Phagwah Messages 2012

Mar 08, 2012 News

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President of Guyana Hindu Dharmic Sabha, Pandit Reepu Daman Persaud

HOLI CREATES CONDITIONS FOR SOCIAL COHESION AND HARMONY

Holi is the festival of Spring or Vasant Ritu.  Another name by which this colourful festival is described is Phagwah. Phagwah is observed in the lunar month of Phalgun which is the last month in the Hindu year. Holi emerged from the Sanskrit word Hola, simply meaning grains.
The Kissans or farmers, after harvesting their crops, offer grains to AGNI DEVATA in the spirit of a Navaneshti Yaag which is usually conducted at this time.  The grains are taken to a central point and devotees surround the Agni kund and make offerings with simultaneous chanting of vedic mantras.
Holi unfolds nature in all its bounty. Celebrants capture the magenta therefrom and convert it in liquid form and joyfully squirt it on each other with love, affection and happiness.  The colours which dominate the celebration are a reflection of nature’s beauty. The celebration must therefore match Vasant Ritu/Spring Season.
Prahalad, challenging his despotic father who demanded to be adored as God, added a new dimension to Phagwah.  The youthful prince stands out as someone with implicit faith and courage, which has greatly influenced those who share in the celebration.
Holi also heralds the Hindu New Year and is integrated in the basic philosophy of Hinduism. The social aspect brings people together and provides an opportunity for getting together and reunion.
This lovely and colourful festival is truly proletarian and is celebrated in the spirit of oneness, removing all barriers and creating conditions for social cohesion and harmony.
Phagwah came with our forebears from India and developed into a national festivity.  It was verily confined to the sugar plantation.  With the passage of time, Phagwah has now taken on national identity and is celebrated as one of our national holidays, joyfully in the way and manner our forebears intended.
I wish to implore all celebrants to keep the festival pure, hygienic and spiritually inspired.
I wish you Shubh Holi and Phagwah ka Shubh Kamnayea.

People’s Progressive Party (PPP)

LET GOOD TRIUMPH ALWAYS OVER EVIL

On the occasion of the observation of Phagwah Day, the People’s Progressive Party extends best wishes to the Hindu community in Guyana and the world at large. The Party also takes this occasion to greet all the Guyanese people as a whole and to wish them continuing peace, happiness and prosperity.
Since the religious occasion of Phagwah is one that signifies the triumph of good over evil, the People’s Progressive Party urges all Guyanese to stand guard over their hard-earned civil liberties, and not to allow anyone to trample on them under any pretext whatsoever.
On this occasion being commemorated as Phagwah, Lord Vishnu triumphed over the wicked demon king Hiranyakashipu, who had repeatedly schemed to kill his own innocent son Prahalad, but consistently failed.  With the death of the demon king at the hands of Lord Vishnu, universal freedom was restored and everyone celebrated that victory.
In the world of today, there are many demonic personalities who would deprive whole nations of their freedom, if given the chance to rule. This is why all the people of Guyana should be on guard against any occurrence taking place that is designed to trample upon their constitutional rights and to subvert their hard-earned democratic liberties, won at great cost in October 1992.
Happy Phagwah to One and All!

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People’s National Congress Reform (PNCR)

REFRESH YOUR SPIRITS, ENJOY LIFE, AND PARTICIPATE FULLY

The People’s National Congress Reform expresses Holi Greetings to the Hindu Community in Guyana in particular, and Guyanese in general, on the auspicious occasion of the celebration of the Festival of Phagwah.
The significance of Phagwah is two-fold. The religious significance of Holi lies in the conquest of good over evil, manifested by the destruction by Phahalad of his demonic father, King Hiranyckashipu. Its secular significance lies in the advent of the season of spring, and its real and allegorical implications of fertility, rebirth, renewal and regeneration.
The Guyanese people have recently witnessed National and Regional Elections and had hoped, like other countries in the world, that the spring of a resurgence of human rights, justice, national unity, and natural reconciliation, would have returned to Guyana. They were emboldened by the Arab Spring, and other developments in the countries that engendered a rebirth of freedoms and a new dawn.
Alas, the situation in Guyana is not so. The new Government, although they possess executive authority, lacks the parliamentary power in the National Assembly now enjoyed by the combined opposition. The Guyanese people had expected that, in these circumstances, the results of the last General and Regional Elections provided a golden opportunity for all parties to sit down and craft plans, policies and programmes to benefit all Guyanese.
The Guyanese Spring is yet to come and the Guyanese people are still hoping that, in the coming months, the executive and combined opposition would meet to create a new polity and a new economy to benefit all Guyanese.
As the celebrated Indian National Kulapati Vani wrote many years ago, “festivals are gathering for refreshing spirit and enjoying life.” We urge all Guyanese to use this occasion of Phagwah to refresh their spirit and enjoy life, and to participate fully in this colourful festival and enjoy the rich elements of our religious and cultural diversity.
Happy Holi to all Guyanese!

