The festival of Holi represents life in all its colours. If you understand the deeper message of Holi, you have understood life in its totality. Life is multi-dimensional and so is Holi.
The first thing about Holi is that it is very colurful. Life becomes very dull and boring when it does not have any colours; it is only utilitarian and grey. Add some colours and it is fun. Happiness and sadness, bliss and misery, love and hate, goodness and evil, are all the aspects of which life is made. Life does not allow us to choose the positives only. Sometimes we are happy and suddenly we find sadness creeping in for some or no reason. This is what surprises us. The same happens during Holi. A friend or a stranger catches you unaware and smears your face with colours or splashes water on you. It may be a surprise or a shock to you. You may like it or not, but you are not supposed to feel offended by his or her behaviour.
There’s an interesting story about Krishna and Radha, the god and goddess of eternal love. The story goes that Krishna was jealous of his beloved Radha’s fair complexion, since he himself was very dark.(Yashomati maiyya se bole Nandlala, Radha kyon gori, mein kyon kaala.) Naughty young Krishna complained to his mother Yashoda about this injustice of nature. To placate the child, doting mother asked Krishna to apply colour on Radha’s face and change her complexion according to his choice. Playful and mischievous Krishna appreciated the idea and implemented it. The game of applying colours thus gained so much popularity that it became a tradition and later it turned out to be a full-fledged festival.
It may or may not be a real story, but it is very significant. It has a message. Lord Krishna behaves like us human beings and also feels jealous. Playfully they maintain their witnessing consciousness in whatever they do. Osho concludes: “Look at nature: There is existence enjoying Holi every day... In nature the colours flow afresh every day, new flowers bloom each morning. Even before the old leaves fall, the new buds are bursting out and the new shoots are springing up. The festival does not stop even for a moment, it is non-stop, every moment... Such will be the life of a religious person. He will be festive each moment and will be that he is. His every breath is an expression of gratitude and benediction.
