Raksha Bandhan Festival
¤ A Pure Bond
The pure bond of love and affection between a brother and a sister is
one of the deepest and noblest of human emotions. The ritual is
observed on the full moon day of the Hindu month of Shravan. This
thread, which vibrates with sisterly love and virtuous sentiments, is
rightly called the 'Rakhi'. A "bond of protection".
Raksha Bandhan is a divine festival not only sisters tie the holy
threads to their brothers, Priests tie to people of his congregation.
During ancient times, if a woman tied a Rakhi on the hand of any man,
then it became essentially important for him, as his religious duty of
the highest order, to protect that woman. That man would put his life
at stake to protect the honor of that woman.
Many Rajput Kings sacrificed their lives to protect their spiritual
sisters. Humayun the great Mughal Emperor received a Rakhi from the
queen Karmavati of Chittor and for that, Humayun carried out his
sacred brotherly duty and protected her by opposing his own soldiers.
¤ The Following Traditions
People are committed to protect each other and the society in such
congregational Rakhi Utsavs, popularized by the Nobel laureate Bengali
poet Rabindranath Tagore.
Rakhis are decorated with soft silky threads of various colors, and
also with ornaments, pictures, gold and silver threads etc. These
Rakhis enhance the artistry of the people.
Rituals like Rakhi, help ease out various strains relations, induce
fellow-feeling, give ways for communications and enhance an
opportunity to rework on our role as human beings, most significantly,
brings delight in our monotonous lives.
¤ The Festival Celebrations
According to Indian traditions, the festival rituals follows as
chanting of sacred sonnet (Mantras), sanctified with rice, red color (
roli) etc. The sister dressed in their typical Indian attires serves
her brother by putting Tilak (red color) on his forehead added with
raw rice. Then she ties Rakhi thread on her brother's wrist and offers
him with the plate of sweets, here - the brother become obliged to
protect her sister under any circumstances.
It is said that this protection thread protects from sins on the one
hand and removes diseases on the other hand. By tying this thread, one
is secured for the entire year and all kinds of fears are removed.
¤ A Modern Version of Rakhi Friendly Knot
In today's world the fashionable friendship band in vogue has become
an extension of the Rakhi custom. When a girl feels a friend of the
opposite sex has developed a kind of love too strong for her to
reciprocate, she sends the guy a Rakhi and turns the relationship into
a sisterly one. This is one way of saying, "let's just be friends",
without hurting the other person's soft feelings for her.
¤ An Auspicious Feeling
This ritual not only strengthens the bond of love between brothers
and sisters, but also transcends the confines of the family. When a
Rakhi is tied on the wrists of close friends and neighbors, it
underscores the need for a harmonious social life, where every
individual co-exists peacefully as brothers and sisters.
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