From the publication “A Few Problems Solved, Part 5”
Today is the day of the spring festival, and the whole of India is busy in celebration. This festival is basically the festival of the Aryans. You know that the original homeland of the Aryans was Central Asia, in the central and southern portion of modern USSR. This area is extremely cold – bitterly cold – and throughout the winter there is continuous snowfall. In fact, it was so cold that throughout the winter the people could hardly move out of their houses; they used to stay indoors all winter long. And the moment the winter was about to depart, they were beside themselves with joy. At the onset of the spring following on the heels of winter, they burst into revelry and bustling activity. The arrival of spring meant the departure of winter, the disappearance of the dullness of cold.
Due to the extreme cold, people found it difficult to move; their hands and feet remained inactive. Cold is called jáŕh in Hindi, jáŕáha in Bhojpurii and Angika, and jád́ya or jaŕata in Saḿskrta. This sort of inertness during cold weather is usually hated by children and young energetic people, but the old people merely sit inactively. They invariably walk slowly and leisurely, whether the season is cold or warm; but youths always like to walk or run as fast as they can. However, due to the extreme cold in winter, they cannot do so; and thus for children and youths the spring at the end of winter is the season of festive joy. There is a popular saying,
Báccáke hám láginá yuvake hám bhái;
Buŕáke hám cháŕiná yateke oŕas rejái.The winter says, “I do not harm the little children, and I am the friend of the youth; but I never spare the old people, however they may cover their bodies with quilts.”
In the ancient days the Aryans came to India from that very cold country, and thus as soon as the winter had passed they used to organize joyful festivals with great din and bustle. In these festive celebrations there used to be a sheep with an old woman seated or its back, symbolizing the cold. The clothes of that old woman were merely a blanket, made of the wool of the sheep. The Aryans used to burn that effigy of the old woman on the full moon night, signifying thereby that they had bade farewell to the winter, for the next day the spring season would begin. In the language of the Aryans the festival was known as the spring festival: in the Persian language, spring is called báhár. The people of the Punjab even today sing the Holá songs the day after Holi. In their ballads they sing:
Áii basantadii báhár
Ásu mole t́esu mole
Mol rahii kacńar.“The winter is gone, the flowers of the mango, palásh and káiṋcan trees have all burst into bloom – for the spring has come.”
In Bengal, as you know, winter is not very severe; there is almost no cold at all. And where there is no winter, people can hardly enjoy the sweetness of the spring, for spring becomes beautiful only in comparison with the severity of the cold. In the North Pole, where the snow is completely frozen, spring is the most precious season. In Scandinavian countries, spring is warmly welcomed because of the biting cold of those countries, and the footfall of spring indicates the death of the winter. But in Bengal this is not the case. There the duration of winter is very short; it comes and goes quickly. Here the people feel the presence of spring only because the mango and hog-plum trees burst into bloom; otherwise its advent would remained unnoticed, because the weather remains generally warm all year round. The seasonal patterns of Bengal are slightly different, which I have not discussed up until now. In the entire India and Central Asia, today is the full moon of the spring season, and yesterday the winter officially ended. But in Bengal the situation is different: the winter is over on the fourteenth day of the previous bright fortnight of the moon, and the spring season begins from the fifth day of the next fortnight, or Shrii paiṋcamii, the day when the Goddess of Learning is worshipped. In Bengal, today is not the starting of spring; in fact it starts from the day of the worship of Sarasvatii. I do not know whether you are aware of the fact that in those days in Bengal the small children used to wear deep yellow clothes (vásanti) on the fifth day. So you see, the spring season starts in Bengal long before it starts in other parts of India, in the Bengali month of Mágha and not in Phálguna. Thus in the dhyána mantra of the mythological goddess of learning Sarasvatii, it is mentioned that winter is over from the date of her worship. The Buddhist Sarasvatii, or Niila Sarasvatii, is called Tárá. She is also worshipped in Tibet.
