It is very interesting to know how people 'fall' in love, not rise in 'love'. The festival of Holi is the day of celebration of victory of the irresistible, success of Love! It is celebrated with colors- kumkum and haldi, not the furious chemicals that hurt! As the Shiva purana goes, Shiva was in the meditative trance when Rati and Manmatha (Kama or embodiment of desires) tried to distract Him. The purpose was to engage Shiva in the creation process. Shiva got angry and opened His third eye and burnt Kama into ashes. Rati started crying and requested Shiva to pardon and restore the life of her partner in Love. Shiva granted him a body-less state, ananga. Thus, Ananga Kama could use arrows (kusuma bana) to shoot flowers symbolic of love towards youth without hands. Thus, we see boys and girls fall in love even without their knowledge (blindly) and thus the phrase- 'Love is Blind'!
The festival is celebrated with performance of puja and distribution of sweets in South India and it is celebrated with sprinkling colors and distribution of sweets in North India. The day of Full Moon (Holi Pournima) is celebrated with burning the effigy of Kama (Desires) and it is followed by festivities the next day. The central theme is clear. It is desire that prompts resole and action; action begets the consequences, the fruits of action, karma phala. The jiva suffers due to ignorance. It is sheer ignorance that jiva runs after desires that are never fulfilled! Each and every sense organ has numerous desires and there is no end to greed! The desires are insatiable and even when the desires are fulfilled, there is a time gap between the time desire sprouts and bear fruits. The time gap takes away the luster and leaves the jiva unhappy/ Thus desire leads to disappointments, misery, and unhappiness. Burning the desires (kamana) arising out of avidya with knowledge, jnyan, leads to eternal happiness, joy and ultimately, fulfillment.
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