HOLI : The Colours Of Joy...
Dear friends I wish you all a very Happy Holi.The festival of free spirits. The festival of fun and frolic, and of bountiful colors.
Dear friends 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.This inner purity and inner piety is what truly save us, what truly make our lives divine.
Many of us go to temple,Church & Masjid do the rituals, offer money to the priests, and offer prayers. Then, we go out and act in selfish, impious, dishonest ways. All the rituals,Prayers and puja in the world cannot make up for the lack of piety, honesty and compassion. The goal of going to temple,Gurudwara,Masjid & church is not just to perform rituals, the goal is to become spiritual.
On this joyful occassion of Holi ,I like to share the golden words of H.H. Swami Chidanand Saraswatiji Maharaj, The President of Parmarth Niketan,
Let us pray that through our holy eye, we never are led toward anger, greed, lust or jealousy.
Let this holi be a time when we change not 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.
Further I would like to share the message of Swami Sivananda,
Holi also means ‘sacrifice’. Burn all the impurities of the mind, such as egoism, vanity and lust, through the fire of devotion and knowledge. Ignite cosmic love, mercy, generosity, selflessness, truthfulness and purity through the fire of Yogic practice. This is the real spirit of Holi. Rise from the mire of stupidity and absurdity and dive deep into the ocean of divinity.
The call of Holi is to always keep ablaze the light of God love shining in your heart. Inner illumination is the real Holi. The spring season is the manifestation of the Lord, according to the Bhagavad Gita. Holi is said there to be His heart.
The social element during Holi is the uniting or ‘embracing’ of the great and the small, of the rich and the poor. It is also the uniting of equals. The festival teaches us to "let the dead bury the dead". We should forget the outgoing year's ill-feelings and begin the New Year with feelings of love, sympathy, co-operation and equality with all. We should try to feel this oneness or unity with the Self also.
Finally, On the day of colorful, playful holi ,You and your family members,specially the kids,ready with their pichkari to soak and color everyone in range. Please note....
According to G Gupta ,The colors and gulal used in holi are essentially chemicals and can have serious side effects . For example, red is mercury sulphite, green is copper sulphate, purple is made from chromium and bromide compounds and black has lead oxide. Their usage can lead to skin irritation, allergies, hair loss, edema and erythema and even blindness.
You can choose to play with natural colors or with plain water. There are a lot of ways to create natural colors , you can use turmeric, beetroot and mehandi (henna) for common colors. You can be creative and make even more colors from household stuff. A generous helping of cold cream on the body, and oil on the hair and scalp should help. Clearly instruct your friends to close their eyes if someone applies gulal on their head or face, or throws colored water towards them.
With these little precautions, one can be sure of having a fun filled holi with memories to last a lifetime.
