The significance of Indian festivals

This is an exciting time in Delhi--the weather is cold, outside and inside the home.  People are already looking forward to the spring/summer with several religious and secular festivals.  In the last few days alone, we have experienced three harvest festivals drawn from the varied corners of India:  Lohri, on Jan 13, Makar Sankranti on Jan 14 and Pongal, on Jan 15.  The list of festivals around India (and throughout South East Asia) is very long and the Khuado Pawi is celebrated in Mizoram, and Songkarn or Maha Songkarn is celebrated in Thailand and Cambodia.  The interesting thing is that the harvest festivals are based on the solar calendar while most other Hindu dates are lunar.  The Islamic Eid Al-Adha is based on the lunar calendar, as a result of which it does not fall around the same time as the other festivals.  In 2010, it was in early November.  Eid Al-Adha, of course, is also considered a harvest festival although it primarily celebrates the grace of God in releasing Abraham from him promise to sacrifice his son, as soon as Abraham proved that he was capable of passing the test.  It is a truly significant festival for all since the birth and crucifixion of Jesus was directly linked to Abraham's ability to pass the test and demonstrate that God never asks us to make a sacrifice that He would not make Himself (since Jesus Himself was the son of God).

Festivals are wonderful, however, only when people can financially afford to participate in them.  Many in India cannot do so, due to caste and gender barriers in the past and due to financial barriers today.  As we enjoy the festivals, it is important that we also share them with those who may not be able to do so on their own.  For example, harvest festivals are wonderful, except for the farmers who grow the food but commit suicides when they cannot pay back their debts.  Fortunately, we have many ways and many methods to share the bounty more easily today.  Some of these methods are discussed below, even as we enjoy the festive season.  By enjoying festivals and sharing the bounty, we increase the joys for all.

The beauty of the Indian festivals, is how all of them end up as community events, spanning religions and regions.  In our apartment complex, Mr Anurag Singh and several other residents organized a bonfire for all residents where the personal and physical warmth was quite a thrill to experience!

As a child brought up in Delhi--and until i started researching this blog--i was unaware that Lohri originated in Punjab and Kashmir.  Like most festivals in India, it also has roots in celebrating the victory of God over the forces of evil.  Lohri, the sister of Holika, survived with Prahlad when she accompanied the devotee of Vishnu into a fire.  Additionally, Lohri celebrates Dulla Bhatti a Muslim Rajput convert who rescued Hindu girls who were being transported as slaves during Mughal rule.  Coming back with fresh eyes, I see that this mongrel Indian culture spread over 5,000 years has its benefits!

Another event held during this time was a Bharatnatyam celebration of Tamil Nadu's Pongal by the celebrated guru, Jamuna Krishnan, in Delhi.

Again, although the tradition is from Tamil Nadu, several of the musical scores were set in Hindi.  The message, as always, is to thank God through the medium of dance for His benevolence.  The beauty of some of the devotional songs is how they refer to representations of God in ways that never make sense in a temporal sense.  In the Bharatnatyam dances, God is praised as shining like a thousand suns.  This makes little sense until we start to meditate deeply--as anyone can do.  As my own guru, Paramhansa Yogananda and several other Masters have shown, seeing different bright lights in meditation is not particularly rare, especially for those who practice Kriya Yoga.

It is these traditions, if interpreted in their true spiritual context, that truly demonstrate the "ultimate verities" of life that Yogananda has spoken of in his book, Autobiography of a Yogi.  For one, we need to spend more time to spare a thought for the farmers that make the harvest possible.  Beyond the spiritual beauty is the challenge of sharing this bounty in a temporal sense with those who do not have the means to enjoy these traditions.  To do so, check out GiveIndia and RangDe to see how they are helping change the lives of the farmers and others who make the successful harvest festivals possible at all levels.