The Buddhist Sarasvatii is blue and four-armed, but the Sarasvatii of Bengal is all white, not blue. Saras+vatii = Sarasvatii. One meaning of Saras is “white colour”; another meaning is “lake” or “large pond.” In the dhyána mantra of the goddess Sarasvatii the word jád́yá has been mentioned
Yá puŕnendutuśáraháradhavalá
Yá shubhravastrávrtá
Yá viińdbaradadańd́ashobhitá kalá
Yá shvetapadmásaná
Yá Brahmáeyutamaheshaprabhrti devae sádávandita.
Sá máḿ pátu Bhagavatii Sarasvatii nisheśajádyapahá.
Jád́yápahá means that which kills or removes dullness. The old date for the spring festival in Bengal is Shriipaiṋcamii, the fifth day of the fortnight. Now the question may arise, why was the spring festival in Bengal not observed in a grand way? Because the winter in Bengal is not very severe, so spring also is not very conspicuous. In Bengal there are three seasons: summer, rainy season, and autumn. Autumn is very conspicuous, but spring is not. In autumn, the kash and shiulii (lower) blossom, the rains are over, and the land is all green. In this season the planetary position is as follows. If the full moon comes during the presence of the stars Púrva Phalgunii or Uttar Phalgunii in the northern hemisphere (north of the equator), the lunar month is called Phálguna, and the name of the solar month is also Phalguna. On the night before the full moon, people burn the effigy of an old woman which represents winter. This is the astrological as well as the astronomical interpretation of the spring festival.
In Indo-Aryan mythology there is mention of a king named Hirańyakashipu. His sister, Holika, was a woman of violent nature. She was a cannibal. (You should note that she was a cannibal, not homivorous. A human eating another human is called a cannibal, whereas an animal eating human flesh is called homivorous. Holika was a cannibal, whereas a tiger is homivorous). The people out of anger burnt Holika alive the night before the full moon, and to celebrate this occasion, they arranged a festival of joy which was called Holikadahana (the burning of Holika). That is why even today in northern India particularly in the Punjab and Uttar Pradesh, this Holi festival is celebrated. And since the moon enters the zodiac sign of the Uttar Phálgunii star, the festival is popularly called Pháguyá in Bihar and in the eastern regions of Uttar Pradesh. But as neither winter nor spring is conspicuous in Bengal, so neither festival, Holi nor Pháguyá, is celebrated. The festival that is celebrated on that day in Bengal is the Dolyátrá of Shriikrśńa, and thus that day is also observed as a holiday in Bengal.
The history behind the festival is this. About 500 years ago Mahaprabhu Shrii Caetanya once went to visit Brindaban, where he observed the Holi festival. Brindaban is situated in the western part of India, where the Holi festival is celebrated, not the Pháguá, which is popular as far as Allahabad. To the west of Allahabad, i.e.in the non-Bhojpurii-speaking areas, there Holi is celebrated.
After his return to Bengal, Mahaprabhu pondered deeply and decided to introduce the festival but, of course, in a different form. He said to his followers, “Go to the Krśńa temple on that day, and apply red powder and red colour to Krśńa. Then you should play with the red powder and colour amongst yourselves,” And those who gave red powder and colour to others would also feed them with malpoa [delectable sweet]. In Bihar there are both poa and malpoa sweets. The difference between the two is that if flour is mixed with sugar and spices, and dipped in sugar-water, it is called poa. And if flour without sugar is first fried in ghee and then dipped in sugar-water, it is called malpoa. What is known as poa in Bihar and Uttar Pradesh is known as malpoa in Bengal. And what is known as malpoa is known as dhákái malpoa. Mahaprabhu was very fond of malpoa. In his biography it has been written, Malpoa sarbhájá ár, luchi purii, ananda bhojan karen nadiiya biharii. (“Malpoa, sarbhaja, luchi and puri are relished by Mahaprabhu”). In my boyhood days when I first heard these lines, I said, “Well, it’s all right that Mahaprabhu relished malpoa, sarbhaja, luci, puri, etc. – but is there anyone who does not relish these delicacies? Personally as far as I know, all people like them!”
