{"id":1643,"date":"2014-08-10T10:21:42","date_gmt":"2014-08-10T10:21:42","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.nhsf.org.uk\/?p=1643"},"modified":"2020-07-15T16:55:19","modified_gmt":"2020-07-15T15:55:19","slug":"1643","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nhsf.org.uk\/?p=1643","title":{"rendered":"Raksha Bandhan 2014"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><em>10th August 2014 (Shraavana Sud 15)<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Raksha Bandhan stirs up one of the deepest emotions in people \u2013 the steadfast and chaste bond of love between the brother and the sister. Raksha means \u2018to protect\u2019 and Bandhan means \u2018binding\u2019, hence signifying the sister tying the Rakhi around her brothers wrist as a symbol of love and a bond of protection. This love and protection is mutual and not just one-sided, as is stereotypically believed.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Origins<\/strong><br \/>\nThere are many origins of Raksha Bandhan, which narrate the tying of the Rakhi as a bond of protection. However, the sister-brother relationship highlighted by the Rakhi goes far beyond the protection of the sister from her brother. It implies the basic element of a cordial life where all members of society look upon themselves as brothers and sisters:<\/p>\n<p><strong><em>|| Vasudeva Kutumbakum \u2013 The Whole World is One Family (<\/em><\/strong><strong><em>Mahopanishad<\/em><\/strong><strong>&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/strong><strong>VI.71-73<\/strong><strong><em>) ||<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Other narratives of Raksha Bandhan are:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>The Rakhi between Indra and his wife Indrani<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>The Bhavishya Purana recites battle between the Devas (Gods) and the Daanavas (Demons) which lasted twelve years. The Devas, including the mighty Indra were defeated. As they prepared to fight again, Indrani tied a Rakhi on her consort Indra, and Indra won the battle, thus extolling the significance and glory of Raksha Bandhan. The feminine is often given the association of shakti (power) in Hindu thought, and with the strength of the females, the males prosper. On this occasion, the Rakhi is given by a wife to her husband.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Kunti blesses her Grandson<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>During the battle of Mahabharata, Queen Kunti tied a Raksha on her grandson Abhimanyu to protect him in battle. Raksha Bandhan does not necessarily have to be celebrated between a sister and a brother and can be tied between any two people who have a deep bond. To this day, often when a young Hindu leaves the home for long periods for work, a Rakhi is tied to remind them of what they have left behind and should return for.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>The story of King Bali and Lakshmi<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>When Lord Vamandev was pleased with King Bali and appeared as Vishnu, Bali asked a boon that Lord Vishnu would leave His abode Vaikunth and come to &nbsp;Patalaloka, King Bali\u2019s kingdom. Lord Vishnu agreed and became a Dwarpalaka (guard) of Bali standing outside the door. When this news reached Goddess Lakshmi via Narada, She was greatly distressed.<\/p>\n<p>In order to make Herher husband return, Lakshmi went to Bali as a poor woman seeking help on the day of Shravana purnima. She told Bali that She didn\u2019t have a brother and would dearly like one. Bali agreed that from now on he would be Her brother and She accepted him as her brother by tying a Raksha on him. He told Her to ask him for anything She needs, and She requested Lord Narayan\u2019s return. She grieved that despite having a consort She was experiencing premature widowhood in Narayan\u2019s absence. However, the Lord had pledged to eternally protect Bali, by guarding his door.<\/p>\n<p>To resolve his dilemma, Brahma and Shiva agreed to guard Bali for four months each, while Vishnu (Narayan) would guard him for the auspicious four months- Chaturmaas- beginning from Ashadh Sud Ekadashi and terminating on Kartik Sud Ekadashi, usually from Mid-July to Mid-November.<br \/>\nTherefore when Brahmin priests perform puja rituals, they chant a famous mantra while tying the&nbsp;<em>nada chhadi<\/em>&nbsp;(raksha) on a devotee:<\/p>\n<p><em>||Yena baddho Baliraja daanavendro Mahaabala tena twaamabhi badh naami rakshe maa chala maa chala||<\/em><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><em>I tie onto &nbsp;you (the devotee) the raksha which was tied &nbsp;on Bali, the King of demons. Therefore, O Raksha! Do not ever fail to protect this devotee, do not ever fail.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft  wp-image-1644\" src=\"http:\/\/www.nhsf.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/08\/rakhis1-297x300.jpg\" alt=\"rakhis1\" width=\"198\" height=\"200\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nhsf.