Holi – It’s significance today.

The festival of Holi is celebrated by worshipping the fire and playing with water and colours. For a child it would be just that. The more mature, thinking and questioning mind might look for meaning behind these seemingly normal, yearly rituals.

Holi comes and Holi goes every year, like every other festival. It’s soon forgotten as we look forward to the next festival on the calendar.

This particular one, like many others, has a deep meaning. It goes to the very core of the philosophy of the Upanishads and the basis of human existence. The Upanishads primarily deal with the concept of Brahma or universal consciousness in that, it is all pervading. Also stating and reinforcing mantra upon mantra that the same spirit is within all animate and inanimate objects in the universe including us humans.

Makar Sankranti

The Indian festival of Makar Sankranti is celebrated on January 14th each year, in the month of the winter solstice when the sun begins to rise in the Makar rashi (constellation). The festival is also known as Uttarayan as the sun begins it’s northward journey.

For the northern hemisphere, winter solstice is the darkest, shortest day of the year as the earth’s axis is tilted farthest from the sun. It is a welcome change as from then on, the days just get longer, brighter and warmer.

At the same time, the southern hemisphere experiences it’s summer solstice.

It is a very significant astronomical event and has been a reason for celebration since pre historic times as life on earth is completely dependent on the sun and the seasonal changes it brings about. It is a festival of nature!

Meditate Like A Tortoise

Imagine sitting in front of a galapagos tortoise and noses almost touching? Our recent encounter at the zoo was truly up close and personal. The children sat watching very patiently and quietly, only to be rewarded with a most memorable experience.

It was almost closing time and with the crowds gone, the tortoises could now come out of their shells and be themselves again. Earlier during the day, they had chosen to avoid the hoards of visitors and lay withdrawn into their shells.

Nature has provided tortoises with a perfect defense mechanism to deal with threatening and unpleasant moments. They have no reason to spend their energy fighting every situation when they can simply let it pass.

Raksha Bandhan And Why

It is the duty of every man to uphold the dignity of every woman.

Pope John Paul II

 

Celebrating festivals with children can be a joy but also an intellectual challenge. Reason?

They ask ‘why’ and we adults can feel caught out. For us, festivals are about ‘how’. For children they are about ‘why’.

There was some family conversation going on about the upcoming Raksha Bandhan festival when my 10 year old stepped in, “Why do we have Raksha Bandhan?” I had some explaining to do.

I was making rakhis with him and also some greeting cards wishing my brothers ‘A Happy Raksha Bandhan’. This time he questioned, “But what is the need to be happy on this day? Why do you send rakhis only to your brothers and not others in the family?” It was getting a bit difficult!

Breathe in, Breathe out, I reminded myself.

A conditioned mind would celebrate this festival in a ritualistic manner. Even if we, as adults were to get curious about the meaning and need for this festival, would we find the historical and philosophical significance and be satisfied with the explanation?