As I said, Mahaprabhu saw the festival in Brindavan and then introduced it in Bengal. It has never become a social festival in Bengal, as Pháguyá has become a social festival in Bihar and in the eastern part of Uttar Pradesh. Rather, it has become a kind of religious festival in Bengal. So it is neither Holi festival nor Pháguyá – it is the Dolyátrá of Shriikrśńa, and the government of West Bengal has declared that day as a holiday.
Now, what is the significance of Dolyátrá? The winter is over, and the people are active again. Various colourful ideas and plans are appearing in their minds, and they plan to do so many things for the benefit of society. Similarly when they think of Lord Krśńa, their minds are filled with joy. The very thought of Krśńa produces ripples of joy in people’s minds, and these vibrations of joy in the devotees’ minds also produce a corresponding vibration in Krśńa’s mind. They think, “Oh Krśńa, I love you – but you also love me, that I know.” In this way the ripples of joy in their own minds also create vibrations of joy in His mind. This is the inner significance of the Dolyátrá of Shrii Krśńa. In our Ananda Márga Caryácarya, this festival is celebrated as a spring festival.
In the days of Mahaprabhu, the prevailing rule was to seek the prior permission of the person to whom you were going to give the red powder. If that person gave permission, then only could you smear him or her with coloured powder, and then treat them to malpoa. These days all these customs have degenerated.
Let us discuss the science of colour. In Saḿskrta language there are two similar words: varńa and rága. Though the meanings are approximately the same, they are not completely synonymous. Varńa means colour (what is termed in Bengali as rauṋg). But this word varńa does not indicate the colour which will colour other objects as well; an object has its own colour but its colour may not necessarily dye other objects. But the word rága means that particular colour which can dye other objects also. So the inner spirit of the science of colour in Vaeshnavii Tantra is this – that each and every expression of this universe has its own rhythm, its own vibration, its own sound, and its own colour, and thus it has its own form as well. And as it has its own sound, it has a particular sweetness of its own. Suppose there is a person who is dumb but very good; and there is another person who is equally good, but speaks well also. Obviously you will prefer the second man, because he possesses the power of expression. Dumb people can give expression to their inner thoughts only with their gestures and postures, whereas those who can speak can express themselves with gesture, posture, and also language. A dumb person can only look at you and express through gesture to come to him, but a person who can speak can say, “Come little child, come to me.” This vocal expression of the second person conveys more sweetness.
When Tantra was first invented, there was only one science of Tantra; but later various cults emerged according to their respective philosophical viewpoints. Each had a different name although their inner spirit was the same: for instance, Baoddha Tantra, Jaina Tantra, and in later times Shaeva Tantra, Shákta Tantra, Saora Tantra, Gáńapatya Tantra, Vaeśńviiya Tantra, etc. The inner idea of the Vaeśńaviiya Tantra is that there is form and colour (both rága and varńa) in the rhythmic expressions of Parama Puruśa, and those cosmic rhythms also have a sweet sonic vibration. This sonic vibration is instrumental in giving expression to various other forms in this universe as well. The resonance of the collective vibrations of the universe is called the flute sound of Krśńa, another name for oṋḿkára, the cosmic sound which reaches the ears of spiritual aspirants in various ways. When human beings attain spiritual progress step by step, they will also hear this sound with their own ears.
In this expressed world full of various emanations there are so many varieties of colours – not only seven colours, but numerous colours made through permutations and combinations. And all these colours which people know, as well as all those which they do not know – all are included in that divine sound, that oṋḿkára. It the Upaniśads it is said,
Yá eko’varńo bahudháshaktihyogád
Varńananekán nihitártho dadháti
Vicaeti cánte vishvamádhao sa devah
Sa no-buddhyá shubhayá saḿyunaktu.“That one Parama Puruśa has been creating this unique colourful world with His various powers. Why He is doing so is known to Him alone; no one else knows it.”
