Raksha Bandhan is a celebration of
the bond of love and care for the sisters, where a brother vows to protect her
sisters in every circumstances. The beauty of the Indian culture is the brothers
and sisters do not have to be blood relatives, but a girl can tie Rakhi on the
wrist of any guy to whom she feels and
shares close bond. Not only sisters, but the custom symbolizes protection for
every girl or women, it says that every girl around the world should be
protected and feel safe anywhere around the world.
The custom of Rakhi has created a
beautiful, blissful way for girls or women to be protected during times of social
and political violence. This purely means that no woman should be injured or
dishonored by men, and considers it as a shameful act and disrespect towards
this beautiful tradition of Raksha Bandhan.
On this auspicious occasion of
Raksha Bandhan, we must unite as a family, and take a pledge to make every girl
safe the way we want our sisters to be safe and protected. Let’s use Rakhi as a symbol of our universal
brotherhood.
May our girls and women lead the
way towards this universal family as they tie Rakhi on the wrists of not only
their brothers or closest male friends, but also on the wrists of enemies. On
the eve of Rakshabandhan, let’s take a pledge to stand by our sisters in the
hours of crisis and save them from all the difficulties and harrowing experiences
of life. Together we will breeze through the task of providing immeasurable
protection not only to our sisters but also to women across the globe.
While the festival merely celebrates the bond
or relationship between brother and sister, it has much more significance than
only the relationship of brother and sister. Raksha Bandhan also has a great
history, and numerous stories have been narrated by our elders on the origin of
Raksha Bandhan. One of them symbolizes lord Krishna gives an infinite long
saree to Draupadi in return for the favor of protecting his wound with a tiny
piece of cloth. At a certain level, we able to experience the enormous joy of a
grateful act done by us, when we eliminate the finite ego and selfish thoughts
from our soul.
Thus, like any other festival, Raksha Bandhan
is also a call to the divine self within. On this occasion, Let’s transform
your wrong actions with a goal of self-betterment, develop finer emotions and
unitedly take a stand for each other to protect each other from social or
political violence, whether the victim is a girl or a boy.