Of all the Indian festivals, there are a few that are celebrated by people throughout, irrespective of their caste, creed, or religion & Holi is one of them. Holi, the name itself brings out unparalleled emotions from within and adds colours to our monotonous life. People across India and around the world celebrate this festival by applying different colours on each other and sprinkling water through water syringes/guns that come in different forms. There are a lot of mythological stories related to this festival, however, in the present context, this festival has lost its sheen & glory and has merely become a day to chill and make merry with friends like any other holiday!
As a modern-day spiritualist, I feel that all of us can learn two important lessons from this festival that is celebrated for two days. On day one, when people light a bonfire and offer prayers and throw cereals or parched grains, twigs, dried leaves, branches of trees into the fire, one must learn that by lighting the “Holy Fire”, we also brighten the light within us through the practice of deep meditation and burn all our five vices along with our body perception that signifies “Holika” and liberate ourselves to attain our original identity experiencing self as an eternal soul. On day two, when we play with colours, we must understand that “colour” signifies our character, so in a way, we all have different colours depending upon the nature that we have. The basic reason behind applying colour is to express joy and happiness, however today that joy and happiness have made way for unruly inappropriate behavior. In essence, the whole process of applying different colours on each other teaches us that we should make our life colourful, experience “Supreme Almighty’s” company, and spray scented water of his pure love on each other and become identical like him, in form, colour, and attributes.
Imagine if this festival is celebrated in its true spiritual sense, there would be no waste of natural resources like water. There would be no pollution through synthetic colours and no health issues that come with celebrating these festivals in a completely unmindful way. So, my dear friends try and celebrate this year’s Holi by becoming a “Holy Soul” and liberate society from all unholiness. Just see the world above self once and participate in the most colourful festival; Holi, and get unified with the rest in true spirit.
(The writer is a spiritual educator and popular columnist for publications across India, Nepal & UK. You can write to him at nikunjji@gmail.com or http://www.brahmakumaris.com)
