RAIN BOW
Once upon a
time the Colors of the world started to quarrel that they were: all claimed
the best, the most important, the most useful, the favorite.
GREEN said: "Clearly I am the most important. I am the sign of life and of
hope. I was chosen for grass, trees, leaves - without me, all animals would
die. Look over the countryside and you will see that I am in the majority."
BLUE interrupted: "You only think about the earth, but consider the sky and the sea. It is the water that is the basis of life and drawn up by the clouds from the deep sea. The sky gives space and peace and serenity. Without my peace, you would all be nothing." YELLOW chuckled: "You are all so serious. I bring laughter, gaiety, and warmth into the world. The sun is yellow, the moon is yellow, the stars are yellow. Every time you look at a sunflower, the whole world starts to smile. Without me there would be no fun."
ORANGE started next to blow her trumpet: "I am the color of health and
strength. I may be scarce, but I am precious for I serve the needs of human
life. I carry the most important vitamins. Think of carrots, pumpkins,
oranges, mangoes, and pawpaws. I don't hang around all the time,but when I
fill sky at sunrise or sunset, my beauty is so striking that no one gives
another thought to any of you."
RED could stand it no longer. He shouted out: "I am the ruler of all of you- I am blood - life's blood! I am the color of danger and of bravery. I am willing to fight for a cause. I bring fire into the blood. Without me, the earth would be as empty as the moon. I am the color of passion and of love, the red rose, the poinsettia and the poppy." PURPLE rose up to his full height. He was very tall andspoke with great pomp: "I am the color of royalty and power. Kings, cheifs, and bishops have always chosen me for I am the sign of authority and wisdom. People do not question me - they listen and obey." Finally, INDIGO spoke, much more quietly than all the others, but with just as much determination: "Think of me. I am the color of silence. You hardly notice me, but without me you all become superficial. I represent thought and reflection, twilight and deep water. You need me for balance and contrast, for prayer and inner peace." And so the colors went on boasting, each convinced of his or her own superiority. Their quarreling became louder and louder. Suddenly there was a startling flash of bright lightening - thunder rolled and boomed. Rain started to pour down relentlessly The colors crouched down in fear, drawing close to one another for comfort.
In the midst of the clamor, rain began to speak: "You foolish colors,
fighting amongst yourselves, each trying to dominate the rest. Don't you
know that you were each made for a special purpose, unique and different?
Join hands with one another and come to me." Doing as they were told, the
colors united and joined hands. The rain continued: "From now on, when it
rains, each of you will stretch across the sky in a great bow of color as a
reminder that you can all live in peace. The rainbow is a sign of hope for
tomorrow." And so, whenever a good rain washes the world, and a rainbow
appears in the sky, let us remember to appreciate one another.
==================================== Raas Leela – The Dance of Passion
There is something very feminine about celebration. Whether a man
celebrates or a woman celebrates, celebration is essentially feminine.
There is a very beautiful story in the Mahabharata to describe the significance of being feminine.
When at eight years of age, Krishna moved from Gokula to Vrindhavan, he
became immensely popular among the village folk. It was at the time of
the Holi festival, just after spring when everything is in full bloom.
On a certain evening, a full moon day,
the boys and girls of the village gathered on the banks of river
Yamuna. They started playing and having fun throwing water and sand at
each other. After some time, the play broke into a dance. And they
danced and danced because they were in such an exuberant and joyful
state. But slowly, one by one, the clumsier ones dropped off. When
Krishna saw this, he took out his flute and started to play. His play
was so enchanting that everyone gathered around him and once again
swayed, for almost half the night.
This is the first incident of Raas Leela,
where a simple joyful mingling of people rose to a transcendental state.
The word “raas” literally means “juice,” but it can also indicate
passion. So this was the dance of passion. The fragrance of this dance
spread. People came to know that on full moon nights at midnight, this
dance happened, and the numbers of those who participated increased.
It also fell on Shiva’s
ears that on full moon nights, a fantastic dance happens on the banks
of the river Yamuna. He became aware that people just danced their way
to what he had achieved through meditation. Shiva is Nataraja, the Lord
of Dance. This is something which is unique to India – only Indian gods
dance. If they fall in love, they dance. If they get ecstatic, they
dance. If they get angry, they dance. So being the Lord of Dance, Shiva
was very amused that this little boy, his devotee, was taking people to
transcendental states simply by dancing and blowing upon his flute. He
wanted to witness this.
He walked from the Himalayas to the banks
of the river Yamuna and said to a boatman who was there, “Please take me
across to Vrindhavan. I want to see Krishna’s Raas.” The boat man
replied, “You cannot go like this. When you go to the Raas, Krishna is
the only man, everyone else is a woman. If you want to go, you have to
go as a woman.”
Shiva is considered the ultimate of the masculine – the purusha
among purushas. So it was a strange request, that Shiva had to become a
woman. But the Raas was in full swing and Shiva wanted to go there. So
the boatman said, “If you must go, you must wear woman’s clothing.”
Shiva looked around. Noone was looking, so
he said, “Okay, give me the gopi’s clothes.” He wore the clothes of a
gopi and went across. He is such a sport.
This story signifies that essentially, the
nature of celebration is feminine. Feminine means exuberance. And that
is how you should be every moment of your life – exuberantly alive. What
is the point in being half alive? We did not come here to avoid life,
we came to know and experience life. And you cannot experience life
unless you keep yourself as intense and exuberant as possible. Your
whole life, your very existence should become a celebration. If your
life has to become a celebration, you have to become absolutely joyful
within yourself.
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