The month of March and the festival of Holi go hand in hand. The IVY swadhyay in March reconnected the souls of young mumukshus to their inner self.
The 3 different descriptions of Holi as taken by Pujya Minalben were:
1) ‘Ho’ - ‘li’: Whatever has occurred was in the past. Let bygones be bygones. Reliving old injuries and hurtful feelings is of no use and will only bring tears. Whitewash what has ever occurred in the past. There is nothing to be gained out of thinking of the past or worrying about the future?
2) ‘Ho – li’ – “મૈં મેરે પ્રભુ /સદ્ગુરુ કી હો લી’. I have unconditionally surrendered myself to my Guru. ‘લાલી મેરે લાલ કી, જીત દેખું ઉત લાલ, લાલી દેખન કો મેં ગયી, મેં ભી હો ગયી લાલ ’. I have left behind the delusional idea of ‘I am so-and-so’ and submerged myself in the love for my Guru.
3) Holi – A festival that exhorts everyone to burn bad habits in the fire of penance. Along with the outer rituals, is the inner deed of doing away or rather ‘burning’ the negative qualities and celebrating all that is good.
Progressing on the explanations on letters from Vachnamrutji, Minalben skillfully elucidated Letter number 491, simplifying the contents in such a way that even the younger children could follow.
Vachnamrutji: Letter no. 491
While there is no mention to whom this letter was written to, the profound words are very important to every individual who seeks self-realization.
The contents of this letter emphasizes the same message given by Lord Mahavir to every soul:
‘Oh! Souls Awaken. Awaken in the true way. A long time has passed in doing the pointless and extraneous things. This wearisome war of likes-dislikes, love-hate, do-undo, ups-down has to stop if we want to attain eternal bliss. In this cycle of births and deaths, the human birth is invaluable. If we continue to pile on bad karmas, like it or not; we will take birth in lower orders like animals, reptiles, insects or even human beings with deficiencies or human beings born in difficult situations like an impoverished beggar family. So Awaken now, and beware of piling on bad karmas.
Oh Atma! Follow the path of ascetics and disciples – Truth, Non-Violence, Chastity, Non-stealing and Non- possessiveness, should be our motto. Our search for happiness is in the wrong direction. We seek eternal happiness in this transient material world, while true happiness lies within. And it is only an Enlightened Master that can help us reach this spiritual goal.
Much to our detriment, we try to sail in two boats at the same time – two boats heading in the opposite directions. We are often doing a balancing act – between Sansar and Adhyatma. This will hamper our progress. If we aim to reach our spiritual goals, keep aside the expectations/opinions we so strongly believe in and reduce the delusion-enforced actions. Seek the shelter of a Sadguru and follow his instructions as a guiding force instead of letting the judgmental mind rule our decisions.
Those who are devoted to following the Guru’s instructions are devotees of noble souls. Those who revere the company of noble souls, worship their own soul. Worshipping your own pure soul helps you get rid of all sorrows and pains.