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/08\/rakhis1-297x300.jpg 297w, https:\/\/www.nhsf.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/08\/rakhis1-100x100.jpg 100w, https:\/\/www.nhsf.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/08\/rakhis1-64x65.jpg 64w, https:\/\/www.nhsf.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/08\/rakhis1-56x56.jpg 56w, https:\/\/www.nhsf.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/08\/rakhis1-50x50.jpg 50w, https:\/\/www.nhsf.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/08\/rakhis1-65x65.jpg 65w, https:\/\/www.nhsf.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/08\/rakhis1.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 198px) 100vw, 198px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong>Ritual<\/strong><br \/>\nOn the day of Raksha Bandhan, the sister will visit the home of her brother and performs his &#8216;<em>pujan<\/em>&#8216; by applying&nbsp;<em>kumkum<\/em>&nbsp;and rice grains on his forehead. She would then fasten a Rakhi to her brother as a symbol of love and a bond of protection. She will also offer him&nbsp;<em>mithai<\/em>(sweets). In return, the brother bestows upon her a gift and vows to protect her.<\/p>\n<p>Adorning Yagnopavit<br \/>\nOn this day,&nbsp;<em>Yajurvedi<\/em>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<em>Rigvedi<\/em>&nbsp;Brahmins and those who normally wear &#8216;<em>yagnopavit<\/em>&#8216; (<em>janoi<\/em>) also adorn new &#8216;<em>janois<\/em>&#8216;.<\/p>\n<p>Tying a Rakhi to the communal deity and to each other<br \/>\nThere are many Hindu communities where the members would tie a Rakhi to each other and to the deity or Guru. The tying of the Rakhi to each other in the community regardless of the social background and status of the persons taking part shows the equality between the community and their tying it to the deity represents their personal relationship to God. This concept is far more comprehensive than the concept of the &#8216;maximum happiness of the maximum number&#8217;.<\/p>\n<p>In fact, spontaneous love and compassionate service for the poor and lowly in society is regarded as the highest form of worship of God Himself. The spirit of selfless social service, protection of mankind and help given to the needy is thus transformed into a spiritual<em>saadhanaa<\/em>. Hence, Raksha Bandhan represents a most auspicious occasion to recharge&nbsp;ourselves every year with the&nbsp;true spirit of protection, service and sacrifice for the welfare of society, and find therein the highest spiritual fulfilment of human life.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.nhsf.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/08\/rakhis2.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-1645\" src=\"http:\/\/www.nhsf.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/08\/rakhis2-286x300.jpg\" alt=\"rakhis2\" width=\"286\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nhsf.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/08\/rakhis2-286x300.jpg 286w, https:\/\/www.nhsf.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/08\/rakhis2-64x67.jpg 64w, https:\/\/www.nhsf.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/08\/rakhis2.jpg 292w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 286px) 100vw, 286px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>10th August 2014 (Shraavana Sud 15) Raksha Bandhan stirs up one of the deepest emotions in people \u2013 the steadfast and chaste bond of love between the brother and the sister. Raksha means \u2018to protect\u2019 and Bandhan means \u2018binding\u2019, hence signifying the sister tying the Rakhi around her brothers wrist as a symbol of love [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":18,"featured_media":1648,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[715],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1643","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-utsavs"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nhsf.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1643","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nhsf.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nhsf.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nhsf.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/18"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nhsf.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1643"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.nhsf.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1643\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nhsf.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/1648"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nhsf.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1643"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nhsf.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1643"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nhsf.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1643"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}