Celebrating Holi: A Prayer for Love, Renewal, and Justice
Earlier this month, we celebrated the festival of Holi, a Hindu rite of Spring that commemorates both the changing seasons and the struggle for love and justice in dark times.
One of my favorite stories about Holi involves a young Krishna, seeking the attention of the beautiful Radha. Krishna is a central incarnate of the divine in the Hindu tradition, an avatar of Vishnu, whose presence in the world takes many forms to guide and sustain humanity. His early years were shaped by crisis and violence: born in prison, under the threat of death by a jealous king, he escaped as a refugee and was raised as a village cowherd. During his youth, Krishna was known for making mischief with the village girls, stealing butter from the women and often (barely) outrunning a beating.
As with the parables of Jesus and other religious traditions, most of these stories hold deeper meaning. For instance, the butter Krishna steals was being unfairly taxed by the same King who wanted to kill him at his birth. Rather than benefiting the villagers, the taxation was impoverishing them. To sabotage the tax collection, Krishna leads the village children in a charge to reclaim the butter and eat it themselves. More than mere boyhood defiance, this petty theft was an act of divine resistance against economic oppression. It was also a project of survival, a decision to direct a community’s resources towards its own well-being, rather than propping up an unjust rule.
Likewise, the Holi tale of Krishna and Radha is more than an adolescent love story. While Radha was considered a great beauty, Krishna was unsure if she would find him attractive. He expressed his insecurities to his mother, who responded that if Radha loved him, she would accept him as he is, dark-skinned or in fact as any color. Armed with this wisdom, Krishna approaches Radha and streaks her face with colored powder. She does the same, and in that playful moment, they begin a tradition we celebrate during Holi: dousing one another in color as a joyful affirmation of love beyond boundaries, beyond norms, beyond fear.
In his later years, Krishna plays a principal role in the great war narrated through Hindu texts such as the Bhagavad Gita and the Mahabharata. According to these texts, he counsels a young warrior, Arjun, on the field of battle. Arjun, who is suddenly struck by how much is at stake – his family, his community and the only society, values and order that anyone has ever known – is paralyzed by all that will be upended in what is about to unfold. He relinquishes his bow and arrow and refuses to fight. Krishna’s message to Arjun is about duty (dharma) and the necessity of selfless action in the service of justice (karma). His responsibility is to fight for what is just in an unjust world – and God, in Krishna’s form, will stay with him until the world is set right once again.
Through these stories, we understand Krishna to be at once playful and powerful, loving and steadfast, deeply human and fully divine. He is the innocent babe raised in exile, the mischievous child stealing butter, the devoted lover seeking connection, the wise teacher guiding the archer through moral struggle and the godly presence holding firm in the face of injustice. Across time and space, he meets us where we are – whether we are seeking refuge or love, resisting oppression or living in the tension between despair and hope. In moments of joy, he celebrates besides us; in times of sorrow, he reminds us we can and will survive; and in the struggle for justice, he calls us to act with courage and conviction, knowing we are not alone. His story, woven through generations, is one of resilience, transformation and the eternal dance between the worldly and the sacred.
This story of love, renewal and justice is what we celebrate during Holi: a love that springs to life after a long winter; a love that accepts and celebrates who we are, as we are; a love that, amidst the immense challenges and threats of our times, rises up to fight for a world that honors the divine in us all, until it is so.
Holi Hai!
A Prayer for Holi
from Rev. Abhi Janamanchi
Nameless One of Many Names, and beyond all naming,
On this day of color and joy, we come before you with hearts open—
to the lessons of love, the call of justice, and the promise of renewal.
May we, like Krishna, find the courage to resist what is unjust,
to reclaim what belongs to our communities,
and to lift each other up with mischief and delight,
knowing that the work of liberation can also be filled with joy.
May we, like Radha, trust in a love that sees us as we are—
not diminished by doubt, nor afraid of imperfection,
but radiant in our full humanity.
In this world of division, may we be bold in our togetherness.
In this season of transformation, may we make space for new beginnings.
And in the face of all that seeks to dim our light,
may we throw color, raise our voices and dance forward in hope.
Sarve Bhavantu Sukhinah/May all be happy,
Sarve Santu Niraamayaah/May all be free from illness,
Sarve Bhadrani Pashyantu/May all experience what is auspicious,
Maa Kashcid-Dukha-Bhaag-Bhavet/May no one suffer.
Om shanti, shanti, shanti.