Why and how raksha bandhan is celebrated
Need of relationships:
Living life without relationships would be like living life without food. Just like you need healthy food to keep your body fresh, fit and fine, similarly, you need healthy relationships for prolonged peace, happiness and joy in your life. Celebration of any festival is not possible without healthy relationship with your parents, siblings, relatives, neighbors etc. ‘Raksha bandhan’ is one of such festival that strengthen the bond of love, unity and togetherness between sisters and brothers. To the westerners, this festival would sound very similar to Friendship Day, where friends tie bands of friendship to each other as a testimony of their friendship.
Raksha bandhan-bond of love and togetherness
Why Raksha bandhan celebrated?
Raksha bandhan, meaning 'bond of protection' falls on pious day of shravan poornima(full moon day) of Hindu calendar. Raksha bandhan marks the end of current season and beginning of new season. Raksha in Sanskrit means ‘protection’ and Bandhan means ‘bond’ or ‘relationship’. So the term ‘Raksha Bandhan’ means the bond of protection between two souls. Raksha bandhan is a special festival for both sisters and brothers and is known by different names like Punya Pradayak(bestower of boons), Vish Tarak (destroyer of venom) , and Pap Nashak (destroyer of sins). Over the passage of time, festival of raksha bandhan has gone through many minor modifications. According to ancient scriptures, Raksha bandhan signifies 'Papa Todak, Punya Pradayak Parva', translated as the “day to grant boons and remove all sins”.
Why to wear Rakhi?
According to Vedic rituals, wearing a thread chanted with sacred verses (purified with rice and durva grass) is customary to protect ourselves from sins, diseases, black magic etc. This custom should be done at least once in a year. This ritual is followed after pooja or special ceremonies like marriages, house warming ceremony etc. Raksha bandhan is one of the another ways to follow this ritual when sisters tie silky soft multi-colored threads, adorned with beautiful decorative ornaments, stones, beads picture, holy symbols etc to symbolize the physiological feelings of brotherhood, love, affection, togetherness, long life, amity, righteousness, goodwill and unity.
Colorful adorned rakhi
Can only sisters tie Rakhi?
Though raksha bandhan is celebrated as the sister and brother festival in this modern age, it was not always so. Traditionally, a holy thread would be tied on wrist by anyone, be it mother, brother, sister or neighbor. This was done to bless him/her and protect him/her from evil, harms and troubles. Sages and seers would tie sacred thread to those coming to them for blessings. Rabindranath tagore promoted Raksha bandhan as the ‘festival of unity, peace, harmony and commitment between different ethnic groups especially during the partition of Bengal and Indian independence movement when the British government was trying very hard to create a rift between communities in accordance to their divide and rule policy.
Anyone can tie rakhi...
Preparation of raksha bandhan
Preparation of raksha bandhan starts much earlier than the day it is celebrated. Market is flooded with beautiful colorful rakhi’s of different designs, shapes and size, well complemented with greetings of goodwill and prosperity. Sisters buys new clothes, does shopping everyday to buy the best available rakhi’s, especially for the ones that stay far away from them.
Rituals to follow in Raksha bandhan
1) Sisters should gets up early in the morning, wear new attractive clothes and prepare a pooja thali with rice, Vermillon(kumkum), diya’s and rakhi.
2) Sister then requests her brother to sit on a wooden seat.
3) Rangoli designs should be decorated around this wooden seat to make the surrounding environment ‘Sattvik’(pious) in nature.
4) Sister should then wave the ghee lamp in front of brother face three times in a semi-circular manner.
5) She should then apply a ‘Tilak’ on her brother forehead. Brother should close his eyes and pay respect to almighty god. Act of applying ‘Tilak’ at the centre of forehead is intended to invoke the spiritual consciousness (kundalini) of your body.
6) Sister then ties a sacred thread on brother wrist after chanting some Vedic hyms for good fortune and prolonged blessed life. Prayers should be offered to god by both brother and sister. They should pray to god that “Give us strength for protection of nation, family and dharma”.
7) Below mantra should be chanted while tying rakhi
येन बद्धो बली राजा दानवेन्द्रो महाबलः ।
तेन त्वामपि बध्नामि रक्षे मा चल मा चल ।।
Meaning: I am tying this Rakhi on your hand, with which the generous and powerful King Bali himself was bound. O raksha, do not go away.
