New Zealand’s Holi Festival Welcomes Prime Minister. ISKCON Auckland hosted its annual Krishna Holi celebration at its lively 88-acre farm, New Varsana, drawing a record-breaking crowd of 15,000 visitors. The event was organised by the International Society for Krishna Consciousness, also known as the Hare Krishna movement. Please read the full blog to learn about the details of the Holi festival celebrated by Hindus in Auckland and the grand welcome by the Prime Minister.
New Zealand’s Holi Festival Welcomes Prime Minister
On Sunday, February 2nd, the annual Krishna Holi celebration took place in Auckland at its lively 88-acre farm, New Varsana. More than 15,000 people attended the Holi celebration of the year in the Auckland town of Kumeu. The event was organised by the International Society for Krishna Consciousness, also known as the Hare Krishna movement. On Sunday, the Prime Minister of New Zealand, Christopher Luxon, said that the trip he promised to India would take place “very, very shortly.” Luxon said to the crowd, “I had the privilege of meeting Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi a few weeks back [on the sidelines of the East Asia Summit in Laos in October] and we liked each other a lot.” He also said, “He very kindly invited me to India, and I am going there very, very shortly, taking a whole lot of New Zealanders with me.”
This event is not just for fun but to merge two different cultures together. The mixing colours signify the coming together of people from different communities and backgrounds. Many participants congratulated the young volunteers for bringing this festival to the community. This family-friendly event had free entry, and it was smoke-free, alcohol-free, and meat-free and it was open to the New Zealand public.
The primary stage hosted several musical performances of various styles, each featuring the chanting of the maha-mantra. As the crowd of thousands swayed along to the reggae, pop, rap, Bollywood, and techno dance music, vibrant dyes were smeared on smiling faces and thrown into the air, creating large colourful plumes of pink, orange, green, and red. To the delight of those exposed to the hot sun, the local fire department also attended and showered the crowd with vibrant pink and green cooling water.
Legends of Holi
Legend traces the festival’s origins to the courtship of Lord Krishna and his favourite consort, Radha. Krishna, envious of Radha’s fair complexion, playfully applied various colours to her face. Participants at the festival re-enact this interaction by smearing coloured powder onto each other with a mix of romance and joy. The festival also marks the triumph of good over evil, with bonfires lit a day earlier to mark the occasion. This, as legend has it, is related to the story of a Lord Vishnu devotee called Prahlad and his aunt, Holika, who was the sister of demon king Hiranyakashap. Holika, who was blessed enough to be safe from fire, dragged Prahlad onto the flames of a pyre on Hiranyakashyap’s instructions. Many Hindus believe Prahlad’s constant and real devotion to Lord Vishnu—whose one of the incarnations is Krishna—saved him from the flames, while Holika met her demise.
Holi Celebration In Auckland
Holi attendees were very excited to explore inside the temple and take darshan of the beautiful religious figures of Sri Sri Radha-Giridhari, who were also smeared with Holi colours. The temple was full of individuals throughout the festival taking guided temple tours, buying Srila Prabhupada’s books, and peacefully observing and praising the many beautiful, appealing paintings of Krishna’s pastimes on the walls and ceilings.
It was not only a pleasure for the believers to serve thousands of visitors to New Varsana; ISKCON Auckland also had the distinct honour of greeting the Prime Minister of New Zealand, Rt Hon Christopher Luxon, to the great festivals of colours. The Prime Minister, accompanied by a few local members of parliament and other dignitaries, also relished the vibrant cultural affair. Temple President Kalasamvara Das warmly received the Prime Minister and dignitaries into the temple, where they had darshan of the religious figures, and following an inspiring explanation of Krishna Consciousness and ISKCON’s origins, the dignitaries had the pleasure of garlanding Srila Prabhupada.
The Prime Minister bid goodbye to all the devotees and made his way to the main outdoor stage and thousands of people cheered him. He wished everyone, “a very blissful Holi.”