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A spiritual comment and prayer to start the day with journalist Vishva Samani, a Hindu centred in Vedanta, the philosophical teachings of the Upanishads.

Good morning.

After a good few months of grey, gloom and a fair bit of wind and rain, I’ve enjoyed a quiet pleasure in spotting the first few spring flowers adding a very welcome flicker of colour as they emerge in small pockets around my wet and muddy garden.

Such is the joy of Holi, a popular Hindu seasonal festival that is celebrated today, in which everyone splashes coloured water and powder all over each other’s faces and clothes with no restraint.

It’s wonderful, because it reflects exactly what’s happening in nature in early springtime.

But this joy-inducing format that over the last few years has been lifted out of its original religious context and repurposed as the pinnacle of a great party – celebrated more like a rave in London, Ibiza and New York - loses its real charm if its essence is removed.

Some Hindu festivals – like Mahashivaratri which is dedicated to Lord Shiva, are more contemplative. Others celebrate the birth of great incarnations like Lord Rama and Krishna and there are those, like Diwali, that celebrate the victory of good over evil.

All of these offer an entertaining break from the monotony of daily life, but when examined closely, their primary and underlying aim is to elevate and lift the mind towards a noble vision.

So as this two-day festival of colour is marked, let us remember the dominant idea behind the many Hindu celebrations that relate to seasonal changes is for us to become more attuned to the changes in nature.

May Holi this year encourage us to live in greater harmony with our natural world, especially at a moment in time where the effects of its man-made exploitation are becoming all too quickly apparent.

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