8) At the end, sister should offers sweet or delicacies to his brother. In return, brother should acknowledge their love & affection by offering gifts and taking the oath of safeguarding his sisters religiously from all troubles and adverse situations, even when his life is at stake.
9) Sister should accept the gifts of his beloved brother gracefully.
Typical thali with all items to follow the above ritual
Bondage of love and brotherhood between brothers and sisters
Raksha bandhan, in one way, reaffirms the bondage of love between brothers and sisters. It is not necessary to tie rakhi only to your own brother; you can also tie it to your cousins, adopted brothers, neighborly brothers, friends, strangers etc. It’s the way to tell your brother how much you miss childhood days, pranks, pestering fights, teasing comments etc and honor him a farewell with a sad smile and tearful eyes. On this day, everyone forget their ego, anger, hatred, fights etc and reach out to each other with the emotional bondage of love, goodwill and togetherness. This festival inculcates spiritual, moral & cultural values and gives the message of harmonious and peaceful co-existence in the society. When a woman ties a rakhi, the man is obliged to help and protect her under any circumstances.
How rakhi is celebrated across India
On holy day of raksha bandhan, many customs and traditions are followed in different regions of the country. Dividing the country in four zones, customs and traditions can be best summarized as follows:
Rakhi in India (North):
Raksha bandhan is celebrated as the beginning of new season as it falls on the holy day of ‘Kajri Purnima’ and ‘Kajri Navami’. Wheat is sown and goddess Bhagwati(slayer of evils and demons) is invoked to seek her blessings for better crop output. Festival of ‘kajari’ starts on the ninth day after Shravana Amavasya.
Rakhi in India (West):
In the western regions of India, Nariyal (Coconut) Purnima is celebrated by throwing coconuts in to the sea as an offering to Lord Varuna. This marks the beginning of fishing season and the fisherman, whose livelihood depends upon the sea, offer their respect to Lord ‘varuna’. Some community in Gujarat celebrates ‘Pavitropana’ by worshipping lord Shiva on this day.
Rakhi in India (East):
Students of shanti niketan(Institution of legendary ‘Rabindranath Tagore’ to foster the love and unity between people of all sects, creed and communities) celebrates this festival with great fervor and joy by tying rakhis to fellow inmates, colleagues, members of other communities etc. Orissa celebrates this festival as ‘Grahma Purnima’. All domesticated cattle’s are decorated and worshipped. Delicacies like ‘Pitha’ and other sweets are shared between families, relatives, neighbors and friends.
Rakhi in India (South):
South indians celebrates the festival of ‘Avani Avittam’ on auspicious day of Raksha Bandhan. Brahmins chants mantras and changes their sacred holy thread (janeyu). After changing the holy thread, Brahmins offers water to their ancestors (cause of their birth), seers (Giver of spiritual knowledge) and religious scriptures like bhagavad gita, Upanishads and Vedas.
Why Raksha bandhan makes boys cry?
Raksha bandhan is one of the unique festivals which breaks the heart of many boys and make them cry, because the girl they fall in love with, happily tied raksha bandhan on their wrist and made them their loyal brother (Bhaiya). This sacred thread creates vibrations of sisterly love, fondness, sublime emotions and sad sentiments in heart’s of boys and forces them to accept girls as sister, abandoning the filthy thoughts and dreams of having them as faithful wife. Furthermore, they have to spend thousands of bucks to buy gifts for their so called sisters who remember them only on this auspicious day (Just for collecting gifts).
Lucky guy huhhhh..
Why raksha bandhan is very important in this Iron Age
In this kaliyuga(Dark age), ethical, moral and spiritual values of humans are so much degraded that even a single woman be it sister, daughter, brother, mother, cousin, is not safe from the evil eyes of your enemies, neighbors, relatives etc. Whole world is under the illusion of tensions, communal violence, crime, unethical thoughts etc. Sacred bond of love, unity and brotherhood is in extreme danger when woman’s are assaulted and exploited in your own office, home, society, neighborhood etc. Recent incidents of rapes, assault on woman’s, elders, theft etc are few examples because of which women’s don’t feel safe and insecure in their personal lives. This festival of rakhi inculcates trust, understanding, and security in the minds of such women because the person takes the sacred divine vow of living his life with pure thoughts, words and actions. On this day, we should try to spread the message of happiness, peace, harmony and brotherhood by propagating Raksha Bandhan as an international festival ‘Brother-Sister Day’.
