Holi in modern days
Holi is an Indian festival that is celebrated all across the country. It is the festival of colours that brings people close to each other. People of every age group play and enjoy Holi. It is a festival that brings more colour to the already colourful lives of people. Holi usually is celebrated during the month of March. Holi is celebrated by people by putting 'gulal' on each other. Many people also make beautiful 'rangoli' to celebrate Holi. Before Holi, shops are setup in market for the purpose of buying colours, gulals and in recent days the water guns, and the markets always tend to be occupied before and during Holi as people buy bags of colours to celebrate the festival of colours. People tend to forget all the bad blood between them and celebrate the festival together. Holi is not just some ordinary festival celebrated in India but an emotion.
Why should we celebrate Holi?
Starting from social, cultural to psychological to religious to a lot more reasons why Holi must be celebrated whole heartily.We must cherish the festival and not hold back,and enjoy the festival to the most by participating in it with full enthusiasm. It connects people and is also a lot fun to play with friends and family.
Hiranyakasyap successfully with the magcial power defeated the mighty "Varha" avatar of Lord Vishnu, who killed Hiranyaksha, who also had powers from Lord Brahma. Lord Vishnu knowing what Hiranyakasyap could bring to earth with all his evils, sent Prahlad to earth as the son of Hiranyakasyap and Kayadhu. Hiranyakasyap with all his powers thought himself an equal to God and forbid anybody from worshipping God but him. Everyone accepted it expect one person, Prahlad who was dedicated to worship Lord Vishnu. Infuriated by it Hiranyakasyap tried killing Prahlad in many ways but failed everytime. Finally, Holika, the king's sister, tricked him into sitting on a pyre with her. While Holika protected herself with a cloak, Prahlada remained exposed. As the fire blazed, the cloak flew from Holika's body and encased Prahlada, thus saving his life. This is the reason we celebrated "Holika Dahan", a day before Holi, marking the end of evil.
After this the Narsimha avatar of Lord Vishnu appeared from a pillar. Narsimha was a half human and half lion, who killed Hiranyakasyap with its nails sitting down on the entrance door of the castle. Which marked the start of Holi.
The story is narrated in the Holy Puranas.
Another legend says,
According to another legend, Lord Krishna developed blue skin after Putana, a demon, poisoned him with her breast milk. Krishna worried that fair-skinned Radha and her companions would ever like him because of his skin. Krishna's mother then asked him to approach Radha and smear her face with any colour he wanted. The playful colouring gradually evolved as a tradition and later, as a festival observed as Holi, in the Braj region of India.
Playing a safe Holi
1) Use organic colours instead of chemically made colours.
2) Keep a first aid kit ready for emergency.
3) If you have any sign of cough or cold or fever, refrain from playing Holi.
4) Use lukewarm water instead of cold water.
5) Don't allow anyone to harass you in the name of Holi.
6) There always must be someone watching over the kids.
7) Don't use kerosene to take off the colour.
8) Don't drive any vehicle after having 'bhang' or alcohol.
9) Avoid mud, stones and raw egg to celebrate Holi.
10) Use oil all over the skin and also to the hair before playing Holi.
Holi is an Indian festival that is celebrated all across the country. It is the festival of colours that brings people close to each other. People of every age group play and enjoy Holi. It is a festival that brings more colour to the already colourful lives of people. Holi usually is celebrated during the month of March. Holi is celebrated by people by putting 'gulal' on each other. Many people also make beautiful 'rangoli' to celebrate Holi. Before Holi, shops are setup in market for the purpose of buying colours, gulals and in recent days the water guns, and the markets always tend to be occupied before and during Holi as people buy bags of colours to celebrate the festival of colours. People tend to forget all the bad blood between them and celebrate the festival together. Holi is not just some ordinary festival celebrated in India but an emotion.
Why should we celebrate Holi?
Starting from social, cultural to psychological to religious to a lot more reasons why Holi must be celebrated whole heartily.We must cherish the festival and not hold back,and enjoy the festival to the most by participating in it with full enthusiasm. It connects people and is also a lot fun to play with friends and family.
Legends behind Holi
There was a powerful king, who went by the name Hiranyakasyap, who gained magical power by performing a penance for Lord Brahma. Pleased by Hiranyakasyap, Lord Brahma accepted to fulfill the wishes of Hiranyakasyap which were
O my lord, O best of the givers of benediction, if you will kindly grant me the benediction I desire, please let me not meet death from any of the living entities created by you.
Grant me that I not die within any residence or outside any residence, during the daytime or at night, nor on the ground or in the sky. Grant me that my death not be brought by any being other than those created by you, nor by any weapon, nor by any human being or animal.
Grant me that I not meet the death from any entity, living or nonliving. Grant me, further, that I not be killed by any demigod or demon or by any great snake from the lower planets. Since no one can kill you in the battlefield, you have no competitor. Therefore, grant me the benediction that I too may have no rival. Give me sole lordship over all the living entities and presiding deities, and give me all the glories obtained by that position. Furthermore, give me all the mystic powers attained by long austerities and the practice of yoga, for these cannot be lost at any time.
Hiranyakasyap successfully with the magcial power defeated the mighty "Varha" avatar of Lord Vishnu, who killed Hiranyaksha, who also had powers from Lord Brahma. Lord Vishnu knowing what Hiranyakasyap could bring to earth with all his evils, sent Prahlad to earth as the son of Hiranyakasyap and Kayadhu. Hiranyakasyap with all his powers thought himself an equal to God and forbid anybody from worshipping God but him. Everyone accepted it expect one person, Prahlad who was dedicated to worship Lord Vishnu. Infuriated by it Hiranyakasyap tried killing Prahlad in many ways but failed everytime. Finally, Holika, the king's sister, tricked him into sitting on a pyre with her. While Holika protected herself with a cloak, Prahlada remained exposed. As the fire blazed, the cloak flew from Holika's body and encased Prahlada, thus saving his life. This is the reason we celebrated "Holika Dahan", a day before Holi, marking the end of evil.
After this the Narsimha avatar of Lord Vishnu appeared from a pillar. Narsimha was a half human and half lion, who killed Hiranyakasyap with its nails sitting down on the entrance door of the castle. Which marked the start of Holi.
The story is narrated in the Holy Puranas.
Another legend says,
According to another legend, Lord Krishna developed blue skin after Putana, a demon, poisoned him with her breast milk. Krishna worried that fair-skinned Radha and her companions would ever like him because of his skin. Krishna's mother then asked him to approach Radha and smear her face with any colour he wanted. The playful colouring gradually evolved as a tradition and later, as a festival observed as Holi, in the Braj region of India.
Playing a safe Holi
1) Use organic colours instead of chemically made colours.
2) Keep a first aid kit ready for emergency.
3) If you have any sign of cough or cold or fever, refrain from playing Holi.
4) Use lukewarm water instead of cold water.
5) Don't allow anyone to harass you in the name of Holi.
6) There always must be someone watching over the kids.
7) Don't use kerosene to take off the colour.
8) Don't drive any vehicle after having 'bhang' or alcohol.
9) Avoid mud, stones and raw egg to celebrate Holi.
10) Use oil all over the skin and also to the hair before playing Holi.
0 Comments