People gather for the Holi campfire or Holika Dahan at the Yoga ground of Parmarth Niketan Ashram in Rishikesh, Uttarakhand, India.
Holika Dahan is celebrated by burning Holika, the devil. For many traditions in Hinduism, Holi celebrates the death of Holika in order to save Prahlad, and thus Holi gets its name. In olden days, people use to contribute a piece of wood or two for Holika bonfire.
The night before Holi, pyres are burnt in North India, Nepal and parts of South India in keeping with this tradition. The youth playfully steal all sorts of things and put them in Holika pyre.
It should also be noted that in some parts of India the day is actually called Holika. There are other activities associated with the story of Prahlad, but the burning of Holika is the one that we can most directly associate with Holi. Fire burnt on the eve of Holi (Holika Dahan) symbolizes the burning of Holika. The story as a whole is testament to the power of devotion (bhakta) over the evil represented by King Hiranyakashyapu, as Prahlad never lost his faith.
Rishikesh is a land known as the “home of the rishis.” Its alternate spelling of Hrishikesh refers to Lord Vishnu, as Lord of the Senses – it is, therefore, a land in which to conquer one’s senses, to conquer the call of desire, to become master of oneself.
It is to this place which in the early 1940s, a revered saint from Shahjahanpur in Uttar Pradesh named Pujya Swami Shukdevanandji began coming, to meditate on the banks of Ganga. As he did so, he slowly began to construct a small space for himself and Pujya Swami Bhajananandji to stay. Slowly, as more and more devotees came to listen to the wisdom of these masters, more rooms needed to be built, along with a satsang hall and bhojanalaya (dining hall). Swami Shukdevanandji named these simple, small huts, basic hall and bhojanalaya, “Parmarth Niketan”, an abode dedicated to the welfare of all. He was a saint dedicated not only to his own spiritual practice, not only to his