Holi 2023: Holi is the festival of turning hatred into love

The colors of Holi festival may have faded due to the changing era-thinking and lifestyle or the tradition of Holi has dimmed due to the spirit of mine-tere, run-of-the-mill, selfishness and narrow-mindedness. The slaps of circumstances have also affected the happiness of Holi, yet when life seeks an excuse to present itself with fun and happiness, then nature and tradition give us a colorful festival like Holi. Keeping the glorious tradition of this festival intact, let us create an environment of advanced self-upliftment and harmony, where the colors of non-violence, love, brotherhood, communal harmony spread not only in the country but in the world, while the colors of our culture and life bloom. Despite the neglect and polluted environment, all the colors of life could not fade away.

Holi is such a festival, which has special importance not only from religious point of view but from cultural-spiritual point of view. In the light of mythological beliefs, the grand setting of Holi festival has become a confluence of diversities in the changing environment, a medium to connect the world. The biggest feature of our culture is that all the festivals celebrated here increase love, unity and goodwill among the people by establishing human qualities in the society. In fact, Holi is a festival of joy. The word Holi means purity in the English language. Purity is workable for every person and if the heritage of purity is associated with this festival, then the importance of this festival multiplies. The question is, how permanent is this feeling of happiness which becomes an obsession during Holi? The intoxicated mentality in the tune of Dafli and the chimes of Dandiya Raas has limited the usefulness of a festival like Holi to this scope only, which can be called immediate happiness, while it is expected that giving longevity to this tradition of colors, the source of spiritual happiness. Make it too.

Holi is a unique and unique festival of colors and our life is a box of many colors. Here every color is separate and also mixed with others. One colour, mixing with another, rapidly takes on a new colour. Work cannot be done by getting stuck on any one. This is life’s play. But is it easy to absorb the colors of others in yourself? Colors need a canvas, don’t they? How many colors can blossom if there is a resolution? The truth is that neither it is easy to make others your own nor it is easy to be someone else’s. Not everyone knows the art of living and accepting life in all its colors. It needs a cool attitude. The energy of a river flowing for miles, ready to meet the sea. The symbol of this combination of energy and joy is the festival of Holi, which despite constant changes remains the same, is the pole, is the truth.

We have as many colors as nature has and nature changes color every moment. Old leaves do not leave the branch that new ones start to bloom. Autumn and spring go hand in hand. The seeds, flowers, branches, leaves and fruits that came out by ripping the darkness inside the earth hold the colors. Every color of rising, sinking, blooming, spreading, meeting, drying, falling, climbing, descending and ending is in nature and is there in the pleasing festival of Holi. But be it nature or Holi, we are indifferent to them, we get limited to only a few colors. They get stuck in grievances, sadness, you and me, anger and frustration. As a result, tension and sadness start to surround life. Knowledgeable of comparative literature and philosophy in Argentina, Prof. Maria Lugonas says, ‘Fun in a good sense, is a sense of acceptance. There is also a place for all the stupidities in it. Life is the passion to create and change yourself and your environment in the right direction. But despite festivals like Holi, all the colors of life are getting faded. There was no mutual trust, no love for each other, no lofty spirit of co-operation, no voice of unity in the struggle. In the crowd of dispersal, no one held hands, no one let go of the urge. It seems that after losing everything, the divided mind is standing alone in the hope of getting everything again. How false is this waiting, how meaningless is this reception.

Let us also take the countless possibilities of the future together and create a conscious environment again. Make a vital resolve to fill it with the color of truth. Holi needs atmosphere as well as mind, such a mind where we all unite and uproot the dirty layers of the mind so that all the faces reflected in the mirror of the undivided mind feel our own. According to artist Amy Grant, ‘Black gives depth. No reality can be created without mixing it. There are both happiness and sorrow in life. Both keep changing into each other. We like happiness and we get nervous when we are sad. All efforts are made to avoid sorrows. The occasion of Holi is also an opportunity to forget all the sorrows and meet the self.

Holi is a festival of emotions related to the heart. It refines the mind and brain. Neurobiologist and researcher Semir Jack says, ‘The wiring that generates love and hate in the brain is the same.’ Author and sociologist Peggy Palmer explains this sentiment somewhat differently, ‘Love is at the level of the soul and hate is at the level of the spirit.’ Holi is a rare occasion to give life to love and feelings. It turns hate into love. This festival not only gives an opportunity to have fun in the outer world, but also gives an interview of the inner world. The great philosopher Saint Acharya Mahapragya has given a method to illuminate the soul and upgrade the inner world by doing spiritual practice of different colors through Prekshadhyan. Roman emperor and thinker Marx Aurelius has also said, ‘The soul is colored by the thoughts of the mind.’ Jain philosophy also says that as are thoughts, so are actions that stick to the atomic soul. Our journey to reach all the colors of the soul passes through the mind. We have to keep our thoughts right. In that one has to leave room for others. To avoid the loss of negative energy, getting drenched in the colors of Holi, meditating on the colors, being face to face with our festive culture proves to be beneficial. Pagel Palmrose explains the solution, saying, ‘Learn to love yourself. No one knows who you are better than you. If you love yourself, then you will also know how deep is the love of those who love you.

The traditions of Holi are associated with the pastimes of Shri Krishna and hold special significance in the hearts of devotees. It is a wonderful experience to celebrate the colorful and colorful festival of Holi by getting immersed in the devotion of Shri Krishna. Falgun Shukla Ekadashi has special significance in Vrindavan, the city of temples. On this day playing the colors of Holi starts here in a traditional way. Holi’s fun and devotion both spread their unique shade in temples. In a festival like Holi, when all the differences between rich-poor, small-big, Brahmin-Shudra etc. are erased, then we should have such a feeling that in the fire of Holi, all our pains, sorrows, worries, hatred etc. May the colors of happiness, joy and happiness spread. There should be some resolution of Holi and this resolution can be that we ourselves live a peaceful and healthy life and wish for a peaceful and healthy life for all. Such a resolution and such a life can really make Holi meaningful.