Surya Jayanti

There are two ways to live your life, one as though everything is a miracle and the other as though nothing is a miracle.

The biggest miracle that manifests in front of our eyes everyday is the Sun. The stories about the Sun are enchanting, beautiful and absolutely heartwarming. But being a believer is important when you listen to these stories. However, belief or devotion is not something to be experienced through pretence or practice. If you can't believe, you have to dissect it.

The sun rises and sets every single day, days change into weeks, weeks into months, months to years and seasons change, time flies by while we go on with what we call life. And while we contemplate this life and its material experiences, it is easy to take for granted the power of what initiates all these changes.

Every changing day is Special but some days are more special than others. Magha Shukla Saptami is celebrated as Surya Jayanti or the birth of the Sun. The whole month of Magha is said to be auspicious for Sun worship. As per legend, it is the time of the year when Sun enters Makar Rashi or Capricorn which is ruled by his Shani. A mythological story describes how Surya visits the house of his son Shani during the month of Magha. A long time ago, it was the time of the year when the sun began its northerly movement (celebrated as Uttarayana or Makar Sankranti). Astronomically, it also meant a time of the year when the Sun was closest to the Earth due to which the latter speeds up a bit on its orbital path around the sun. So, due to the shifting of the pole around which the earth spins we are closer to the midst of Uttarayana than to the beginning.

The Tithi is also called Ratha Saptami or Arogya Saptami. Ratha is the imaginary carraige drawn by seven horses on which the Sun god sits while travelling across the skies (this Ratha is an interesting vehicle with its own symbolism). Arogya means free of disease. So, it is believed that on this seventh bright lunar day, worshiping the Sun and or fasting (which may also mean adjusting ones' diet by restricting or eating certain foods, not necessarily starving) has the power to cure many diseases. Now some people also fast for an entire day and break their fast on the Astami tithi.

There are many ways to celebrate or worship the sun during this month (or during any other month) and each ritual has its own importance. The ultimate goal of all rituals is same. Strengthening the Sun that lives with-in and with-out the body that carries the soul. Getting the sun's light or the Sun's powerful rays to shine within us and passing this brilliance to the world. The Sun which represents the light in us, the light which represents knowledge. Knowledge which removes darkness, ignorance and disease.

One such ritual is preparing and offering sesame seed and gud (made of sugarcane which is hygroscopic in nature) based sweets. The oil from sesame seeds is said to be excellent for balancing vitiated vata which causes most disorders in the body at this time. It is also a great seed to have for strong teeth so if there is one sweet you want to enjoy at this time of the year, make sure its tilgud chikki or tillgud laddus. What is important to remember here is that when the Sun enters Capricorn, winter is still at its peak though days have started to get longer than the nights. So, its a great time to enjoy the highly nutritious sesame seeds for improving strength and imparting oiliness to the body. 

Another ritual is kite flying which gives people an opportunity to look up to the sky and absorb sunshine while improving their levels of Vitamin D which also helps absorb the calcium content in sesame seeds. What a lovely way to get rid of winter toxins from the body. There is also a mythical belief about how the gods who are believed to be in a state of deep slumber for six long months (dakshinayana) awaken and get working in this period (uttarayana) so colourful kites are sent out to the skies to greet them. It doesn't matter what you believe, so long as you do the right thing for your body and mind.

Another ritual involves practicing Surya Namaskar or Sun salutations which is a set of body movements meant to activate the energy centers of the body making it open to recieving the sun's grace and light.

Another interesting ritual for appeasement or strengthening of the Sun is called Argyadan. Argya or Arghyam litterally means an offering or offering something valuable. 

During the month of Magha it is said that an early morning bath before sunrise is very beneficial for the body and mind. Particularly on the day of ratha Saptami, it is believed that the one who bathes before sunrise, rids himself/herself of many diseases. Diseases are mainly waterborne and our body absorbs water as we bathe, so the idea is to bathe (in natural open water bodies) before the sun rises enabling the body to absorb water and become nourished by it before the sun comes to set claim over the waters of the earth.

Arghyam is a very wellknown ritual of offering water to the sun (there are mythological stories which will tell you why the sun (and earth) need this water (mostly during the time of sunrise and sunset). 

But the main reason why we offer water is because water is considered the most valuable of all elements from which our body is made. Our human body is 80% water. A no-brainer recipe for good health is to keep this water true to its basic nature i.e., keep it moving or flowing and avoid stagnation of water in our body which is the root of all diseases and imbalances.

One more logic behind offering water to the sun is that Water is essentially formed from fire so it is what results from fire burning up (if you study how the panchmahabhutas were formed, you will get what I mean). Also note the sun is made of elements which can burn brighter using water as a fuel and that helps the sun shine brighter in the days to come.

And when you add kumkum to the water, the red color of kumkum is to symbolize reflection of energy. So, while looking at the sun through the water that flows, you trying to strengthen both the sun (the alochak pitta) that shines in sky and the sun within you. Adding kum kum to the water also helps reflect back some of the energy to the sun. Red is a color which reflects maximum energy.

Generally it is advised to use a copper vessel for this ritual but many who bathe in rivers and other open water bodies, use cupped hands for arghyadan. This is supposed to help charge the fingers, palm and hands with the sun's powerful energy.