Why Hari has a thousand hands is now clear to me – so that he can tie so many rakhis. I feel that my two hands are not enough, a thousand hands are required.
Nowadays, there is a new trend of tying a friendship band on Friendship Day. But people in the past already envisaged this, which is why we have Raksha Bandhan – a bonding day. Why bonding? This is because bonding brings protection. Raksha means protection, and bandhan means bonding.
Raksha Bandhan celebrates the bonds of love and protection
Relationships that come from a space of desire bring sadness along with it. Relationships that come from a space of love bring protection. This is the only difference between desire and love. When we have desires, we don’t discriminate what is right and what is wrong – we become selfish. When we are in love, in one way we lose our senses and in another way, it raises our awareness. Awareness gets awakened in love.
A very happy Raksha Bandhan to everyone! I would like to tell everyone around the world that – there is enough love on this planet, no need to be anxious. There are lots of good people on the planet and their protection is with you.
Today is the day to shut the insecurities that are in your mind.
The one thing that stops you from blossoming is insecurity. When you feel insecure, your intellect becomes dull and your perception becomes colored. Your body undergoes lots of hormonal changes. Your body produces a lot of adrenaline and you feel weak. Your immune system gets affected. Look at the disadvantages of insecurity. See what insecurity can do to you – what damage it can bring. On an emotional, mental plane, insecurity obscures your vision and so your perception is flawed. Your ability to see things as they are gets seriously affected, and your social behavior is severely affected.
A person who is insecure doesn’t know how to be friendly, how to be trusting, how to trust anyone in society. And the antidote for insecurity is trust. And insecurity doesn’t allow you to trust anybody. So, you get into a Catch 22 situation. A vicious cycle of insecurity, depression, anger, and bad behavior. You do not even realize that your behavior is not palatable. And this happens from within, you lose a lot of good opportunities in life, you lose the enthusiasm, the drive to take any new initiatives. It becomes the end of creativity, the end of entrepreneurship; that is, the end of any type of progress, and that is end of happy, joyful living. That’s why sisters tie rakhis to their brothers saying, ‘I am there to protect you’.
However strong a man is, somewhere he might need some protection and this comes from a lady’s strong will and mindset. How psychologically significant this is!
When you look back at the ancient times, it is amazing to see how they upheld these bonding and communication lines between families. Usually, when a girl marries into another family and goes away to another place, Raksha Bandhan opens the lines of communication. So, the message of this Raksha Bandhan is – shut your insecurity, there are so many Rakhis waiting for you. The world is giving you protection. The goodness of the world is with you. No need to be insecure. Wake up – you are safe and secure.
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Significance of Raksha Bandhan
"Raksha Bandhan is a festival of connectivity, of giving assurance and confidence to each other that I am there with you and I am committed to help you, and stand by you. To say these things, we celebrate Raksha Bandhan, which means the bond of protection."
Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar explains the significance of
Raksha Bandhan and Shravan Upakarma.