Spiritual Significance of Holi

[Guest guest]

Spiritual significance of HOLI by Pujya Swami Chidanand SaraswatijiHoli is one of the most festive, joyous holidays of theHindu year. It is celebrated primarily in the North ofIndia and it falls on the full moon day of Phalguna (February- March). The festival is marked by great revelry

during which everyone paints each other with brightlycolored powders. Song, dance and bright red, green,yellow and pink powder are the hallmarks of the occasion.The meanings of Holi are numerous. For some, it is the

festival of Springtime, the heralding of warm weatherand bidding farewell to the winter. It is also seen as afestival of love, the return of fertility and virility. However,side by side with the celebration of love and fertility

is the messege to exercise control over the emergingpassion. In some parts of India the story is told on Holi of Kamadeva (God of Love; Cupid),whom Lord Shiva burned to ashes as he tried to seduce Him out of His meditation. The

messege is: celebrate love, but don't get carried away. Thus, Holi is a celebration of divinityand discipline over passion.The Puranas describe Holi as a celebration of virtue over vice. It is a time when we rejoice

in the victory of pure, divine Prahlaad over his aunt Holika. The story - in a simple, condensedway - says that Prahlaad was a young, beautiful, pure, divine devotee of God.However, Prahlaad's father was a powerful king who believed that everyone should worship

him. At Prahlaad's refusal to do so, due to his singleminded love of God, his fatherdecided to have him killed. Prahlaad's aunt (his father's sister), Holika, had been given aspecial shawl as a boon from God for various austerities she had performed. When she wore

this shawl, she could not be burned by fire. So, Prahlaad's father and his sister devised aplan in which she would wear her shawl and hold Prahlaad tightly in her arms as they satin fire. In this way, Prahlaad would be killed, but she would emerge unscathed.

However, as divine plan works, a strong gust of wind came and blew the shawl off of her, aswell as carried pure Prahlaad to safety. Holika was burned in the fire of her own evil.One of the great obstacles in life to our spiritual progress is the difference between what we

do or say on the outside and how we really are on the inside. Holika had performed certainausterities by which she was entitled to this boon from God. On the outside, she was " pious. " But, on the inside she was not pure. Prahlaad, on the other hand, was a simple,

pure, loving devotee of God. This is what saved him. This inner purity and inner piety arewhat truly save us, what truly make our lives divine.So many of us go to temple, do the rituals, offer money to the priests, and chant a certain

number of malas. Then, we go out and act in selfish, unpious, dishonest ways. These maynot necessarily take the form of malicious transgressions. It may simply be the way we speakto our children or to our loved ones. It may simply be the way we try to cheat those with whom

we do business. It may be the way we sit and gossip about others.All the rituals and puja in the world cannot make up for a lack of piety, honesty and compassion.The goal of going to temple is not just to perform rituals; the goal is to become spiritual.

God is happier with pure, innocent, devoted Prahlaad than with all the austerities and ritualsperformed by his father and aunt.Thus, on this divine occasion, we should pray to be filled with the purity and devotion of

Prahlaad. We should commit ourselves to performing our puja, meditation and japa withfocus, dedication and deep love for God.One meaning of the word Holi is sacrifice. On Holi we light so many bonfires to revel in joy

and to burn the effigies of Holika. The meanings of these bonfires are to burn that which isdevilish and impure, leaving only the purity and divinity after Holi. However, we must remembernot only to partake in the merry-making of a bonfire. We must remember to sacrifice

that within us which is devilish and impure. There is some demon-nature in all of us. Wemust burn that demon-nature on Holi and emerge as pure and pious as divine Prahlaad.The fire of purity and divinity which we light on Holi must burn continuously in our hearts

throughout the year. We must have an ever-burning bonfire of impurity, so that we are continuouslyrenewed, continuously purified and continuously rejuvenated.On Holi we sing loudly in the Hindi language: " Holi I, Holi I, Holi I…. " However, let us not

just chant this rhyme; rather, let us truly pray to God that on this day " I " may become holy. Letus pray that " I " may become pious, pure and devoted as Prahlaad. In that way our lives andour hearts and our souls will be forever protected, forever sheltered at His holy feet.

As we chant " Holi I, Holi I, Holi I…. " let us also pray that our " eye " may become holy, that wemay be granted the divine vision by which we behold Him in all whom we see. Let us praythat through our holy eye, we never are led toward anger, greed, lust or jealousy.

LET THIS HOLI BE A TIME WHEN WE CHANGENOT ONLY THE COLOR OF OUR FACES, BUT THE COLOR OF OUR HEARTS.LET US NOT ONLY " PLAY " HOLI, BUT LET US BECOME HOLY.LET THE ONLY COLOR THAT TRULY PENETRATES OUR BEINGS

BE THE COLOR OF GOD.FOR, ON THE MORNING AFTER HOLI THE OTHER COLORS WILL WASH AWAY.BUT WE MUST LET THE COLOR OF GOD BE INDELIBLEIN OUR EYES, IN OUR EARS AND IN OUR HEARTS.

[Guest guest]

Thanks a lot for revealing the spiritual significance of Holi.It becomes more meaningful when we are aware of the reasons behind the celebrations.

