Swami Tejomayananda

At the onset of Baisakhi, a festival celebrated widely in Punjab to mark the beginning of the new harvest season, one is bound to question the need for festivals and their significance.
First, let’s analyse the need for these religious festivals.

As we work from dawn to dusk, we become tired and dull and, naturally, the need to rest arises. So we go home to eat and sleep and feel revitalised, ready for work the next morning. But as our life continues between work and rest, day after day a kind of monotony sets in. We feel bored and think to ourselves, “I need a change”. Although our physical exhaustion is relieved by sleep, our mental exhaustion continues to dissipate our energy. To rid ourselves of this mental exhaustion we look out for entertainment.
The Sanskrit word mano ranjana translates as “to delight the mind”. Each person has their own way to escape boredom and to entertain the mind. They may watch television or take up a hobby. We look forward to weekends so that we can do something fun and relaxing, which provide us gentle relief from our everyday stress and pressures. Yet, after a while, even they become monotonous and we want to go on a vacation, some place exotic. But even this provides only a temporary relief. Recognising this need for change, our culture provides us special occasions, festivals of a religious nature, called utsava. No religion can last long if it does not understand the desires of the people and merely insists on strict discipline at all times. There must always be room for feasting, singing, dancing and joyous celebrations.
Though vacations do provide relief for the mind and body, they are temporary. When a vacation is over, we think, “Oh, now I have to go back to office. What a bore”. Often we are left exhausted not only physically but also financially. We have to work extra hard to earn back the lost money; thereby, instead of easing pressure, a new one is added. Why do these means of entertainment not bring about the desired result? Because, there is no real purpose behind such entertainment.
On the other hand, our religious festivals have a very different effect. They not only give us occasions for merry-making, but they also give us a noble, divine vision and inspire us to raise our minds to the heights of that great goal. Rather than merely exhausting us physically and mentally, they purify the mind and prepare us to face life with more enthusiasm. On close observation, we find that religious festivals not only point towards the ultimate goals but also provide us with guidelines to reach the goal.
Festivals in our culture are classified according to the nature of celebration and its significance. Some celebrate the birth of the great incarnations of the Lord, such as Sri Rama and Sri Krishna, some relate to the change in seasons like Makar Sankranti, which is celebrated usually in January, some occurs when the sun changes its course and starts moving northwards. Holi, the festival of colours, reflects what is happening around us — the blossoming of flowers and so on. The dominant message in such festivals is that we should live in harmony with nature. Other festivals, like Baisakhi and Onam (in Kerala), celebrate also the harvest time, a time of plenty and sharing, signifying both material and spiritual prosperity. Navaratri and Diwali celebrate the victory of good over evil. In addition, we have national festivals like Independence Day, which are associated with great national heroes who led inspiring lives.
So this Baisakhi let’s ensure that the harvest, not just of the crops, but also of the mind, be to its fullest potential. Let us sow the seeds of inspiring goals and cultivate good habits, so the harvest may result in the growth of a prosperous nation.

— Swami Tejomayananda, head of Chinmaya Mission Worldwide, is an orator, poet, singer, composer and storyteller. To find out more about Chinmaya Mission and Swamiji, visit www.chinmayamission.com