Festivals normally mean celebrations, and Holi is another of these celebrations followed in the Hindu calendar. A religious festival is given to man as a hint to remind human beings that there is a higher being something mightier than the materialistic things we have become used to, greater than what meets the eye and the senses.

For Mauritians Holi is another Hindu festival, but it becomes an occasion for members of any community to join in the fun, it gives people the chance to mix, sharing good will, joy and love.
In the Indian towns of Vrindavan, Mathura, Barsnar and Nandgaon celebrate this occasion with special fervour, as it is said Krishna used to live in these regions.

The tribesmen of western Madhya Pradesh have retained many of their pre-Hindu customs, dancing and singing in the streets usually accompany the coloured powder clouds seen all over the place.

In some towns, using the seven colours of the universe, pictures are drawn on the pavements depicting the deities of the religious ceremonies and tales of mythology the festival of Holi commemorate.

Chinese cuisine is widely seen as representing one of the richest and most diverse culinary cuisines and heritages in the world.

Temple worship

One of our duties as human beings is to avail ourselves of every opportunity to do good to others. The poor can serve others by their physical labour and the rich by their wealth. Some can use their influence to better the condition of others. That way, we can keep alive in our hearts the sense of social service.

It is the poor that joined together in ancient times and built the grand temples and towers, which we find today in every town and village of South India. The economy of those days was different from what it is now. People's wants were few and the surplus produce of the land was utilized to hire labour to built these great structures of public utility and spiritual inspiration.

In the present day, social service is viewed in a different manner. Schools and hospitals are built and banks organized on a community basis with the object of eradicating ignorance, diseases and poverty. But it is evident that these forms of social service have not been an unmixed blessing. Education has not eradicated falsehood and corruption. On the other hand, unsophisticated tribal people, whom modern education has not reached, are found to be more honest than the so-called educated people. Confidence of obtaining cure in hospitals has made people lead reckless lives. All the banks that have come into existence have not succeeded in eradicating poverty among the masses.

In our modern mode of life, we have multiplied our wants. This will lead only to perpetual discontent. A life of extreme simplicity alone can bring contentment and happiness to the people. In this country, there are, what may be called, community temples. For instance at Avadayarkoil, it is the custom to offer large quantities of cooked rice to the presiding deity and the same made available to all at a nominal cost. In many temples the sense of community life is fostered by devoting special days and occasions for it. Consecrated food is made available through them to all those in need.

Gratitude for help received is a cardinal virtue. The taxes you pay are your expression of gratitude for the services rendered by the agencies concerned. There are super-human agencies; which confer benefits on us. We must express our gratitude to those agencies in the manner prescribed in the Vedas. This expression of gratitude is known as Yagna. Though schools, hospitals and banks and such other social service organizations may be necessary in the context of our present times, these institutions cannot serve their respective purposes in the absence of devotion. The one cure for all human ills is the power to endure them with faith in God’s grace. Bhakti alone can give that power of endurance. Temples are the agencies for the cultivation of Bhakti. Hence the obligation to built temples in every place.

What is the significance of making offerings to the idols installed in temples? This is done as an expression of gratitude to the Power that created all things. Man by himself cannot create even a blade of grass. We will be guilty of gross ingratitude if we do not offer first to God, what we eat or wear. Only the best and the choicest should be offered to God. It is not every one that can do pooja at home and make these offerings to God. It is here temples come into picture. Offerings are made in the temples on behalf of the entire community.

It is not even necessary that every one should worship inside the temples every day. Gopura Darsanam will itself elevate our minds and make us remember the source from which we derive all the earthly benefits. At the same time, it is necessary for the community to see that worship at the temples is conducted properly. We should make it a point to see the temple tower every day and thereby concentrate a while on God. At least once a week we should go round the temple, reciting naamaas (God’s names) and doing bhajan. If we do so, we will derive real and lasting benefit.
- Sri Chandrasekharendra Saraswathi

The most enviable and extraordinary gifts which mankind has been endowed with, in contrast to animals and birds, are the privilege to chant Mantras, offer prayers and worship God, and the exercise of an absolute control over dietary habits. Mantras, which are everlasting and efficacious, have a spellbinding effect and a toning impact on the human mind and help achieve mental peace. Manu’s Code emphasises the purificatory and propitiatory aspects of the Mantras to cleanse one’s hearts. An elaborate account of the rituals connected with the wedding of Sri Rama with Sri Sita is contained in the Ramayana to explain to posterity scrupulously went through the formalities prescribed in the Sastras and the entire universe echoed with joy over the union of the Lord and the Divine Mother brought about by Sage Viswamitra.

