The Sixth Religious Vow: Do not Criticize the Seasons

Sage Chakrayan began his discourse with the following verse-Which means, do not criticize the seasons, this is a religious vow. The sage explained the meaning of this religious yow mentioned in Upanishad and said- we have four seasons in our country. The year begins with Vaishakh and the four seasons namely summer, rainy, autumn and spring follow in order. The seasons are formed with the movement of the Sun. We all know that the earth revolves round the Sun, which is known as revolution. The earth travels in north and south directions. Spring season begins when the Sun is in its northernly course, and when it takes the southern course, autumn season commences. According to the Hindu calendar, the four seasons fall in the following months.

1. Summer season - Vaishakha, Jyeshta, Ashad
2. Rainy season - Shravan, Bhadrapada, Ashwin
3. Autumn season - Kartik, Margashirsh, Poush
4. Spring season - Magha, Phalgun, Chaitra

If we consider that each season lasts for two months, the seasons can be classified in 6 categories.

1. Spring season - Phalgun, Chaitra
2. Summer season - Vaishakha, Jyestha
3. Rainy season - Ashad, Shravana
4. Winter season - Bhadrapada, Ashwin
5. Autumn season - Kartik, Margashirsh

Cold season - Poush, Magha Position of seasons in the world cycle The sage explained very seriously -Every season has its significance in the world cycle. Summer season is ideal for the cultivation of wheat, gram, rapeseed etc. The crops are harvested and sold in the market. Summer season is very important for purification of the soil and water. In this season, all the dirt gets dried under the sunlight and dirty water particles are evaporated in its heat. Once this process comes to an end, rainy season begins. The river, pond, lake, sea water, which was evaporated due to Sun's hot rays, fall back on the earth in the form of rain. The rain water containing elements of different metals and originating from the sky is considered to be beneficial for the medication. The rain water provides nutrition to the fruits, flowers, trees, plants, crops and helps in the growth of vegetation. It fills the ponds, lakes, rivers and oceans with water, which are the sources of water for the mankind. In India, even today, irrigation is dependent on the rain water in several states. The rain water collected in ponds, lakes, rivers etc. is used for creation of animate and inanimate things .Autumn season follows the rainy season. The rain water slowly finishes. Paddy, corn, sesame, sugarcane and other crops are ready for harvesting in this season. Every thing begins to shrink. However this season is ideal for developing good physique. Fruits like banana, orange, grapes, papaya, raisins, cashew etc. and vegetables like carrot, radish, green leafy vegetables are available in abundant quantity during autumn. People like to eat sweet food items,. Nature fulfills this desire of the human mind and provides him with sugarcane, sweet potato etc.

The year ends with spring season. In Hindi it is known as 'Rituraj'. Lord Shri Krishna explained the mighty form of seasons and said, "Ritunam kusumakara ', which means I am the repository of flowers, in other words I am the spring season.' The trees and plants, which loose their leaves, flowers and fruits in autumn, begin to blossom in this season. The birds fly freely in the sky, fresh leaves and flowers grow on the trees, the sweet voice of the cuckoo bird indicates that the spring season has arrived. The whole atmosphere becomes beautiful. This season is considered to be good for the general health of the mankind.

Some people have the habit of criticizing the seasons. For instance, people criticize summer season in winter and praise winter season in summer. People with such an attitude are unable to enjoy the seasons. They develop a negative thinking
and always look at the darker side of the thing. Human being should enjoy every season, he should get accustomed to all types of conditions and consider it to be the blessing of the God. Sage Chakrayan said- the sixth religious vow of every person should be - never criticize the seasons. He quotes a verse from Yajurveda, which says,-

[ sanskrit verse not yet transcribed... ]

Meaning: A big yagya is being carried on in this world with the blessing of the God and divine powers. Spring season is in the form of nutrition and destructor of diseases. Summer season is in the form of fuel and autumn season is in the form of ghee and oil.

This verse contains a divine and meaningful example. A religious sacrifice i.e., yagya contains three types of substances, used as offering in the sacrifice. They are fragrant, have the capacity to cure diseases and provide nourishment. The world is like a huge yagya and spring season is offering for that yagya. The goddess nature is dressed in new apparel. The mother nature is wearing new, beautiful, green leaves, colorful & fragrant flowers, representing the unending creativity of the creator. The fruits, vegetables etc,. available in this season have the capacity to destroy the diseases and provide nutrition.

Fuel is used to keep the sacrificial fire burning. The flames rise high and take an upward direction. The grains and vegetable become ripe with the presence of Sun's heat and fulfill the interests of the mankind. Autumn season has been compared to ghee and oily substances. Greasy and oily substances are helpful in bringing together the fuel and dry offerings in yagya. Oil is heavy, thick and dense. Different types of things, having different nature and texture come together and work collectively to keep the fire burning.'They try to contract and shrink rather than expanding.

Therefore seasonal cycle has been described as a religious sacrifice of huge world, and the human being has been asked to be a part of this yagya wholeheartedly and with full co-operation.According to Veda, a person should be happy in all the seasons. Following verse describes the practical angle towards life

[ sanskrit verse not yet transcribed... ]

Which means, I should be a person who enjoys in the Spring season, and is always happy and cheerful whether it is summer, autumn, cold or winter season. The young generation thinks that our ancestors always looked at life from the spiritualistic angle and they were less practical and did not enjoy their lives. This verse is clearly indicates the fact that our ancestors enjoyed their life in every season.

However, we should always remember that enjoyment does not suggest indulgence in unfair practices and become slave to our sense organs. We should keep a practical approach towards life and devote ourselves in both favorable and unfavorable circumstances.

We should be satisfied with the things, which the God has provided us, There is happiness in all the things. Actually happiness lies within ourselves. Chakrayan sage says that he who follow this religious vow in life gets the following results-

[ sanskrit verse not yet transcribed... ]

Which means, a person who experiences the seasons considering it to be the power of Brahma, is blessed with the power of people, cattle, and divine strength, longevity, bright future, and becomes great with fame, public and cattle.

Sage said the sixth religious vow inspires us towards practical and action-oriented life. A person who adopts it in life is always happy, brave and accepts whatever comes his way. Whatever, the conditions be, a human being should always praise the seasons and show his positive thinking towards life.