Message of Hope – Celebration of Brotherhood – Raksha Bandhan

The Festival of Raksha Bandhan, celebrated annually in August, is a memorial of a time when humanity was united by a loving relationship with God that protected and uplifted them and created a heavenly renewed world.  After a few thousand years, the present era has modernized and limited this festival to relationships within the nuclear  family, where sisters lovingly tie the threads of beautiful and often handmade ‘bracelets’, called Rakhis, around the wrist of their brothers to honor, protect and pray for their well-being.  The brother, in turn, promises to protect the dignity and honor of his sister and family.  To date the customs and lessons demonstrated in this special celebration have kept the family strong, functional and united.  Family members remain close knit as it strengthens the bonding, respect, caring, trust and love among them.

Raksha Bandhan is celebrated this year on August 11th.  It shows us what relationships should be like characterized by love, respect, kindness and empathy. When I am tied with this sacred thread of protection, the rakhi, I promise to stay in my original nature of peace, love, purity, wisdom, mercy. I remember to see myself as a soul with a body, rather than a body with a brain!!  My every thought, word and action becomes one having good wishes. These work as my protection and stay with me forever! Yes! It’s possible!  Now, with soul conscious knowledge, I see others as being a child of God and part of my spiritual family.  This unlimited vision of universal brotherhood breaks all barriers of caste, creed, age, gender, religion, socio-economic status, color and personality traits. Our vision is  broadened to the entire earth as one family under the Fatherhood of God.  Now all religions and over 100 countries value and celebrate this festival.

Raksha Bandhan encourages respect for both genders, particularly women, to protect and ensure their equality and safety.  However, their protection and honor rests not only on brothers within their family, but on every member of society.  No single individual can protect another person all the time, especially now with the decline in moral values.  Lust and anger start in the mind and are the root criminal causes.  Positive change can happen with spiritual training and empowerment. The antidote is to create pure feelings within. The daily practice of meditation enables us to channel our thoughts in a positive direction and put a full stop to wasteful and negative body conscious thoughts. This purity of mind brings happiness, wisdom and the power to keep on giving.

In these times of potential and possibly deadly changes, the Supreme Father is bound to look after us.  God is surrounding and tying an ‘unlimited rakhi’ on his loving spiritual children with golden strings of pure love and light !!   Each time we meditate we can experience being tied and surrounded with God’s  subtle ever present and loving ‘rakhi of light and might’.

Brahma Kumaris world-wide (bkwsu.org) conduct Rakhi programs.

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