In his discourse Sri Sengalipuram Anantarama Dikshitar referred to the great import, which each syllable of the Mantras uttered during marriages carried with it and pointed out how they were intended to welcome the bride into the new household and gave directions for her future behaviour. Marriage symbolized a total identification of the thoughts and deeds of the husband and wife and was an unbreakable and irrevocable bond.

Returning to Ayodhya, Sri Rama got trained in administration. He was soft-spoken, compassionate, gentle and considerate towards citizens and shared their joys and sorrows. He honored scholars and respected the aged. Never did He depart from traditions nor give room for untruth. He won such universal approbation that Dasaratha’s decision to step down from the throne and make Him Emperor was heartily applauded.

The Vedas are the very breath of God. The Almighty reveals Himself to us through them. “Karma Kanda”, a part of them dealing with duties is intended to inculcate spiritual discipline in us. Hence religious rites should be performed with fervour as they will help us in “inner interpretation” and purify the body and the soul. Religion is not mere imagination nor a dogma, but when it is converted into a business it loses its spirit. The Mantras are not mere words but carry a special import and potency. By consistent practice of the various austerities prescribed in religious literature, one will be able, step by step, to reach the summit. The Guru, having crossed the various barriers and known Transcendental Bliss, is in a position to teach the discipline the methods of God-perception and hand him over the bunch of keys to unlock the treasure.

Swami Bhadragiri Kesavadas in his discourse said intense efforts would help one to obtain the power of concentration. If that was not possible, he could perform the deeds with self-control and renounce the fruits of his actions. Even as an ant knows the real taste of honey or sugar, a devotee alone would be able to experience the total happiness of coming into communion with the Supreme Being. To show how by affection one can convert even the hard-hearted, he narrated an incident in a saint’s life. After distributing several sugarcane pieces presented to him to member of the public, he brought only one to his house when his uncompromising wife threw it down, breaking it into two. Instead of getting angry, the saint remarked that she had only demonstrated her desire to share it with her spouse.

The efficacy of Vedic incantations, recited strictly according to tradition, can be proved scientifically. One of the religious functions for an enceinte woman suggests the rendering of special Mantras by two proficient players on two veenas. The sound waves are found to have a direct bearing on the growth of the child, which will be found exceptionally talented. The Mantras retain their power for all time. From womb to tomb of a person, about 40 religious rites have been prescribed (Samskaras) for the prosperity, happiness and sound health of a human being. Marriage is never treated as a mere biological necessity: on the other hand, it is a sacred contract intended to maintain the continuity of a family. The Mantras recited during the functions are intended to ensure a sound progeny. A political treatise, Sukra Needhi, gives an instance where a dull person was turned intelligent by making him repeat some of the religious functions, as it was guessed that their performance on earlier occasions while he was young had become infructuous as they had been carried out imperfectly.

In a discourse, Sri S. Panchapakesa Sastrigal referred to the Pumsavana-Seemantham function that had to be organized during the fourth month of a woman’s pregnancy, though traditionally it was being conducted at a much later period. The Mantras chanted would result in the proper development of the child without deformities. The basic requirement to test the potency of the Mantras was faith and belief in our Sastras.

There need be no doubt about the inherent efficacy of the mantras, as they are God’s utterances. By acquiring them from a proper source by proper means, by a deep study of their import with dedication, reverence, seriousness and sincerity and by constant meditation, one can definitely achieve the desired results. But the mantras are not intended merely to fetch material benefits.

The mantras provide the moral strength to withstand trials, condition the mind to face any problem and remain pure and unperturbed, and ultimately have communion with God. They should not, therefore, be used indiscriminately. Some, who might have tasted power by utilizing them and got personal gains would have also experienced that the latter were short-lived. Spiritual leaders, who have digested their contents, before initiating others, will take care to test the genuineness of the recipients and ensure that they are fit persons who will cherish the mantras as a method to realize God. But the reward is certain for those who meditate on them. Some years ago, a rogue elephant went on a rampage and when everyone was helpless, Kanchi Sankaracharya went before it weaponless muttering mantras and tamed it by sprinkling on it a few drops of consecrated water. The Mahabharatha reveals the potency of mantras by explaining how, after a casual chanting, a child was presented with a babe, whom the former discarded, fearing the consequences.

Sri T. S. Balakrishna Sastrigal, in his discourse said that growing as Kunti, the child later used the mantras to solve her husband’s dilemma and begot five sons – the Pandavas. She survived only to tend the fatherless children. The epic, a gift to mankind by Vyasa, has been expounded by succeeding sages to provide mankind the spiritual knowledge required to lead a life of virtue.