Acharya Prashant explains that the meaning of Holi is to be willing to pay any price and not support falsehood, no matter how powerful it is. For him, truth is the only truth. He states, "Truth is the father; no father is greater than truth." Regardless of what society, nature, circumstances, or authority says, one must do what is right. This, he says, is the entire meaning of Holi. The festival teaches that no matter how weak or small one is, one should not bow one's head in the wrong place. Festivals come a few times a year to remove the dust from the simple things forgotten in daily life, reminding us of the fundamental principles of life. The speaker asserts that the day of a festival should be celebrated with a special discipline of consciousness, questioning whether one should engage in more hooliganism or give oneself more freedom for foolishness and misbehavior on such days. He criticizes the practice of slaughtering more animals on festival days, asking what kind of festival cannot be celebrated without shedding the blood of innocent animals. He mentions that for festivals like Holi, Bakrid, or Christmas, this was never the tradition, and questions where the influence to eat meat on Holi and Diwali is coming from in India. He discusses the symbols associated with Holi, such as the ego of Hiranyakashipu. After performing great devotion, Hiranyakashipu received a boon from Vishnu, but because his ego remained, he used that boon against Vishnu himself, even forbidding anyone in his kingdom from taking Vishnu's name. The power he received was from Vishnu, and he used it against Vishnu. This is a powerful symbol. Hiranyakashipu's own son, Prahlada, did not obey his order and remained a devotee of Vishnu. When Hiranyakashipu's attempts to persuade him failed, he enlisted his sister, Holika, who had a boon of being immune to fire. She sat in the fire with Prahlada, but her powers failed, and she was burnt to ashes while Prahlada remained unharmed. The message, the speaker explains, is that if you misuse the power, knowledge, or abilities you have, they will be taken away and will not be of any use to you; in fact, they will turn back and consume you. We have a great tendency to do this—to use our gifts against the very source from which we received them. One who does this is a Hiranyakashipu, and we must be cautious of this tendency. He urges people to celebrate Holi in a good and elevated way, to remember the deep message hidden within it, and to give the day a creative form, rather than engaging in base acts like throwing balloons at girls or burning stolen items in the Holika fire.