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Alliance For Change (AFC)

A TIME FOR THANKSGIVING, DEEP REFLECTION AND NEW BEGINNINGS

Today, Hindus all across the world celebrate Phagwah. In Guyana, many non-Hindus will join in the celebrations. In the streets and in the temples we will shower each other with brilliant colours and water. We will eat and laugh together.  Such is the power of religion to transcend and bridge racial and cultural barriers and all factors that seek to separate us.
Phagwah, or Holi, is a time for thanksgiving, deep reflection and new beginnings. Hindus will give thanks for all the blessings they received over the past year. As they reflect on the past year, they will need to identify the evil forces that influence them and in so doing commit to a future where they pursue a virtuous living, one where they live in peace and harmony with all mankind and with the environment.
The Alliance For Change believes that these are values that all Guyanese can embrace. As a nation, Hindus and non-Hindus, we have a lot to be thankful for – no natural disasters, no wars and generally our people co-exist peacefully.
As we celebrate Holi, let us renew our commitment to peace and harmony. In the words of our National Pledge, “… to love my fellow citizens and to dedicate my energies towards the happiness and prosperity of Guyana.”
May the message of Phagwah reside eternally in our hearts and in our nation. Happy Holi to our Hindu brothers and sisters and to all Guyana!

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Guyana Agricultural and General Workers Union (GAWU)

CELEBRATION, CHALLENGES AND TRIUMPH

The Holi Festival, known in Guyana more as Phagwah, encompasses all the human elements religious-based observances tend to depict – and even more.
The Hindu festival of tribute to the Earth and its sustenance of those willing to work the land illustrate the positive side of Mother Nature and its relationship with us human mortals. But the mythology of the tales of the Good Son Prahalad believing in an Eternal God and being challenged to defy blazing fire alongside an evil Aunt Holika, starkly teaches that those who light fires of envy, hate and deceit, are often consumed by their own seeds of fiery destruction, as Holika was.
So in appreciating the wide-ranging array of human frailties, values and virtues which Phagwah and Holi embrace, the Guyana Agricultural and General Workers Union (GAWU) wishes the Hindu community, and all Guyana, a Happy Holi.
Festivals like Holi, long officially recognised, play their role in making the Guyanese people aware of their multi-religious, multi-ethnic status – still a model of tolerance for other impatient societies to emulate.
GAWU, which boasts thousands of Hindu members, enjoins them and all Guyana to welcome our own springtime of hope amidst the numerous challenges. Our own, now “usual” January/February floods, whilst not as devastating to human life as American tornadoes, for example, still destroy our farmers and householders’ livelihoods, and affect negatively our food production.
Amidst the joy of Holi then, GAWU calls on all the relevant authorities to devote more thought, energy, expertise and funding to solve the challenge of frequent flooding. We are convinced that more can be done and that, whether a new canal in Demerara or more drainage in the Pomeroon, the challenge is not beyond us to overcome.
Politically, 2012 brings us both challenges and hope for more necessary co-operation and compromise, both in our Parliament and public life. Our leaders must demonstrate that they appreciate that Guyana’s resources can be managed to benefit all.
GAWU again calls for a Phagwah-like Springtime of Hope and Optimism as Hindus and non-Hindus alike celebrate the joy of a Festival with chowtals, dance, abeer, water and love. Let us use such a Festival of Hope to inspire productivity and mutual existence of a good people.
Happy Holi 2012.

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Indian Arrival Committee (IAC)

REFLECTING COLLECTIVE HOPE FOR PROGRESS, PROSPERITY AND BETTERMENT

The Indian Arrival Committee (IAC) extends Phagwah (Holi) greetings to all the citizens of Guyana, especially those who are guided by the philosophical teachings of Sanatan Dharma.
Phagwah or Holi is a festival of Bharat (India) that has its roots in antiquity and celebrates the coming of a new spring season and the dawning of a new year. The exuberance of this festival reflects the collective hope of people for progress and prosperity and the concomitant betterment of their lives.
This festival of renewal most likely pre-dated the Sarasvati Valley Civilisation, the world’s first significant civilization which flourished between 5000 BCE and 2600 BCE and saw the emergency of both Sri Rama whose story is related in the Ramayan, and Sri Krishna of Mahabharat fame.
Even though the cultural landscape in Bharat had changed from time to time from the introduction of the Negroids followed by the Proto-Australoids, Dravidians, Mongoloids, Caucasians, Persians, Greeks, Shakas, Kushanas, Huns, Arabs, Turks, Afghans, Mughals and Europeans, the festival of Holi emerged, survived and flourished in Bharat, the world’s first melting pot.
Holi was brought to British Guiana by Hindus who arrived here as indentured labourers to work on sugar plantations 174 years ago and was sustained by the majority of the approximately 239,000 Bharatiyas who arrived on these shores between 1838 and 1917.
Phagwah was transplanted from a large sub-continent, characterized by the four seasons of spring, summer, autumn, and winter, to Guyana, a small South American land of dry and rainy seasons, and even though global warming is creating climatic havoc, the symbolism of Holi must not be lost.
IAC, therefore, calls upon all the citizens of this multi-cultural land of Guyana to regard the great festival of Phagwah or Holi, which celebrates life and hope, regardless of demography or geography, always as a focus for national unity.
Happy Holi from the IAC.

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