Beyond Colours: Prahlad’s Teachings & the Spiritual Significance of Holi

Speech Delivered by Jagadguru Shri Kripalu Ji Maharaj on the Auspicious Occasion of Holi

The sacred festival of Holi is not just an occasion for merriment; it carries a profound significance. While the ritual of Holika Dahan is widely performed, few truly grasp its deeper meaning. For many, Holi is simply a time of celebration—feasting on halwa and puri, playing with colors, and indulging in playful mischief. Yet, the essence of this festival extends far beyond these joyful traditions. 

At its core, Holi is a testament to the power of faith, symbolized through the divine story of Prahlad. His steadfast devotion and unshakable surrender to God define the true spirit of this festival. To truly honor Holi, we must reflect on the life of Supreme Shiromani Prahlad and embrace his teachings. Holi should be more than just a celebration—it should be an opportunity to learn from Prahlad’s devotion, embody his wisdom, and make his unwavering faith the guiding light of our own spiritual journey.

With this understanding, let us now delve into the extraordinary life and teachings of Prahlad, whose story continues to inspire generations.

Hiranyakashipu and Hiranyaksha were two powerful demon brothers, born to Sage Kashyap and his wife, Diti. They were, in fact, the incarnations of Jaya and Vijaya, the divine gatekeepers of Lord Vishnu, who had been cursed to take birth as demons.

Hiranyaksha, a mighty and arrogant asura, gained immense power through intense penance and divine boons. Consumed by pride, he seized and submerged the Earth (Bhumi Devi) into the cosmic ocean, throwing the universe into turmoil. The gods, powerless against his strength, turned to Lord Vishnu for deliverance.

To restore cosmic order, Lord Vishnu incarnated as Varaha, the divine boar. He plunged into the ocean, lifted the Earth upon His tusks, and engaged in a fierce battle with Hiranyaksha. After an intense duel, Varaha vanquished the demon, restoring balance and peace.

Enraged by his brother’s death, Hiranyakashipu vowed to seek revenge against Lord Vishnu. He undertook severe penance to appease Lord Brahma and was granted a boon that made him nearly invincible. According to the boon, Hiranyakashipu could not be killed by either man or beast. He was protected from death both during the day and at night, and indoors or outdoors.  No weapon could slay him, and he could not perish on land, in water, or in the air. After obtaining the boon of near-immortality from Lord Brahma, Hiranyakashipu returned home. 

Upon his arrival, he learned that a son had been born to him. Filled with joy, he called Prahlad, took him onto his lap, and affectionately asked, “My son, what do you love the most?” Prahlad’s reply struck him with more anguish than even the loss of his brother, Hiranyaksha. Smiling gently, Prahlad said, “Father, What I love most is to go to the forest and immerse myself in the continuous worship of Lord Shri Krishna.”

If the son of a sworn enemy speaks of devotion, it is natural for the enemy to be enraged. Hiranyakashipu became blinded by anger. He summoned the sons of the royal teacher and commanded them: “Take him away from my eyes, teach him, explain to him, show him the right path. Instruct him in the principles of diplomacy—Sama, Dana, Danda, Bheda—the strategies that define a king’s rule. Educate him in the subjects of politics and power.”

But what was there for Prahlad to learn? He had already gained true wisdom while in his mother’s womb. He was a realized saint even before birth.  His heart was already immersed in devotion to Lord Krishna and was completely absorbed in divine love. Yet, as part of worldly conduct, when the teacher taught, Prahlad would merely listen without interest. 

To Prahlad, the material world held no real significance. His heart and mind were constantly engrossed in Shri Krishna’s divine presence. At times, he became so lost in Krishna’s love that he forgot his own identity, seeing himself as Krishna and even behaving like Him. Unlike others who strive for devotion through practice, Prahlad was already perfect in bhakti from birth, engaging in Bhagavat devotion with spontaneous love.

A few days later, his father, Hiranyakashipu, called him again, placed him on his lap, and forgave him for his past ‘misconduct.’ With a tone of curiosity, he asked, “What do you like the most? What have you learned from your Guru putra so far?”

Without hesitation, Prahlad responded, “I love Vishnu smaran (remembrance), vandan (prayers) – the nine forms of bhakti (Navadha Bhakti). These are the essence of all knowledge.”  

(The Navadha Bhakti that Prahlad spoke of would later be embraced by great Vaishnav Acharyas like Nimbarkacharya, Ramanujacharya, Vallabhacharya and Gaurang Mahaprabhu. Although the Bhagavatam describes different forms of bhakti—sometimes 25, sometimes 20, or even 10 in various contexts—the Navadha Bhakti as taught by Prahlad remains the supreme path to complete surrender to God.  He emphasized that before engaging in these nine practices, one must first offer oneself entirely to Shri Krishna in complete surrender). 

