Holi Through the Heart: A Journey of Inner Evolution
Holi is a festival of different hues, filling the atmosphere with soothing colors and pleasant warmth of love, laughter and fun. It makes us happy as different colors connote unique meaning to us. Festivals in Indian culture are deeply symbolic, reflecting profound spiritual truth. The story of Prahalad and Hiranya Kashyap is also related to victory of divine faith over demonic tendencies. I think this is a war to be won in each one of us. The real victory should be over our own mental tendencies. It is easier said than done. We need some help to awaken our inner divinity – the real nature of human beings.
At the war zone of Kurukshetra, Arjun was perturbed, distressed and overwhelmed. Lord Krishna imparted him, timeless wisdom, to know the reality and do his Karma. Arjuna’s mind was in dilemma to see the necessity of the moment and the aftermath effects of the war for future maintaining the right societal order and to convey the wisdom for future generations. The all-powerful knower of existence, understood, how important was this action to be taken by the army of Pandavas.
In real life also, our condition is like Arjun, we cannot see and face reality clearly. When we become distressed, how can we solve the problems of life. We dream of the life of heaven but not able to solve the mundane problems of life with a clear view. Only divine interference in our lives can wipe out the dust of ignorance and help us to sail smoothly in this wavering boat of life.
Desires, fear, anxiety, jealousy are the main obstacles resulting in a mind which is always preoccupied with the default mode of useless thoughts. We are so trapped in our desires, likes and dislikes that we never realize how it’s robbing us our precious now. So many thoughts go on in our mind dragging us into a stressful life. Lord says Atman is pure blissful and if consciousness is covered by layers of smoke, then we are in perplexed state of mind.
Our main purpose in life is evolution. We can evolve at three levels, i.e., Physical, mental and spiritual. The Physical body has a limit to growth and after achieving a certain level of maturity, it stops growing. Our soul is pure and complete in itself. So, what remains is our subtle body I e. consciousness. Our consciousness is made up of mind, intellect and ego. Without bringing about change in them our consciousness cannot grow. We cannot bring about change in them without meditation.
As a Heartfulness practitioner my life went through a beautiful transformation. As we meditate, our mind, intellect and ego get refined, and our consciousness evolves exponentially. We become the better version of ourselves. Our perspective of seeing circumstances changes, it gives a 360-degree view of situations. I became peaceful, contented and blissful irrespective of the circumstances. Whenever there is a problem, I meditate on it and receive answers from within. As we meditate on the heart, its intelligence is far more accurate than the mind and gives us deep insights. As all the moral values are the attributes of heart only. These archetypes can create a beautiful world within and around us.
As we all know stress is the main reason for so many diseases, that is why these are called psychosomatic diseases. Many conditions such as cancers, autoimmune diseases, body aches to asthma, blood pressure and migraine have their roots in stress only. I was a bit sensitive person, so being a sensitive soul, it has its own repercussions both positive and negative aspects of it if not managed properly. As I started meditating, I began to observe myself. I became both the experimenter and the subject, experimenting on myself. I continue to evolve, by following our Heartfulness practice. I became self-reliant and leading a life of a Sadhak helped me in every field of my life. It helped create a beautiful environment at home. My children recognized that I had become the most peaceful and jovial member of the family.
We can clearly observe ourselves and as it is said,” By knowing one, you know all”. To know one is to know all. The beautiful heartfulness practice makes it easy to evolve with cheerful acceptance of ourselves and our circumstances. Heartfulness meditation is very scientific as it is practiced with yogic transmission which is our ancient technique also called pranahuti. Its heart-to-heart transmission that transforms us deeply. This divine energy spreads throughout our body cells and transforms us from human beings to divine beings. We begin with the thought that divine light is present in our heart, as we progress in our practice, the thoughts transcend into feelings. These feelings ultimately lead us to becoming divine.
It helps us to healing the heart, calming the mind and restoring our sleep. All the body parameters like blood pressure and heart rate are normalized. Our heart feels full and love oozes out to the people all around us. We become love instead of merely giving or receiving it. This condition requires sincere Sadhana for a few months. Heartfulness is a simple practice which is adept to modern times, and we can balance the practice with our day-to-day life.
As Lord Krishna explained in Gita about Stithpragya, a mere spectator who observes all, knows reality and solves the problems of life with clear mind and kind heart. The practice designs our destiny to a brighter world where we are heart centered and live a life which is comprised of all the positive archetypes. Individual peace leads in the peaceful environment of family, community and thus the whole planet.
Meditation helps us to awaken our chakras. All the past traumas and wounds g dissolve through regular practice of Dhyana. People often think dhyana is to focus your attention at one point. But when we further explore it in Gyatri mantra
ॐ भूर्भुवः स्वः तत्सवितुर्वरेण्यं भर्गो देवस्य धीमहि धियो यो नः प्रचोदयात
The word Dhi appears twice. As explained by Daaji, it is Dhi+Yaan, and dhi (wisdom), Yaan (vehicle). So, dhyana is a vehicle that leads us to ultimate wisdom. This is the state referred as Stith Pragya in Gita. No dictionary can define exactly what dhyana is. As we progress in our sadhana our chakras begin to blossom and we may experience different colors associated with them . Traditionally seven chakras are mentioned i.e. Muldhara, Svadhisthana, Manipura, Heart, vishuddha Anjana, Sahastrara Kamal .
In heartfulness literature, additional chakras are also explained. There are few sub chakras around heart and few beyond Shasterdalkamal. As these chakras blossom, we can perceive different colors during dhyana. So this Holi I feel more connected with the colors with in me, this inward journey is fascinating and fecund for our evolution and gives real strength and joy to us. Actually, I feel playing Holi with external colors is symbolic of colors which blossom within us, with opening up of chakras. Real Holi can be experienced daily with disciplined routine of sadhana, by meditating on the heart. The colors of love, compassion, wisdom, clarity, courage can bring us permanent bliss as compared to transient moment of happiness. May we all find the true colors of life within.
