Why do we play Holi?

Last semester I got the opportunity to study a bit of Indian Psychology. I had no idea what was in store for me, initially it was just another extra subject in the curriculum, now I  can hardly put into words how that course helped me. I got a new perspective altogether, got in touch with my spirituality and got a glimpse of the Awesome culture that we have. At the risk of sounding cliche, I would suggest that all young Indians should start reading more on our culture and create their own sense of it. In these testing times where everywhere all we see is violence and hatred, the only thing that can save us is Love...The following is a snippet from an assignment on Krishna. Views and reactions, good or bad are welcome :)

Holi is the one festival celebrated in India whose significance is vague. Unlike Diwali, Id-ul-Fitr, Baisakhi, Christmas etc, the reason as to why we celebrate Holi isn’t exactly very clear. It is true that the campfire or the Holika-dahan ceremony performed on the eve of Holi derives from the well-known tale of Prahlad and Hiranyakashyapa, but the bizarre throwing of colours on people the following day doesn’t seem to match with this story. Why then do we all participate in this crazy play of colours? Why is intoxication (which otherwise is not taken in a healthy sense in our society) that too during the day not considered immoral on this special day? What is it that is so irresistible about this festival that we wait eagerly for it every year?

Colour or ‘rang’ has an important significance in the emotion that we call ‘love’. Be it love for one’s country- the phrase ‘mohe rang de basanti’ is often heard in stories of freedom struggle OR even getting coloured in the colour of another person, as a lover might say to the other ‘rang le mujhko apne hi rang mein’. Aamir Khusro’s famous composition “Aaj rang hai ma, mere khwaja ke ghar rang hai” was written after his first meeting with Hazrat Nizamuddin Auliya. The two share a controversial relation in history, that of friends, that of the mentor and the mentored but most importantly, they shared a very deep bond of love.

Chhaap tilak sab chheeni mose naina milaike…bal bal jaaun main tore rang rajwa, aisi rang do rang nahi chhoote dhoun chahe saari umarwa…apni si rang deeni re mose naina milaike!

The song has to be heard to believe it. Khusro’s passion for his beloved Auliya and the madness of the music constructs a beautiful trance for every listener. When I heard this song, before I knew my eyes were closed and my body was swooning to the rhythm. I couldn’t help smiling for I had been touched by the vibrance of a kind of love that knows no boundaries; a love that is all encompassing and ever forgiving. The lover is oh so eager to lose one’s identity and become like his beloved, thus he innocently submits himself to ‘getting coloured’.

‘Ras’ or nectar is another important element of love, and savouring this ras leads to a nasha or intoxication. When one is in love or in a state of eternal happiness, they say he’s high on life. This ‘high’ does not come from any artificial intoxication as we know it in our world, rather it is an intoxication that happens when a human is touched by a divine form of the purest emotion in the universe. It is a high that stays with you much longer than any form of alcohol will ever do!

One such gentle and loving soul called Krishna once walked on the soil of India. Kaanha or Kanhaiyya as we fondly call him, was an epitome of love, his mere presence brought peace, happiness and a reassurance of divine blessing to those near him.

Kanhaiyya sang hori, khele kanhaiyya sang hori…

Apne apne ghar se nikle, saavre aur gori.

Kanhaiyya sang hori, khele kanhaiyya sang hori…

The Kaanha of Vrindavan played with his loving gopis who with meek and false resistance submitted themselves to the bliss of becoming one with their beloved. This play is much more than a flirtatious encounter between a man and a woman, it is in fact an answer to the human longing to reach to the divine. Acceptance that comes from an unconditional positive regard for all is the foundation of love. Not even the men around him could escape this web of eternal love in which Kaanha captivated one and all.

It has been pointed out by Prof. Madan Gopal Singh, who is also a Sufi singer that contrary to general beliefs, Holi is not just a Hindu festival or tradition. It is unreasonable that the divide of religion must guard the spread of love. He points out a few lines from the poetry of Baba Bulle Shah that say-Main toh hori kherungi, keh Bismillah! This interesting but little known fact further reinforces my belief in the sentiment and purposefulness of this festival.

The festival of Holi is an effort to remember this enchanting soul who existed in a distant past. A person who was born, lived and died like a human but who taught everybody how to love boundlessly. Using the two elements of ‘rang’ and ‘ras’, this festival is an excuse to relive the way of life as Kaanha taught us. The way of life as it should be… full of love that is free from all boundaries , divides and discriminations.