NOTE: Don’t be under impression that I am not writing these days. I am constantly busy scribbling notes for my kids 😁.
Its been an elongated period of festivals and celebrations – veneration, delicacies, get- together, dressing up and what not. Festivals have always been an amalgamation of the aforesaid and also an integral part of our culture and lives. They bring in excitement and joy. Mere mention of festivals is enough to get us on our toes, isn’t it?
Why we should celebrate festivals? To put it simply, we should celebrate to keep our culture alive and to pass on the baton of our traditions to our offsprings. It’s our responsibility to hold on to our identity of ethnicity along with being ethical. Our distance from the core (our motherland) shouldn’t impact our enthusiasm to celebrate our festivals for we are the sole point of information as far as our roots are concerned for our kids. Our negligence will only deport them far away from our culture / roots. And it’s not just about the culture or traditions, our festivals have a scientific purpose backing them. Few petty examples: Fasting helps to detoxify our body, so our festivals on regular intervals have fasting as an important ritual; Eating tender leaves/flowers of Margo (Neem) on the occasion of Ugadi /Gudi padwa acts as medicine for our body; Toran (an array of mango leaves and marigold flowers) across the main door is not a piece of decoration but it purifies air. It’s not even close to tip of an iceberg, can you imagine the base then 😁?
Festivals and Economy (let’s call it business): Celebration for one is a cash point for the other whom we call businessmen and festivals do bring boom to the economy. In nutshell Full Baskets : Full Pockets (directly proportionate 😁). Don’t want to dig further when it means happiness for everyone.
How we should celebrate festivals? Do celebrations mean all glitter /glam / pomp and no substance? I beg to differ big time. One of the most beautiful message that I have come across off late on my family group:
SATYUG: Fight was between two different worlds.
TRETAYUG: Fight was between two different countries.
DWAPARAYUG: Fight was between two groups within the family.
KALAYUG: Fight is raging in oneself.
Though the fight was always between “Righteous” and “Evil” the distance constantly narrowed down till it assimilated into one soul / person . Today we are witnessing a war within between the Right and the Wrong. And the true celebration will be when the righteousness conquers the negativity.
So how the question is how to Celebrate Ourselves? We simply have to inculcate these trivial habits that hold an impact of humongous magnitude meant for achievement of higher objective called “Paripurnatah” (Completeness):
- Think Big: No, you don’t have to launch a satellite into Mars orbit or appear on Forbes (nothing wrong or no harm though in doing so 😂). Thinking Big means getting over or not giving importance to insignificant matters like “she didn’t call me”, “he didn’t greet me”, “I was not personally invited” and a never ending list of silly issues which when allowed to settle in our thoughts could first assume the shape of a grudge, if left untreated can acquire the status of bias that could later transform into an epidemic called Anger that finally leads to the destruction of our ability to think clearly. Try to cross this bridge of ME to WE, inculcate Empathy, you will have a new picture to look at. Give it a try.
- Acceptance is the key: Let’s be fair to ourselves. We all are very well aware of our shortcomings/ flaws in our characters or personality. I am an inexcusable lethargy personified. But despite of knowing my weakness I am doing nothing except giving excuses whenever I fail delivering. The other person might buy my excuses but deep down my heart I know the truth. I must act on it to make a better person and who knows better prospects too. So acceptance is the key so much so the initiative after the acceptance. We are very much averse to the idea that “we could be faulty” and hence no repair is done 😔.
- Steer clear of negativity: Perhaps the most important cog in the wheel driving us to attain the meaning of being “US”. Any word or person who eventually makes you don the hat of a judge and you end up judging and criticizing others; fills you with hatred, jealousy and a false impression of being superior – you should severe the ties immediately or at least avoid them. The more you talk (there’s a difference between talking and thinking) about others the less you pay attention to your ways. Most importantly blabbering about others or giving importance to such trash means that we have nothing good to do, we are idle so is our brain.
- Be always thankful: Don’t complain about the lack of vacations or designer wardrobe just because you saw your friend having one on Facebook. You can’t fathom what lies behind those glossy pictures(I agree it was a heavy melodramatic dialogue 😁). To say the least we should always be thankful to God for what we have today, our sulking is only taking away the joy out of our lives. “Content” is the need of the hour. Remember someone somewhere might be struggling and praying hard to secure a square meal for a day, are we doing that bad? It seems pretty clichéd but makes sense pretty strong.
- A good company: Books, words of great people/Saints (it’s strictly spiritual, nothing religious), people full of wisdom – this is a must for every soul. Words that encourage the change in the way you look at things or life; that enrich and enlighten the soul; that puts the turmoil and stir at rest and brings in tranquillity; that could leave you happy from within without the aid of any materialistic possession – this is what really matters. A good company is the one that could help us resolve all the issues mentioned before. Do you have one? I am fortunate to have many by my side😊. And spending time alone with deep introspection is nothing less than a company, a good one indeed!
It’s definitely food for thought, isn’t it – are our celebrations superficial, can we add to the grace of these festivals by celebrating ourselves? Think about it.
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