The Real Significance of Holi: (Festival of Many Colors)

 

Holi is a festival where the Hindus celebrate festivals coinciding with the spring season. The season manifests divinity and its expression through plants, shrubs, and trees filled with sweet-smelling flowers. They all proclaim the glory and everlasting beauty of God. The season inspires us with joy, hope, and rejuvenated life. It propels you forward to our inner journey to scout out God- the creator and indweller, who is hiding himself in human hearts and these external manifestations.

 Bharat's holy scriptures relate the festival to the various ancient legends." One event connected to this legend of the demon Holika is Bhakta Prahlad's devotion to Lord Narayana, and his subsequent escape from death at the hands of Holika. Prahlad's father, Hiranyakashipu, punished him in various ways to change his devotional mind and make him worldly-minded. He failed in his attempts. At last, he ordered his sister, Holika, who had a boon to remain unburnt even in fire, to take Prahlad on her lap and enter the blazing flames. Holika did so. She vanished, but Prahlad remained untouched and laughing. He was not affected by the fire on account of the Grace of Lord Narayana." 

On this pious festival, we reaffirm our faith and resolve that those people who love God shall be saved, and those who torture the devotees of God shall be reduced to ashes. We celebrate this auspicious festival in different forms. In south Indian, they celebrate where Lord Shiva burns a cupid. In North India, Holi Dahan and colors dominate Holi, with people play joyfully with colored water.

 The real essence of Holi is about its spiritual value. Besides amusements, delicacies, and these three last days of the full moon, we must create an inner restlessness to gain faith in supreme God and reach self-realization. In ancient India, people worship God, hold Satsang's, kirtan/ Bhajans and take a bath in holy rivers and unite with their spiritual gurus or great spiritual souls. Astrologically speaking,  Holi is a time for us all to redeem ourselves of negativity. And remove from our lives any negative thoughts, feeling, or energy into the pyre of the flame of Holi.

 

As per our manuscripts, the true spirit of Holi is this uniting & embracing of the great and the ordinary, of the rich and the poor, literate and illiterate, and the awakened and the ignorant.  It is also symbolizing the stronger unity of equals. The Holi festival teaches us to "let the dead bury the dead". We should forget the outgoing year's ill-feelings, hatred, prejudices, biases and begin the new Hindus year with feelings of compassion, love, sympathy, co-operation, understanding brotherhood, and forge brotherhood and equanimity with all. We should bury the hatches and feel free from the past and feel this oneness or unity with others and one's inner self. 

I humbly pray may the spirits of Holi always keep ablaze and reverberate within your hearts and minds with the divine love shining thru hearts. May we all attain inner illumination that is the actual Holi. According to Bhagwat Geeta. The Spring Season is the divine manifestation of Lord Krishna as he proclaimed that Holi is his heart.

 Mahendra S. Rathore