Raksha bandhan removes caste barriers and brings all Indians together
If you are a traditional sensible girl having an inclination of making male friends but don’t want the risk of falling in love or tying a nuptial knot, ‘Raksha bandhan’ is an excellent means to have brothers and true friends in this degraded materialistic world. Though a Hindu festival, peoples of all castes, creed and religions participates in the festival by reaching out to their sisters, friend, neighbors etc and wishing them good luck and prosperity.
Muslim girl tying rakhi to sikh munda(boy)
This festival primarily originated from the north western regions of India, but today it is celebrated in every nook and corners of the country with same fervor, joy and gaiety.
Those, who are not able to meet their loved ones due to distance barriers, exchanges rakhi’s and greetings through emails, e-cards, posts or couriers. Womens reach out to leaders (including president and prime minister), soldiers, officers and bureaucrats irrespective of their faiths, to tie rakhi and wishing them a happy prosperous life. No Indian must forget the tying of rakhi’s by hordes of woman to unknown soldiers of Indian army during the 1962 china war and 1971 Pakistan war. Emotional feelings between the courageous jawans and womans were very well captured on camera by news reporters and journalists. Rituals, norms, customs and names of Raksha bandhan differ from region to region
What kind of gifts should be given to brothers and sisters?
First of all, sister should not tie rakhi with expectation of any gifts. If she does then all spiritual benefits are lost and she is not blessed. Brothers and sisters exchanges gifts on festival of raksha bandhan. As per the customs, only sattvic gift like beads, Rosaries, religious texts must be offered. Why? Because Non-sattvik gift disturb the level of ‘raja’ and ‘tamas’ in the body.
Before buying any product, take care of the tastes of your brother or sisters.
Rakhi greeting e-cards
If you don’t believe in such ancient Vedic theories then you can offer the following gifts:
Sisters offer toys, games CDs, video games, chocolates, cartoons, to younger brothers and trendy goggles, novels, executive shirts, classic perfumes or deodorants, latest mobile phones, fashionable belts, bracelets, ties or watches to elder brothers.
Brothers can offer exquisite jewelry, pendants, earrings, necklaces and rings. Age of sister doesn’t matters if you buy any of the above items. If you don’t have high budget or are short of money (especially when you have a girlfriend), then you can try buying trendy apparels, fancy tops, electronics gods, fashionable accessories for elder sisters and toys, teddy bears, chocolates, stationary games, flowers, handicrafts etc for younger sisters.
Optionally, both brothers and sisters can send something unique that reminds both of you about your childhood days filled with fun, naughtiness, belongingness and togetherness.
Most famous raksha bandhan song
Prevent denigration of holy deities and sacred symbols
Modern generation rakhis are adorned with idols of deities or sacred symbols like Om or swastika. After its use, these holy symbols and idols are discarded and thrown away like garbage pr rubbish entities. This garbage is trampled upon by bypassers and garbage-collectors and hence, this results in unintended denigration of god and holy symbols thereby accounting bad karma and sins.
Rakhi with sacred symbol and holy beads...Hmmm...Delicious sweets....
It’s a good practice to immerse rakhis in water bodies like lakes, river, seas etc, just like lord ganesha is immersed in water bodies after the ganesh chaturthi festival.
Conclusion:
Stress and strains created by the political, economic and political factors of the country can be easily overcome by strengthening the feeling of mutual respect, brotherhood, affection and amity among your non-biological brothers, not only during the times of prosperity and happiness but also during the times of sorrow and adversity. Tying the rakhi on the wrist give birth to a new relationship and evokes the feeling of oneness, belongingness, brotherhood and unity. Raksha Bandhan binds the two souls in a sacred relationship via a simple yet holy thread. So, celebrate this joyous festival with your brothers, sisters and friends not just for the sake of customs or traditions but with the eternal message of protection, love and unity for the coming advanced materialistic civilization
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