The physical creation is a manifestation of the five elements in their various permutations and combinations. These elements come together to form a body because there is an impurity or dosha. As per Ayurveda, these doshas are vata, pita and kapha, as per other Vedas it is a selfish/negative thought. The dosha along with its action tendency determines your prakriti or basic nature. The level of impurity reflects upon the thought process of a person. The purer are the elements, the higher are the thoughts and more are the impurities, the grosser thoughts one catches from the environment.
Fire or Agni deserves a special mention among the five elements as it is the only element that cannot be polluted. It is also the only element that rises up, despite the pull of gravity. The implication of this is that agni purifies anything that comes in contact with it and holds the capacity to make you rise. No wonder it became the first word of the first Veda, the Rig Veda.
On certain days energy patterns are especially conducive to the process of purification in the body, the day of Holi being one of them. On this day, Holika entered the fire with her nephew Prahlad. She was a sadhika and it was her time to get purified, hence the fire accepted her. Prahlad, on the other hand, was already pure and so did not burn. So a body that is pure remains unaffected by fire, fire here symbolizes the physical fire as well as the negativities or disturbances of our life. A pure body would be eligible to go to higher lokas and have conversation with gods and be in the state of ananda all the time. An impure body would be reveling in the pleasures of the physical world which are of course temporary. It would think that it is having fun and passing time, while in reality, it is time that is passing it and taking it towards rog, because it is the opposite of bhog – the Creation being bipolar and a sum of opposites.
Sanatan Kriya details certain fire purification techniques for Holi, where you make a circle of fire around you and the guru gives you certain mantras to instantly trigger the process of purification, leaving you lighter while the regular practice of Ashtang Yog makes you Prahlad.
In the mahurat of Holi, Ashwini Guruji will be enlightening us on Holi and Mantras, March 13, 12.30 pm IST.
About author: Ashwini Guruji is the guiding light of Dhyan Ashram. For more details visit: www.dhyanfoundation.com
