Holi (2nd March 2026)

Holi is a festival marking seasonal transition. Ignorance and its entire family – ignorance, feeling of I-ness, attachment, and hatred do not get burnt in the Holi of Knowledge.

Until the Paramatma (Supreme God) manifests, whatever one has attained will slip away in a single moment of death. Therefore, like the Sages and Ascetics, make the following firm resolve.

1. Make this firm resolve

Over time, the story of Prahlad and the demoness Holika has become surreal. The entire world is nothing but surreal. Therefore, love only your Atma (Soul), remain absorbed in Self-meditation, and make Self-realisation the sole aim of life. Everything else will be reduced to dust, like in the festival of Dhulivandan. Whatever has passed, whatever will pass, and whatever is passing – all of it will turn to dust. But the Paramatma by whose power all this is perceived is alone the Truth. He alone is One, He alone is Omkar, He alone existed as Sat (Absolute Truth) from the ages, exists even now, and will remain Sat in the future as well. Make a firm resolve : ‘I shall remain established in the Bliss of the Atma, in the peace and Knowledge of the Truth-form Paramatma. Offer attachment, hatred, despair, hopelessness, and delusion into the Holi as oblation.

2. Kindle the Holi of Brahmavidya

Celebrate Holi in the manner taught by the Upanishads and by great personalities such as Maharshi Vedavyas, Guru Nanak Dev, Sant Kabir, Sant Bholibaba, Swami Ramtirth, Swami Vivekanand, Bhagavadpad Sai Shri Leelashahji Maharaj, and others. If you perform Dhulivandan in the manner prescribed by the Scriptures and Saints, that is, by destroying ignorance, then your Holi and Dhulivandan will become truly meaningful.

Birth and death, old age, attachment, and hatred, all these sufferings arise from ignorance. Our root cause is Atma-Paramatma. We are children of Paramatma and can become like Paramatma. From today onwards, live life in such a way that ego, desires, anxiety, and similar traits are burnt in the fire of discrimination.

3. Remember devotee Prahlad

The festival of Holi should not be celebrated without remembering devotee Prahlad. Prahlad was always joyful. ‘Pra’ is a prefix meaning ‘intense’, and ‘hlad’ means joy; thus, Prahlad signifies one who remains in supreme Bliss. One who remains united with the Atma and has faith in God is Prahlad; whereas, one who places faith in the body only is Hiranyakashipu. If you place faith in the body, there will be unrest and suffering; if you place faith in Atma-Paramatma, all impurities will be destroyed.

(Courtesy : Monthly ‘Rishi Prasad’; February 2022)

One who remains united with the Atma and has faith in God is Prahlad; one who places faith in the body is Hiranyakashipu !