The high of Holi: Lessons from Prahlad

For a layperson, Holi translates as a day to meet andgreet, sing, dance and get intoxicated…but then, in the process, somewhere, the essence of this festival is forgotten.

Holi gets its name from Holika, the aunt of Prahlad, who had the boon to remain unscathedfromfire.

So what exactly happened on this day?

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Let’s travel back in time a little. Prahlad, the son of Asur Hiranyakashyap, was defying his father by walking the path of Shri Hari. His vibrancy was so high that Hiranyakashyap had to call upon all kinds of dark forces to somehow take his son off the path, to break his penance (this happened in the days leading to Holi, also known as Holashtak). Finally, on the day of Holi, he called upon his sister to burn his son to ashes, but then Holika burnt and Prahlad remained unharmed. Shri Hari appeared as Narsimha and annihilated Hiranyakashyap.

There are two aspects to this episode. First, that a lot of negative forces are at play in days leading to Holi, there is a high chance of emotional outbursts and negative thoughts creeping into one’s mind. But then, if one remains calm and centred during this time, it is the easiest to access the force of Shri Hari through mantra sadhna and dhyan, as was done by Prahlad.

Holi is among the four most powerful days of the year when elevating one’s consciousness is easily possible. This purnima of the month of Phalgun opens up portals to subtler dimensions. It is the day to initiate or complete mantra sadhana. Mantra is always given by a guru to the sadhak, one who has attained the siddhi of that mantra. On this specific day, energies permit the manifold impact of each chant. One chant has the impact of 10,000 chants.

Indulging in heavy emotions makes one evade the entire experience of divinity.

To remain calm, the basic practice of Sanatan Kriya is prescribed which brings the body to a state of balance and when the body is balanced, disease ceases to enter.

Holi definitely is the festival to get high, but the high I prescribe is the high of elevating one’s consciousness. Prahlad through his consciousness manifested Shri Hari Himself, while Holika’s intoxication paved way for own her doom…the choice is yours.