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| Splash of Colors Holi celebrated with exuberance By Dhirendra Sharma True to its tradition, Atlanta Vedic Temple organized Holi celebration– the festival of colors to foster love and spread cheer amongst all family members, friends and fraternity. Lest we forget, the original significance of Holi is spiritual and its aim is to commemorate the victory of human submission to the Supreme Almighty.  According to the ancient mythology, there once lived a demon king called Hiranyakashyap. Due to a boon given to him, he could not be killed by any ordinary means and this emboldened him to claim he was God. His son Prahalad, who was a staunch devotee of Lord Vishnu, disobeyed his father and refused to accept his false egoistic beliefs. Hiranyakashyap grew indignant after all his efforts to convince his son failed. He finally commanded the demon sister Holika (who through a boon, had obtained a shawl which when used would not let fire burn her) to squat on fire with Prahalad on her lap. As a result of this clever ploy, Holika with the shawl would be safe and Prahalad would be consumed by flames. The irony of it was when the real fire started, by God’s decree the shawl flew away from Holika to cover Prahalad. Thus, the fire immolated Holika and Prahalad came out unscathed.  On the first of the two days of Holi (called Choti Holi), the Vedic temple welcomed all guests by lighting a big warm bonfire called Holi Dahan, The enthusiastic crowd circled around the bonfire chanting Gayantri Mantra and made pious offerings to the Fire God. After enjoying the warmth of bonfire, the excited guests then moved to the temple hall to watch an awe-inspiring cultural program staged mainly by the young children of Arya Veer Dal. The first event beautifully enacted the mythology of Hiranyakashyap / Holika and Prahalad. The talented children followed this up with some truly entertaining dances and songs set to background music. The program ended with traditional Holi song by the adults to the accompaniment of resonant Dholak. Each event of this cultural program drew a deserving ovation from the audience. After the program, the crowd enjoyed the delicious Holy dinner and then departed to come back again the next day for the main Holi color festival.  The second day of the Holi commenced with a special Holy Puja and Bhajans. After this religious event, the crowd rushed to be part of the fervor and revelry of Holi color play. Oblivious of their age-differences and with gay abandon, they smeared one another with dry and wet colors using water guns and water-balloons. Finally exhausted and worn out, the crowd sat down to relish the Holy’s real sumptuous feast. This year’s awesome Holy presentation would not have been possible without the active and dedicated services of the numerous volunteers and the support of the generous sponsors. May God bless them all with the required strength and zest to enable them pursue their goals in life. Next grand function coming up at Atlanta Vedic Temple is Yajurveda Mahayajna to invoke universal peace and prosperity on April 18 (8:00 AM to 12:30 PM). Event Flyer |