Prahlad said that one should first surrender entirely to Lord Krishna and then engage in the nine forms of devotion (Navadha Bhakti). He emphasized that he had attained such profound knowledge. Upon hearing this, Hiranyakashipu was consumed by uncontrollable rage.  Lifting Prahlad in a fury, he threw him aside and thundered, to this asuras, senpati, etc. “Kill him by any means necessary!” 

He commanded his demon commanders to eliminate Prahlad, declaring that there was no hope for his reformation. They tried every method—throwing him off a mountain, drowning him in the ocean, crushing him under an elephant, poisoning him, and even letting venomous snakes bite him. Yet, by the grace of Lord Vishnu, Prahlad remained unharmed.

One day, Guru putras said, “Maharaj, This child’s sanskars (impressions) are truly strange!” “No matter how much we try to explain, he neither listens nor obeys! We give up and are willing to take any punishment.”  “

Ok, try one more time.” So, as a last resort, they decided to teach him political science, thinking that might change him. Prahlad would listen indifferently but would not accept it. 

One day, the guru putras had to leave for some errands. So little Prahlad gathered his classmates—all demon children, sons of powerful rulers. These were young boys, around five to eight years old. He seated them together and began preaching to them, starting with the first verse of his teachings which is very important:

“O young boys! From childhood itself, one should take refuge in Bhagavata Dharma (the path of devotion to God). One should surrender to God from an early age.”

“Do not wait for youth or old age to turn towards God. The present human birth is rare and precious. But it is fleeting! Therefore, do not wait for the next stage of life—start practising devotion now.”

“There are two types of Dharma (righteous paths), understand this briefly: One is Bhagavata Dharma, and the other is Mayic Dharma (worldly duties). To embrace God is to follow Bhagavata Dharma (the path of devotion). On the other hand, to embrace Maya is to bind oneself to illusion. Dharm means to uphold.

Just as we consume food to sustain the body, people adopt various things for their physical well-being. Some eat to maintain health, while others even consume poison to end their lives. Some indulge in harmful foods due to worldly temptations, which eventually lead to suffering and disease. Similarly, what we choose to hold in our hearts and minds determines our spiritual state.

“Therefore, the essential principle of life is to hold onto God. One must choose between surrendering to God or being trapped in Maya. Moreover, God has a condition—when you surrender, surrender to Me alone, with an exclusive and unwavering mind. 

“O Bharata! Become completely devoted to Me alone, without any distractions.”

“If you surrender exclusively to Me, I shall take care of everything.”  

See, in this world, people love many things—wealth, family, status, but God says, “Hold onto Me alone, and you shall attain the ultimate fruit.”

God’s condition is that one must embrace only Him. If someone holds on to anything else, then they are bound by attachment and illusion.

People often argue, “But we have a mind, we have physical relationships. We hold our siblings, our daughters, and our sons in our hearts.” However, no one places such extreme conditions on these attachments. A mother never tells her son, “If you love your father, I will stop speaking to you. If you love your sister, I will abandon you.” But God declares, “Not even 1% of your heart should be given to anyone other than Me.” 

God says, “It is not as you think. Just as worldly people have no complaints, neither do I. However, you must keep your mind on My associates—My saints—and you shall receive the same divine fruit. My devotees and I are one; we are both pure. If you embrace them, you too shall remain pure until the very end. But if you attach your mind to any human, deity, or demon, you will be drawn into impurity and delusion, for they are bound by Maya.”

“If you attach yourself to anything else—whether wealth, people, or knowledge—your inner being will become impure and restless.”

“Therefore, my brothers, surrender to God in your youth and follow Bhagavata Dharma—the path of devotion. This human life is fleeting, and no one knows what the next moment holds.”

“Do not delay! Arise, awaken, and move forward. The journey is long, and time is unpredictable.”

This was the First Teaching. 

“The children looked at one another, wondering— ‘We find happiness in many other things, but what is he saying? Why should we surrender to God? What is our relationship with God? We don’t know Him.’”

Prahlad then explained with reasoning: “God is the dearest (Priya) to all living beings.”

“God is dear to all beings because He is the priyatam (Beloved), soul (Atma), the master (Swami), and the true well-wisher (Hitaisi).”

One may wonder, “How is He our beloved? How is He our very soul? How is He our ruler? How is He our father?”

Each of these questions has deep and extensive answers, but for now, understand this: 

The asura children listened seriously to Prahlad.

“Our mind is drawn toward the world because it is visible and tangible.”

“Our mind naturally gravitates toward the world because it is directly perceived (Pratyaksha), while the knowledge Prahlad imparts is indirect (Paroksha). The experience of God, the bliss of His love, is beyond words and cannot be easily described.”

