Raksha Bandhan – A special bond between brother & sister

It is the spring season when festivals in India come one after the other to give immense joy to mankind. The most joyful among these is the ‘Raksha Bandhan’, a celebration of the special bond between a brother and a sister.

It is the festival, where a sister ties a ‘Rakhi’ (a silk thread) to her brother’s wrist and pray for his good-being.

As the name suggests, the sister wishes good to brother and in turn, brother promises his care for sister at any circumstances of life.

There is the special significance of this festival in India as it is a tradition which has come from the ancestral period.

The festival usually comes in August month and this year the festival is on August 18th

Significance of Raksha Bandhan:

The Raksha Bandhan is marked as a day of spiritual bonding of a brother and a sister. In ancient times, even a mother wife and daughter were used to tie Rakhis. Even Hindu priests were used to tie these to their followers and pray for their good.

The thread is known to save from black powers on earth.

The festival was usually celebrated within the family. But nowadays the limit of this has no boundaries. It is tied to neighbours and friends too.

Raksha Bandhan remarks the peace and unity among the societies.

Rabindranath Tagore had made this festival more famous by conducting rallies and public speeches. The intention was to make people bonds stronger.

Traditional celebration:

On Raksha Bandhan, sister worship God, then with a thali( a worshipping plate) of kumkum, diva, sweets and a Rakhi, she takes aarthi( tradition of Removing black powers). Then she ties rakhi on her brother’s right-hand wrist and prays for his well-being. In return, brother pampers his sister and gives her gifts.

It is said that the gifting idea has come from ancestral times itself. Goddess Laxmi tied Rakhi to Raja Bali and in turn, he fulfilled her wish to return to her abode with Narayana.

Also, there is a tradition of gifting a sister when she leaves her mother’s house to husband’s house.

Let this ‘Raksha Bandhan’ makes our bond of love strong, let the peace and unity reside among people for a stronger nation.