Holi: A joyful, spiritual, and colourful festival

Lalit Garg

(The writer can be reached at lalitgarg11@gmail.com)

Holi is not only a religious but also a cultural festival; this festival is a
unique opportunity to share happiness, love, and positivity. The biggest quality of our culture is that all the festivals celebrated here enhance love, unity, and goodwill among the people by establishing human qualities in society. The spirit behind all the festivals celebrated here is to provide prosperity for human dignity. Holi has a special message: just as nature is full of colours, life should also be full of colours. The colours of life should be such that one has deep reverence for God and oneself. Holi is a perfect festival in terms of the purity associated with any festival. It is a unique festival that not only involves the body but also the soul. Holi is a festival of happiness. The happiness in us is also the colour of our soul.

In fact, Holi is a festival of fun and laughter. The most famous story about this festival is also in relation to Prahlada and Holika. Naradapurana states that Prahlada, the son of a demon named Hiranyakashipu, was an exclusive Hari-bhakta, while Hiranyakashipu considered Narayana to be his ultimate enemy. There was also a severe punishment system for chanting the name of Narayana or Srihari in his kingdom. Seeing his son as a Hari-bhakta, he warned many times, but a supreme devotee like Prahlada was always absorbed in piety. His father tried to kill him several times by taking various measures. But he survived every time, by the grace of Narayana. Holika, sister of Hiranyakashipu, had the boon of not burning in the fire. So she entered the fire with her nephew Prahlad in her lap. But by the grace of God, Prahlada came out alive, and Holika was burned. The festival of Holi signifies ‘Victory of Truth over Untruth’ and ‘Victory of Virtue over Vice’. In this way, the festival of Holi also symbolises the victory of truth, justice, devotion, and faith and the destruction of injustice, sin, and demonic practices.

Holi is a festival that breaks all our limits and unites us. That is why we colour each other and say, May your life also be full of colours. Apart from the euphoria of colours, there are many other mythological stories to celebrate the festival of Holi. In North East India, Holika dahan is celebrated as the slaughter day of demonic Putna by Lord Krishna, which is celebrated as Putna Daah. In South India, it is believed that on this day Lord Shiva consumed the third eye shell of Kamadeva and he danced the ashes on his body. Thereafter, Lord Shiva revived Kamdev, being moved by the grief of Kamadeva’s wife Rati, which pleased the gods and showered them with colours. For this reason, on the eve of Holi, fire is ignited in South India, and sugarcane, mango blossom, and sandalwood are added to it. Here, sugarcane symbolises the bow of Cupid, the mango blossom of Cupid, the burning of Cupid by the burning fire Shiva, and the chanting of sandalwood to calm Kamdev for burning with fire.

Many cultural and public-related programmes are held to celebrate Holi. The events of Holi in metropolitan culture have given Holi a new zeal and enthusiasm. At these events, there are cultural programmes to play songs in a very polite manner. Ghoomar, which is a Rajasthani event associated with Holi, gets people excited about it. Delicious food items with sandalwood tilak and refresher drinks give this festival a dignified image. In late-night ghoomar, dandiya dance and singing troupes from different regions enhance their fun and joy as the night progresses through their performances. Today, due to the deformity of pollution and the anti-environment, the entire environment has become polluted and fearful; all the colours of life have fallen. There was no mutual trust, no mutual love, nor a sublime feeling of cooperation, nor did the tone of unity arise in the struggle. No one held hands in the crowd of people scattering, nor did anyone release the request. Like this, the divided mind is standing alone in the hope of finding everything again. How false is this wait? How much meaning is this reception? Let us also bring together the countless possibilities of the future and create a conscious atmosphere again. Make a pledge to fill the colour of truth in it. Holi requires an atmosphere and a mind too—a mind where we are all one and uproot the filthy layers of the mind so that all the faces reflected in the mirror of the undivided mind can be felt by us.

In Mathura and Vrindavan, the grand hues of Holi are seen. With the arrival of Basantotsav, the atmosphere of Vrindavan is filled with wonderful fun. The festival of spring is also celebrated with great pomp here. The joy of this festival does not slow down even when it starts in the cool month of Falgun. The traditions of Phalgun month and Holi are related to the pastimes of Shri Krishna and have special significance in the devotee’s heart. Celebrating the colourful and joyous festival of Holi with the full devotion of Shri Krishna is a unique experience. Falgun Shukla Ekadashi has special significance in the city of temples in Vrindavan. On this day, the playing of the colours of Holi starts in the traditional form. Both the fun and devotion of Holi in temples spread its unique beauty.

In order to paint themselves in the colours of this divine month and Holi, devotees come to Vrindavan from far-off places and celebrate Holi with full enthusiasm. The environment of Vrindavanis is filled with Shri Krishna vibes, and the fun of Holi prevails in that too. The special heart-touching dance of the group of devotees is very attractive as soon as it is made in the holy land of Vrindavan.  There is no kind of worry, no malice, and no madams; only a pleasant atmosphere prevails. To organise Holi in its entirety, we need not only the mind but also the atmosphere, and this is seen in Vrindavan.

The word holi means purity in the English language. Purity is useful to every person, and if the heritage of purity is associated with this festival, then the importance of this festival becomes 100 percent. The question is: how permanent is this happiness, which becomes a passion in the days of Holi? The melodic sound of dhapli (drums) and the Dandiya Raas chimes limited the usefulness of a festival like Holi to what can only be called instantaneous happiness, while expecting this tradition of colours to provide long-term. Such a bond of affection and respect, of love, of friendship, and of harmony should be tied on which a person can be inspired to do something new. Celebration is the nature of consciousness, and the celebration that emanates from silence is real. Holi is a celebration of consciousness. The more one feels joyful around him, the more colours are filled in his life.

In a festival like Holi, all kinds of distractions are erased, and then it should be felt that in the fire of Holi, all our sufferings, sorrows, worries, animosity, etc., should be ignited and the colour of happiness, cheerfulness, and joy in life should be scattered. We should have made some resolution, and it can be resolved that we ourselves live a peaceful life and wish for a peaceful life for all. Such a resolution and such a life can really make Holi meaningful.