothes and money.

On the following day, the cows are worshipped and fed. They are beautifully adorned. In some villages the youth demonstrate their valour by taking “the bull by the horn”—and often win their brides thereby! It is a great day for the cattle.

Young girls prepare various special dishes, like sweet rice, sour rice, rice with coconut, etc., and take them to the bank of a river or tank. They feed the birds, fish and other creatures with the various items. It is a very colourful ceremony. Crows appear in large numbers and partake of the food. They call their mates before beginning to eat. All the time a valuable lesson is driven into our minds—”Share what you have with all”.
Both these days, which are family re-union days, are regarded as being inauspicious for travel. This is to prevent us from going away from home on such days.

When you celebrate the Shankranti or Pongal in this manner, your sense of value changes. You begin to understand that your real wealth is the goodwill and friendship of your relatives, friends, neighbours and servants. Your wealth is the land on which your food grows, the cattle which help you in agriculture, and the cow which gives you milk. You begin to have greater love and respect for them and for all living beings—the crows, the fish and all other creatures.

In Maharashtra and in North India, devotees of the Lord attach great importance to Makara Shankranti. It is the season chosen by the Guru for bestowing his Grace on the disciple. In the South, too, it should be noted that it was about this time that Mahadeva favoured several of the Rishis by blessing them with His beatific vision.

(pgs. 44-49, Hindu Fasts & Festivals)

How long does it take for souls to be reborn?

Q:—Can a departed soul take birth immediately?

Swami Sivananda: It can. But such instances are rare. If the soul has an intense desire to be reborn, it will take its birth immediately. The soul has to reap its fruits of Karmas in heaven or hell. If it takes rebirth immediately it can remember many of the events of its previous life.

Q:—How long does it take for souls to be reborn?

Swami Sivananda: This is also decided by the Lord. It is not for man to guess or know such truths. It is beyond his realm.

Q:—How long should the soul wait for getting a body?

Swami Sivananda: Nothing definite can be said on this point. Great souls will have to wait for a long time.

Q:—How long will the soul remain in heaven?

Swami Sivananda: It can remain for fifty years or five hundred years. It depends upon the nature and degree of meritorious actions done by the man on earth plane.

INTERVAL BETWEEN DEATH AND REBIRTH

Two Factors

People wish to know the exact period that elapses from the time of leaving the body and being born again. Does the soul take a new body in one year? Does it take ten years? How long does one live upon the subtler planes before reappearing on the earth-plane? These are some of the questions. Now, there is no definite period of time in this matter. In main two factors decide this issue viz., the nature of the individual Karma and the last impression before death. It may vary from hundreds of years to a few months even.

Considerable Time

Those that work out some of their Karmas in other planes in subtler regions, take a considerable time before entering a fresh body. The interval is very long, for a year of the earth period passes off as a single day on the celestial plane. There is an instance cited, where, seeing the amazement and admiration of foreign tourists at the imposing ruins of certain ancient monuments, a saint present in the vicinity remarked that some of these very people have fashioned these monuments centuries ago. Now they look in amazement upon their own handiwork.

Intense Attachment

A very sensual individual with strong craving or one with intense attachment sometimes is reborn quickly. Also in cases where life is cut short by a violent death or a sudden unexpected accident, the Jiva resumes the thread very soon. This was so in the case of the Amritsar girl, Mahindra Kumari. She was born within 7 months of her death in October, 1939. So strong was her desire to see her brother at the time of death. Usually in such cases of immediate rebirth, the Jiva often remembers many of the events of its previous life. It recognises its former relatives and friends and identifies old home and familiar objects. This sometimes leads to very queer developments.

There are some instances where a murdered person, being reborn, has declared the manner of death and revealed the identity of the killer in the recent past. Thus, for instance, Dharmarajya reported (23 Mar. 1936) that in a village in Gwalior, a village Patwari offended one Thakur Chotey Lal by making some false entries in the village-records prejudicial to the latter’s interest. To avenge the wrong the Thakur trapped the Patwari in an ambush, shot him in the chest and severed the fingers of his right hand. Some time later, a son was born to a person at a place 14 miles from the scene of murder. The child had a gun-shot-mark on his chest with the fingers of the right hand missing. When the child could speak, the father one day asked him if the Creator had forgotten to make the fingers. The child at once replied that Chotey Lal Thakur had shot him in the chest and severed the fingers and gave details of the incident, which were then verified.

A reincarnated individual had at times unerringly gone and uncovered the treasure that had been hidden away by him or her. In the vast majority this memory is not present. This is really a blessing conferred by the all-wise Being. Such recollection would greatly complicate our present lives. The past is veiled to you until such time as it is good and helpful to remember it. When you attain perfection and reach the end of a cycle, all will be revealed and you will see a whole rosary of lives threaded upon the one personality.

Considerable Period of Time

But such cases of immediate rebirth are not common. Generally for an average individual the interval between death and rebirth happens to be a considerable period measured in terms of earth time. Persons who have done much good Karmas spend a great deal of time in the celestial plane before being born again. Great souls, spiritually advanced persons, wait for a long time before reincarnating.

Can Materialise Here

In the intervening period between death and new birth the departed spirit, specially if the person is psychically and spiritually developed, can frequently materialise upon the earth-plane if necessity arises. It takes human form, talks, and can even make itself felt by tangible touch. It is possible to photograph such an apparition.

Such materialised form is different from the astral body. The latter is not visible to normal vision. It is an exact counterpart, a subtle ‘double’ to the physical body and forms the vehicle in which the departed soul journeys after death. But, however, astral consciousness cannot guarantee you freedom from birth and death. Occultism and spiritualism can never give ultimate emancipation nor reveal the full secret of the beyond. Spiritual realisation and knowledge of the Self alone will reveal the mystery of life and death, and the life beyond death.

Source: pgs. 73-74, 96-98, What Becomes of the Soul After Death by Swami Sivananda

Does the Soul Take a New Body in One Year?

Does the soul take a new body in one year? Does it take ten years? How long does one live upon the subtler planes before reappearing on the earth plane?

Swami Sivananda: There is no definite period of time in this matter. In main, two factors decide this issue, viz., the nature of the individual Karma and the last impression before death. It may vary from hundreds of years to a few months even. Those that work out some of their Karmas in other planes in subtler regions take a considerable time before entering a fresh body. The interval is very long, for a year of the earth period passes off as a single day on the celestial plane. There is an instance cited where, seeing the amazement and admiration of foreign tourists at the imposing ruins of certain ancient monuments, a saint present in the vicinity remarked that some of those people had fashioned those monuments centuries ago.

A very sensual individual with strong craving or one with intense attachment sometimes is reborn quickly. Also in cases where life is cut short by a violent death or a sudden unexpected accident, the Jiva resumes the thread very soon. Usually, in such cases of immediate rebirth, the Jiva often remembers many of the events of its previous life. It recognizes its former relatives and friends and identifies its old home and familiar objects. This sometimes leads to very queer developments. There are some instances where a murdered person, being reborn, has declared the manner of his death and revealed the identity of the killer in the recent past. But such cases of immediate rebirth are not common.

Generally, for an average individual, the interval between death and rebirth happens to be a considerable period measured in terms of earth time. Persons who have done much good Karma spend a great deal of time on the Daivic plane before being born again. Great souls, spiritually advanced persons, wait for a long time before reincarnating.

(pg. 63, May I Answer That by Swami Sivananda)