Dr.Guhapriya Vasudevan.--- On Fri, 3/13/09, Lakshmy Prakash <lakshmygprakash wrote:

Lakshmy Prakash <lakshmygprakash[Guruvayur] Spiritual Significance of Holiguruvayur Date: Friday, March 13, 2009, 2:21 AM

 

 

Spiritual significance of HOLI by Pujya Swami Chidanand SaraswatijiHoli is one of the most festive, joyous holidays of theHindu year. It is celebrated primarily in the North ofIndia and it falls on the full moon day of Phalguna (February- March). The festival is marked by great revelryduring which everyone paints each other with brightlycolored powders. Song, dance and bright red, green,yellow and pink powder are the hallmarks of the occasion.The meanings of Holi are numerous. For some, it is thefestival of Springtime, the heralding of warm weatherand bidding farewell to the winter. It is also seen as afestival of love, the return of fertility and virility. However,side by side with the celebration of love and fertilityis the messege to exercise control over the emergingpassion. In some parts of India the story is told on Holi of Kamadeva (God of Love; Cupid),whom Lord Shiva burned to

ashes as he tried to seduce Him out of His meditation. Themessege is: celebrate love, but don't get carried away. Thus, Holi is a celebration of divinityand discipline over passion.The Puranas describe Holi as a celebration of virtue over vice. It is a time when we rejoicein the victory of pure, divine Prahlaad over his aunt Holika. The story - in a simple, condensedway - says that Prahlaad was a young, beautiful, pure, divine devotee of God.However, Prahlaad's father was a powerful king who believed that everyone should worshiphim. At Prahlaad's refusal to do so, due to his singleminded love of God, his fatherdecided to have him killed. Prahlaad's aunt (his father's sister), Holika, had been given aspecial shawl as a boon from God for various austerities she had performed. When she worethis shawl, she could not be burned by fire. So, Prahlaad's father and his sister devised aplan in which she would wear

her shawl and hold Prahlaad tightly in her arms as they satin fire. In this way, Prahlaad would be killed, but she would emerge unscathed.However, as divine plan works, a strong gust of wind came and blew the shawl off of her, aswell as carried pure Prahlaad to safety. Holika was burned in the fire of her own evil.One of the great obstacles in life to our spiritual progress is the difference between what wedo or say on the outside and how we really are on the inside. Holika had performed certainausterities by which she was entitled to this boon from God. On the outside, she was"pious." But, on the inside she was not pure. Prahlaad, on the other hand, was a simple,pure, loving devotee of God. This is what saved him. This inner purity and inner piety arewhat truly save us, what truly make our lives divine.So many of us go to temple, do the rituals, offer money to the priests, and chant a certainnumber of

malas. Then, we go out and act in selfish, unpious, dishonest ways. These maynot necessarily take the form of malicious transgressions. It may simply be the way we speakto our children or to our loved ones. It may simply be the way we try to cheat those with whomwe do business. It may be the way we sit and gossip about others.All the rituals and puja in the world cannot make up for a lack of piety, honesty and compassion.The goal of going to temple is not just to perform rituals; the goal is to become spiritual.God is happier with pure, innocent, devoted Prahlaad than with all the austerities and ritualsperformed by his father and aunt.Thus, on this divine occasion, we should pray to be filled with the purity and devotion ofPrahlaad. We should commit ourselves to performing our puja, meditation and japa withfocus, dedication and deep love for God.One meaning of the word Holi is sacrifice. On Holi we

light so many bonfires to revel in joyand to burn the effigies of Holika. The meanings of these bonfires are to burn that which isdevilish and impure, leaving only the purity and divinity after Holi. However, we must remembernot only to partake in the merry-making of a bonfire. We must remember to sacrificethat within us which is devilish and impure. There is some demon-nature in all of us. Wemust burn that demon-nature on Holi and emerge as pure and pious as divine Prahlaad.The fire of purity and divinity which we light on Holi must burn continuously in our heartsthroughout the year. We must have an ever-burning bonfire of impurity, so that we are continuouslyrenewed, continuously purified and continuously rejuvenated.On Holi we sing loudly in the Hindi language: "Holi I, Holi I, Holi I…." However, let us notjust chant this rhyme; rather, let us truly pray to God that on this day "I" may become holy.

Letus pray that "I" may become pious, pure and devoted as Prahlaad. In that way our lives andour hearts and our souls will be forever protected, forever sheltered at His holy feet.As we chant "Holi I, Holi I, Holi I…." let us also pray that our "eye" may become holy, that wemay be granted the divine vision by which we behold Him in all whom we see. Let us praythat through our holy eye, we never are led toward anger, greed, lust or jealousy.LET THIS HOLI BE A TIME WHEN WE CHANGENOT ONLY THE COLOR OF OUR FACES, BUT THE COLOR OF OUR HEARTS.LET US NOT ONLY "PLAY" HOLI, BUT LET US BECOME HOLY.LET THE ONLY COLOR THAT TRULY PENETRATES OUR BEINGSBE THE COLOR OF GOD.FOR, ON THE MORNING AFTER HOLI THE OTHER COLORS WILL WASH AWAY.BUT WE MUST LET THE COLOR OF GOD BE INDELIBLEIN OUR EYES, IN OUR EARS AND IN OUR HEARTS.