JOIN USBeing a Naval officer, astronomy was part of my naval career and shooting stars and planets was my daily bread. After retirement I thought that why I should not go deeper and try to interpret planets positions and become an astrologer? Yes, I did and went through the grind of learning astrology, spent hours pouring over many books to refine my knowledge and am at present a professional astrologer.
In one of my recent classes I was teaching about winter solstice and the change of the gradual path of Sun making the upward journey. That day happened to be closer to our ‘holy’ day Makara Sankranthi and I had to particularly mention that the concept is same but dates are different. In the West it is December 21 where as we celebrate it on January 14 the following year. I also wrote in a website that it signifies the end of dark days and the beginning of sunny days. I had to explain in detail the significance of this day as some of the students were oblivious to that.
This took me back to my schooldays when we used to get holidays on account of Hindu festivals, Christian occasions like Ash Wednesday, Good Friday and Muslim occasions like Moharum, Ramzan, etc. But we were totally oblivious to the significance of these ‘holy’ holidays. What mattered most was that we were free from the daily school routine and had the whole day to ourselves playing in school field. We neither bothered to ask our elders nor were they inclined to explain to us, the meaning of these days.
The most intriguing thing was the observance of fast during festivals, like lent by Christians and fasting during Ramadan period by Muslims. I used to wonder how people could live for 40 days without eating food on time! The closest experience I had of fasting was when my grandmother used to ‘upavas’ twice a month on ‘Ekadashi’ days.
It is ironic that being a Vedic astrologer, I teach western astrology alongside, interspersed with astrology from many other countries. My research has opened up a vista of ‘holy’ days and their significance in the culture and history of every country. Every Vedic winter solstice has broadened my horizon, from the ignorance during school days to the knowledge and enlightenment of the present day. How true this is. Now it has become my second nature to look for any hidden meaning in any day declared as ‘holy’ day or would you rather call it a Holiday!