CEBU, Philippines - One of the most memorable celebrations that I was able to join in last August was the festival of Raksha Bandhan, which we observed at the Brahma Kumaris Meditation Center in Forest Hills, Cebu City.
This Indian festival is actually one of my favorite because it was the first celebration that I was able to experience the moment I decided to take this journey towards inner enlightenment. That auspicious August of 2002 barely a week when I first started taking my regular dose of introspection and reflection, I was tied the rakhi (that's the bracelet that symbolizes one's promise) twice. First in Kamuning Center (Quezon City) where I had my basic course on Raja Yoga, and then several days later in Cebu City where I am currently receiving my daily sustenance.
In the Indian tradition, Raksha Bandhan is celebrated on the full moon of the Hindu month of Shravan, which is approximately from July 23 to August 22. This year, it fell on the 13th of August.
It's a very solemn observance, especially with the Brahma Kumaris when the celebration has taken a new meaning, one that is more meaningful and relevant, and that is the renewal of one's promise of purity.
Brahma Kumari Rajyogini Rajni Daulatram, the organization's regional director for Japan and the Philippines, who was in Cebu to tie the rakhi, explained that traditionally the festival symbolizes the bond of love between brother and sister.
The sister, she said, would tie a bracelet on the brother's right wrist symbolizing her sisterly love towards her brother. In return, the brother swears to protect his sister from all that is evil.
"The spiritual meaning (of Raksha Bandhan) is so beautiful," said Rajnibhen. "Raksha is protection and bandhan is bondage - bondage of protection."
She said that in the world that we live in, the protection that one is expected to get and actually needs is beyond physical protection.
"Today's world is full of fear. People have bodyguards to protect the body. Homes have guards so that no one can steal things," she pointed out. However, she clarified that the protection that raksha bandhan symbolizes is that of the mind, against negativity such as anger, greed, jealousy, and hate.
"This evil has given us so much sorrow.... We have to have protection from negative energy," she said.
For this, our minds must be in bondage with positive thoughts, pure thoughts, as BK Rajni would put it.
"It's a sweet bondage. It's a beautiful bondage to keep your mind always free from tension, free from frustration," she said. "A happy mind, a peaceful mind."
"So Raksha Bandhan is the bondage of protection. It's a promise to myself that from today I will think positively for my life and for others, for my family members and for my neighbors, for everyone. I will keep my mind in this bondage of positivity," she said.