The semantics of climate change
As a child growing up in the early 1990s, I remember learning in school about the greenhouse effect. Carbon dioxide released by burning fossil fuels traps heat near the Earth’s surface, like the glass of a greenhouse.
On the occasion of Rangbhari Ekadashi, sadhus and saints in the temple city of Ayodhya celebrated Holi by playing with colours along with their deity Lord Ram and his devotee Lord Hanuman on Wednesday.
This time, the joy of Rangotsav had heightened due to Ram Lalla’s consecration in the temple.
In temples, sadhus and saints announced the advent of the festival of colours and played Holi with worshippers by spraying abir and gulal on them.
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Traditionally, on the occasion of the Rangbhari Ekadashi festival, the first ritual involves the worship and decoration of Hanumanji Maharaj at Siddhapeeth Hanumangarhi. Following this, abir-gulal is applied and then the puja-aarti of Hanumanji marks the beginning of the festival. The Naga Sadhus then take out a procession after paying obeisance to their idol Hanumanthala by offering abir and gulal.
The saints offered abir and gulal to Lord Hanuman and sought permission to start the Rangotsav in Ramnagari.
The devotees present in the temple were engrossed in devotion. As abir and gulal were sprayed, both devotees and saints danced in a state of ecstatic faith.
Later, a group of Naga Sadhus came out on the streets as saints danced vigorously to the beat of drums and also displayed various skills. People applied abir and gulal on each other in the streets, considering it as the ‘prasad’ of Lord Hanuman, and expressed happiness.
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