What a wonderful festival Holi is. Everybody has different colors, yet they have lost their identity in the spirit of Holi. Nobody minds as to what clothes they are wearing. Everybody is in a spirit to celebrate. We hug even the people we do not know. New clothes or old, branded or unbranded, expensive or cheap, fair and dark complexion, rich and the poor, every identity loses its meaning. Yet, there is so much diversity. Each person has a very different combination of colors on their body. All the artificial divisions are lost in the spirit of celebration.
This morning, my younger daughter asked me as to whether we have any genetic makeup of our own or the entire genetic makeup is the same as that of the parents. I am not much aware of this, but I read long back a book written by a renowned scientist who wrote that human beings share almost 99% of the genetic make up with Gorilla. In fact, human beings share almost 99.9% of their genetic makeup. It is that 0.1% gene that makes all the difference in the features and body make up we have. She asked further whether it meant that she had nothing of her own? I told her the example of chariot given in our scriptures that the body is like the chariot, Mana is like the horse, the mind is like the charioteer, and we are like the owner of the chariot. It is the owner who passes on instructions to the charioteer and the chariot is accordingly run by the charioteer. If the owner is in his senses, then he would know how to give instructions to the charioteer, otherwise the charioteer will lead the chariot and per his own whims and fancies. If even the charioteer is not aware, then the horses will lead the chariot their way, and if even the horses are not aware, then the chariot will come to a halt.
Probably the only thing that matters in life is where is the center of command. That's what is so wonderful about Holi. Generally, our day-to-day lives are driven by the good and bad, right and wrong created by society. Very rarely are we able to drop these biases. Our community is good and the other community is bad, this color of the skin is good and the other is bad, this eating habit is good and the other is bad, this way of life is good and the other is bad, this is the only purpose of life and the other is not right. The whole of life is divided between good and bad, and the right and wrong. These good and bad, rights and wrongs are stored deep into our Mana and intellect and become the center of command to our chariot. It's like an automatic vehicle running on the road without application of mind and that's why life becomes so boring. That's why the whole of the world is full of psychological problems.
Holi is a festival when, at least for a while, these divisions fade away, giving us a chance to see life anew. Nobody is judged on this day by the clothes they wear or the color of their skin. Rich and poor alike are enveloped in the colors of Holi. It's celebrated on a full moon day when the Sun shines brighter and the lazy winter days are almost over. It's a wonderful opportunity to connect with life, free from all divisions and biases. There are infinite possibilities to explore once we let go of our fixations. Only when we drop these existing fixations and create a little space do the infinite possibilities have a chance to connect with us. Otherwise, we typically remain so rigid in our thoughts that we rarely have the opportunity to explore anything beyond our childhood conditioning. Holi should be a lifelong celebration rather than just a one-day event. The moment we are ready to drop our identities and beliefs and embrace life's infinite possibilities, we celebrate Holi every day.
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