Dear friends,
With the festival of Raksha Bandhan, I am reminded of some fond memories of celebrating rakhi when I was a young boy, probably around the age of five or six. The festival was a neighborhood affair, and all my sisters would come to me to tie their threads. By the end of the day, I would have rakhis tied on both my wrists, and even my ankles!
For my friends from outside India, who may be unfamiliar with the festival, Raksha Bandhan celebrates the bond of love between brothers and sisters. The two words raksha and bandhan literally translate to “bond of protection.” The ceremony usually involves a sister tying a wristband, better known as a rakhi on her brother’s wrist. The rakhi is an expression of a sister’s will of protection towards her brother, in turn, also entrusting him with the responsibility of protecting her.
Even today, Raksha Bandhan is a festival of great ritual significance. Yet, the question remains: what can we do to make this festival more meaningful?
The story begins with an episode from the Mahabharata, which takes place between Arjuna’s son, Abhimanyu and his grandmother Kunti. As Abhimanyu is poised to enter the deadly war formation of the enemy, the chakravyuha, Kunti ties a thread on his wrist before he goes to battle, with a prayer for his protection, making a sankalpa that this thread will protect the life of Abhimanyu. For days, this leaves Abhimanyu invincible on the battlefield. No matter how dangerous the situation, nobody is able to touch him. It is only when Lord Krishna comes in the form of a mouse, biting the thread while he is sleeping, that Abhimanyu falters and meets his demise, unable to make it out of the chakravyuha battle formation. This act of Lord Krishna may seem cruel, but it had far reaching consequences. This approach itself requires deeper understanding.
We may wonder: What is it that made this rakhi so powerful? And when we celebrate this tradition today, why is that protection no longer the case?
The answer lies in sankalpa shakti. “Sankalpa” is a Sanskrit word, loosely translated to English as “suggestion made with a will for something to manifest or be removed or to sustain,” however this doesn’t quite convey everything that the word means. Sankalpa can be understood as a complex process where you use the will to manifest your desire for something to happen. The sankalpa is given power by imagining that what you want to achieve is already there. The subtler the suggestion, the more potent it is.
It was Kunti’s sankalpa that resulted in Abhimanyu’s rakhi being so powerful. