Significance of Holi

 


Holi on a full moon (Purnima) signifies the transition from winter to spring . Usually harvesting begins at this time of the year and is a season of joy and happiness . 

Legend says that the Rogue Hiranyakashyap who considered himself to be above all Gods wanted to destroy his son Prahlada who was a devout follower of Lord Vishnu . He advised his sister Holika who had a blessing from the Gods of indestructibility within the strongest of fires , to sit with his son Prahlada in the fire ,placed on her lap . Such is the marvel of the Gods that Holika apparently was reduced to ashes by the fire while Prahlada was saved . Lord Vishnu later did the needful and destroyed Hiranyakashyapa. The destruction of Holika marked the significance of Holi and hence the term Holi . 

Lord Vishnu had an avatar in the form of Lord Krishna. On this day Krishna who was dark in colour had a consort Radha who was fair and Krishna's mother feared that he might be rejected because of his complexion. Hence colour was applied on her so that there was no destruction . Each of the colours had a different significance. The key message is that colours of Holi eliminate distinctions of caste , creed , sect , sex , wealth. 

Holi is a good day to spread the message of peace and love . Due to Covid it might be prudent to tone down the level of colour play . The day can be divided into subtle colour play , prayers and chanting the name of Lord Krishna , listening to kirtans , enjoying sweetmeat and singing and dancing . 

Dry leaves are also burnt implying the significance of the onset of spring . 

There are many ways to celebrate Holi safely and understand its deeper meaning and significance .

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