‘We are like a sesame seed with respect to this Universe’

There are twelve sankrantis in a year, out of which Makar Sankranti has been considered most important because from here begins the Uttarayana punya kaal ( Uttarayana auspicious period), and Uttarayana is regarded as the period of divinity (Devatas). Although the entire year is considered auspicious, this period is considered slightly more auspicious. All festivals begin following this. 

Today the sesame seed and jaggery gives a message to the country, ‘Maintain purity inside.’ If you scrub the sesame seed, it will become white outside also. We are like a sesame seed with respect to this Universe. If you see, what is our significance in this universe; what is life? Next to nothing, like a sesame seed - a mere speck! We are minuscule. This is the inner reason for consuming and sharing sesame based preparations, on this day. 

We are also tiny and sweet; delightful like sesame seeds with jaggery. So stay small and sweet and you will truly become big. And if you think you are very big and important in any field or aspect, the downfall will begin. This is the experiential truth. We see that this is what happens in the lives of thousands of people. The moment arrogance comes up, or the delusion that ‘I am something’, the decline begins. I am very powerful - that is it, power begins to diminish. Just like there is oil in a sesame seed, there is God in this universe. He is there in every heart. This is the knowledge of the self. 

You can sit for few moments, morning and evening, observe silence and ponder, ‘What is this life? How long will I be here; maybe two days, ten or twenty years or even fifty years? As long as I am here, what do I need from this world? What can I give to this world before I leave?’.

I would say four things are needed: Shakti, Bhakti, Yukti (skill) and Mukti (freedom). If even one of these is lacking, life would not be successful. To succeed in society, strength and skill are needed, and if you want to experience success in personal or spiritual life, devotion and liberation are needed. We need to move along with all four. 

In our country this is what is required. This will strengthen the spirit of the people of the country. Devotion is the gist of life, the very essence of this world; hold on to it, do not let go of it. Then see the tremendous increase in our self-confidence. New ideas begin to arise and skills are developed, troubles and botherations drop off.