Acharya Prashant addresses the misconception that the festival of Holika Dahan is about burning a woman. He dismisses this notion, stating that there is no question of man versus woman in this context. He draws a parallel with the festival of Dussehra, questioning if one would then argue that Dussehra is bad because a man is set on fire. The matter is not about male or female. He explains that Holika is a representative and symbol of all the lower-level things within us that cause suffering for ourselves and the world. These include cunningness, cleverness, violence, cruelty, and supporting falsehood, injustice, and oppression. Therefore, when you burn Holika, you are not burning a woman named Holika; you are symbolically burning injustice, oppression, cunningness, irreligiousness, and falsehood. It is a resolution to remember that these things exist within you and that you must eliminate them. To view everything through the lens of the body is a foolish thing to do. Acharya Prashant further argues that whether male or female, if someone commits a crime, they face the consequences. If a woman commits a crime, she is jailed; no one says a woman is being imprisoned. If a person, male or female, does something that deserves punishment, they will be punished. If humans do not punish, existence does. He questions if one would complain to existence for punishing a woman. Just as a man who runs recklessly will break his leg, so will a woman. He strongly advises against forcibly inserting gender discrimination everywhere, calling them unnecessary and imaginary divisions. He recounts that it was a coincidence that Hiranyakashipu's sister, Holika, was a cunning woman with special powers who was called to kill Prahlad. When she failed, Hiranyakashipu, a man, also tried and was killed. Yet, no one mourns Hiranyakashipu's death on the grounds that he was a man in a patriarchal society. The festival of Holi is not celebrated because a woman named Holika died, but because sin must be defeated, whether it is in the guise of a woman or a man. The law of existence does not differentiate between men and women when delivering the fruits of their actions. He concludes by urging people to understand the meaning of festivals before spreading such baseless ideas.