“For example, how can one explain the difference between different sweets like barfi and rasgulla? One can describe it to some extent, but try explaining the taste of a rasgulla to a worm that has only eaten neem leaves! The worm will simply dismiss it, saying, ‘What are you talking about?’ Because it has never tasted anything sweet.”

“Similarly, worldly happiness is more tangible, while divine bliss is beyond sensory perception.”

“My dear ones – The kind of pleasure you all seek—eating, drinking, enjoying different flavors, touching and experiencing worldly objects—does not require effort. Do not struggle for it; do not toil for it. If mere effort could make someone wealthy, then every hardworking person would become a millionaire. This is a misconception.”

“The joys and sorrows we experience in this world are all due to our prarabdh (destiny). Even with little effort, one can attain wealth, and even with extreme effort, one may still remain where they are. You must have seen both types of people—one who works tirelessly from morning till night but struggles financially, and another who does nothing significant yet enjoys immense wealth.”

“So, believing that hard work alone guarantees worldly success is a deception.  It is an illusion to think that there is happiness in this world.  

“Therefore, even if you say that there is happiness in this world—though small—and that in your Lord’s abode, it will be much greater, we accept your statement. Let’s assume this to be true. The material pleasures and luxuries of the world will come on their own; no special effort is then needed for that.”

Now tell me, wouldn’t the effort required for devotion to your Lord be even greater?”

O asura children: Understand with full attention that attaining devotion to God is not an extremely difficult effort. Why? Because He is our very soul, and we have a natural right over Him.

Moreover, He is merciful and possesses all divine, supernatural qualities—He is already prepared to accept us.

There are no conditions for His devotion. One does not have to be a Brahmin, a scholar, or even wise. Whether one is a Brahmin, Kshatriya or Shudra,  a scholar or ignorant, beautiful or unattractive, virtuous or without virtues, wealthy or poor—there are no conditions – anyone can engage in His devotion.

Unlike worldly pursuits, devotion to God has no conditions, no restrictions. Therefore, it does not require exhausting effort—only sincere surrender.

God is present everywhere and is easily accessible. 

In this world, if we want to meet someone and receive their love—whether it is a father, mother, wife, or son—we must go where they are. If the son lives in England, we have to go there to receive his love.

But this is not the case with God. You don’t have to go to a temple or make any special effort. Wherever you are, however you are—He is accessible to you. Take a bath or don’t— it doesn’t matter.

There is no restriction—no specific place is required, no fixed time is needed to love God. He is present everywhere, at all times. No extreme efforts, no fasting, no difficult means are necessary. The path is simple.

Ved Vyas says, “Offer leaves,  flowers, fruits, and whatever you can with love. Or do not offer anything, just surrender your mind to God. In devotion, no effort is required, no intelligence needs to be applied.

Just chant His name—choose any name of God that you like. Meditate on His form—whichever form of God is dear to you. There is complete freedom. So, what effort is there? What hardship is there?

Even in the material world, you must follow proper steps to get any result. For example, if you are making tea— If you mistakenly add salt instead of sugar to tea, it will become undrinkable. You must carefully measure how much tea to add, how much sugar to add, how long to boil it, how much heat to give, and how much milk to use. Only then will you get a good cup of tea.” 

But in God’s devotion, none of this is necessary. There are no rules, no restrictions. You must love with your heart alone.

The Vedas teach that the mind itself constitutes the world we experience. Therefore, our foremost duty is to purify our minds. You cannot attain God, nor can you detach from the world—both are impossible. Your only task is to purify your mind. First, prepare the vessel (your mind), and then through the Guru will give you everything for free.

Purify your inner self through devotion to God.

By Jagadguru Shri Kripalu Ji Maharaj

*A brief introduction of Jagadguru Shri Kripalu Ji Maharaj*

(Known by His devotees as Shri Maharaj Ji)

The original title of Jagadguruttam (Greatest Spiritual Teacher of the World) was bestowed upon Shri Kripalu Ji Maharaj on January 14, 1957, by Kashi Vidvat Parishad (a council of 500 greatest scholars saints of India). He composed divine texts like Prem Ras Madira, Prem Ras Siddhant, and Radha Govind Geet to lead us on the right path of devotion. He also gave priceless monuments as gifts to the world which include Bhakti Mandir located in Bhakti Dham, Mangarh, Prem Mandir located in Vrindavan Dham, and Kirti Mandir located in Barsana Dham. Shri Maharaj Ji also built hospitals for the impoverished, the Jagadguru Kripalu Chikitsalaya in Vrindavan, Jagadguru Kripalu Chikitsalaya in Barsana, and another one in Pratapgarh. All three help millions of underprivileged to gain free access to medical care. His Kindergarten, School, and College for impoverished girls Jagadguru Kripalu Parishat Education is located in Kunda and provides completely free education.