It’s
that time of the year again! Time for a spring festival that brings us closer,
heals ruptured relationships, spreads joy and laughter, and signifies the
victory of good over evil. Holi,
the festival of Colors is celebrated in different corners of India with pomp
and gaiety on Full Moon day in the month of Phalgun which is the month of March
as per the Gregorian calendar. This festival has great cultural, social, mythological and scientific significance.
The three major traditional rituals of Holi comprise of Holika Dahan,
Singing songs and Dancing, and Splashing of Colors. Everyone is aware of the Legend of demon King Hiranyakashyap, his
sister Holika and his son Prahlad. Lord Krishna used to celebrate Holi in
Vrindavan with colors. You know the religious and
mythological reasons to celebrate Holi, but do you know the scientific reasons?
Is Holi just about splashing colours and having fun?
The first scientific
reason for celebrating Holi pertains to the tradition of Holika Dahan (burning
of the Holy fire). Holi is celebrated at a time
of the year when the winter season is coming to an end and the summer season is
about to commence. This transitional period induces the growth of
bacteria in the atmosphere as well as in the body. When Holika is burnt, the
surrounding temperature rises to about 50-60 degrees Celsius. When people
perform Parikrama (circumambulation or going around the bonfire), the heat emanating
from the fire kills the bacteria present in body and the surrounding
environment. Furthermore, when wood along with cow dung is burnt in Holika, it
causes an Ayurvedic smoke, which when gets inhaled by humans improve the immune
system resulting in better health conditions during the weather transition. After
Holika Dahan some people put the ash of this Holika on their forehead as vibhuti.
Some people even consume this ash mixed with Sandalwood and leaves of green herbs and mango trees as it is
considered to strengthen their immunity. Hence, the scientific reason of Holika
Dahan is to make our surrounding environment bacteria free and strengthen our
immunity.
As already mentioned,
Holi is played in the Spring Season which is the transitional phase of winter
and summer. In such a scenario it is quite
natural for the body to experience some tardiness because of a change in the
weather from cold to warm. To counter this
laziness and lethargy, people sing songs like Phag, Jogira etc along with Dhol,
Manjira and the modern DJ. The movements are brisk and the music is loud. These
fun and active movements during Holi celebration rejuvenate our body, while
getting rid of laziness. Thus, this ritual of singing and dancing is
important to activate our senses and fill it with energy.
During Spring as the weather changes our bodies get prone
to diseases like measles,
chicken pox, viral fever and cold. According to Doctors and Medical Practitioners, colors play a
very important role in maintaining our well being. Biologists believe that rubbing colors on the body is a way of treating
the body by color therapy. In ancient times, when people started playing Holi,
the colors used by them were made from natural sources like Turmeric, Neem,
Palash, Sandalwood etc. It is said that Lord Krishna used to
play Holi with flowers of Tesu/Palash or flame of the forest. These
flowers have scientifically been proven to be good for the skin. In fact,
people of Vrindavan and Mathura still play Holi with traditional yellowish-orange
colored water extracted from dried Tesu flowers. The Green color was derived
from the Neem leaves which are considered extremely good for protecting the
human body against cold/cough and even skin infections. Orange color was
derived from Saffron, which till date is considered as an effective alternate
to chemical beauty enhancers. Marigold, Amaltas and Yellow Chrysanthemums were
used for making yellow color whose sattvic fragrance provide nourishment to
the nervous system and are believed to have therapeutic effects on the whole
body. Biologists believe that Abeer or Liquid Dye has the ability to penetrate
the human body and enter deep into the pores. This bio-chemical process
activates and strengthens the ions in human body thereby rejuvenating the human
system and adding beauty to it. Colorful water
when prepared with flowers is splashed on the human body, it has a stimulating effect
on the skin and it gives human body the requisite freshness and newness.
Sadly today, people have forgotten the
scientific reasons for the celebration of our Indian festivals and they only
focus on its socio-religious importance. Indian market is mostly flooded with
synthetic colors which comprise of toxic components such as lead oxide,
diesel, chromium iodine and copper sulphate leading to rashes on the skin,
allergies, pigmentation, frizzy hair and eye irritation. In such a scenario, it
becomes imperative on our part to know and understand the underlying reasons
for the observance of our festivals and celebrate them accordingly. The playful
pouring and throwing of color powders made from natural sources have a healing
effect on the human body. These home-made colors are not harmful to the skin,
in fact they are a herbal remedy!
So, this season realise the significance
of our age old customs and use only herbal and natural colors. The festival of
Holi is also a time to spring-clean our houses and get rid of mosquitoes and
other pests. It is the perfect time to attract positive energy, rejuvenate
social ties and de-stress your mind and body.
Wish you all a very Happy, Colorful and
Fortunate Holi.
Comments
Post a Comment