Atma Sakthi - Fortifying the Soul!
The Pongal festival, which falls on Jan/15/2ØØØ, is an ideal day for gaining
atma sakthi, fortification for the soul. Sri Soorya, the Lord of Honor on Pongal day,
is the giver of atma sakthi and what better day to get it than on the day which honors Him!
The Pongal festival is timed by Soorya entering Makara Raasi.
This happens on Jan/14/2ØØØ at 2259 hours Indian Standard Time and so
Pongal should be celebrated at sunrise on Jan/15/2ØØØ
in India.
Indian Standard Time is five and a half hours ahead of GMT and thus it should be
easy for you to calculate the exact time when this cosmic event happens in your timezone.
For example, in California, which is 8 hours behind GMT, this event would
occur at 0929 hours on Jan/14/2ØØØ and thus Pongal should be
celebrated there from 0929 hours on Jan/14/2ØØØ, not on Jan/15/2ØØØ.
Make two varieties of rice pongal, both with brown sugar and without,
and celebrate Pongal with friends, family and children.
Help the poor celebrate it too by giving them utensils, rice, brown sugar, etc.
Celebrate Pongal outdoors in the august presence of Sri Soorya,
whether it be in the open fields or in the portico of your house
exposed to the atma sakthi rays of Soorya.
Draw the Soorya Chakra Kolam pattern on the ground; if you do not know
this, you may draw any kolam pattern that you know. Below this draw a
picture of Soorya.
To the east of this pattern, draw a circle to represent Soorya.
On top of this circle, spread some orange colored cotton cloth.
Orange is the appropriate color and wheat is the appropriate grain
for Sri Soorya. On top of the cotton cloth, spread a few pounds of
wheat grain. Place a banana leaf on top of this grain. On this
banana leaf, place the two varieties of rice pongal.
Offer dhoop, deep and camphor arati to Sri Soorya
and then perform 21 Soorya namaskar facing east.
Offer the rice Pongal to Sri Soorya Narayana.
After this, offer the same to your ishta devata (personal deity)
and you kula devata (family deity).
Next, offer pongal to crows and cows and distribute it to the poor too.
After this, you and your family can consume the pongal as prasadam.
On Pongal day, perform vastra dhaanam by gifting orange colored clothes to the poor.
You should also offer wheat grain to cows as feed.
The sweet pongal and the white pongal are symbolic of Sri Soorya and Chandra.
They are also symbolic of Rajas and Satva guna attributes. We know that the three
gunas, Satva, Rajas and Tamas must exist in the correct proportion for the proper
conduct of family life. If there's no Tamas, one would become a prefect renunciant!
Satva and Rajas should exist in the right proportion too so that we can perform
good works in the world for the benefit of all.
Offering the two varieties of pongal to Soorya and Chandra, the givers of light and
jeeva sakthi, recognizes this fact and conveys our gratitude to Them on this
important atma sakthi day.
What you have read in this article are Siddha revelations concerning
the celebration of Pongal, the atma sakthi day.
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| Om Salutations to Arunachala |
| Om Salutations to Soorya and Chandra |
| Om Salutations to Sri Agasthiar |
| Om Salutations to the Maha Guru |
| Om Salutations to the Agasthiar Lineage |
| Om Salutations to the Siddhas |
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