The scriptures on devotion emphatically insist that only He knows the answer, no one else. It is a fact that human beings with their limited intellect can never understand the secrets of why and how Parama Puruśa has been creating this universe; their wisdom can never fathom this mystery. That is why the scriptures say, “Be a good person, but do not be foolish. Be intelligent and clever.” Now what is the clever approach? Just as on the one hand you are moving towards Parama Puruśa to attain Him by concentrating your mind through mudrá, práńáyáma and kiirtana, at the same time you should constantly remember why He is creating all these things, and what is your relation with Him. You should think, “My little intellect cannot fathom all this – rather let me do one thing, let me establish a relation of sweet love with Him. When this relation of love is established, He will be my own, and I will know His inner secret; I will certainly find the answers to all the questions ‘why’.”
To find the answer to those questions of “why”, just as the devotees run towards His sonic expression which the Vaeśńavas call His flute sound, they also run towards the expressions of His colour. They think, I will colour my mind with the same colour in which He manifests Himself before me, and move towards Him. If I can colour my mind in His colour, I will be very close to Him. This attempt to colour oneself with the colour of Parama Puruśa is called anurága (anu means “afterwards,” and rága means “colour”). Those who want all their actions to be crowned with success should love Parama Puruśa with all their hearts, and understand what He likes and what He dislikes, what He wants and what He does not want. They should not even go near those things which Parama Puruśa dislikes. And when they guide all their desires and ambitions according to His wishes, their success will be inevitable, because whatever He wants will surely be fulfilled.
Kii habe iccháy, iccháte kii nay
Krśńa icchá viná phal phalená.[Even if one wishes, the wish may not be fulfilled; without the wish of Krśńa, no wish can bear fruit.]
So all must work according to the wishes of Parama Puruśa. [[To dye oneself in the colour of Parama Puruśa I call anurága. In the cult of devotion, it is said that the best sádhaná is the sádhaná of kevalá bhakti. “I do not ask anything – I do not ask anything from You. Do whatever You think proper]], and do not do what You think improper. I will not apply my little intellect to You, because Your intellect is infinitely superior to mine.”
In the cult of devotion, a higher [[form of sádhaná is]] rágánuga bhakti. The word rágá is derived from the word rańj + ghaiṋ suffix. The verb rańj means “to colour”. Rágánuga bhakti means that type of devotion which gives expression to one’s inner devotion. The psychology behind this type of bhakti is, “Because of my rágánuga bhakti, because I have dyed my mind with His colour, He will be pleased. And when He is pleased, I will also get pleasure.” Some people may think, “Parama Puruśa likes to eat malpoa, so let me prepare a few pieces of malpoa for Him. When He will eat malpoa He will feel pleasure, and when He feels pleasure, I will derive joy from His joy.”
But there is a still higher type of devotion than rágánuga, in which devotee thinks, “I will do exactly as He wants, I will colour my mind with His colour, and I will not think whether that will bring joy to me or not. Let Him be pleased… that is my only wish.” This is the highest stage of devotion.
According to Vaeśńava Tantra, a person in a certain circumstance is coloured with a particular vibrational colour. Thus unit beings must offer that particular colour to Parama Puruśa saying, “Oh Parama Puruśa, please accept my colour, and colour my mind with your colour.” To offer the colour of one’s mind to Parama Puruśa, is a kind of ragasádhaná.
When Mahaprabhu first introduced the Dolyátrá festival, the psychology behind this festival was to give one’s mental colour to Parama Puruśa. The inner idea was, “Let my mind vibrate in the same way as Krśńa’s mind is vibrating” This Dolyátrá has no relation to the Holi festival of north India or the Pháguá of central and east India, for it is something purely psychic. The word Dolyátrá is popular in the almanacs of Orissa, Bengal, Assam, Manipur, and Mithila. The inner significance of Dolyátrá is, in the swinging vibration in which the entire universe is vibrating, I will also be vibrated.
| 1 March 1980, Calcutta Published in: A Few Problems Solved Part 5 |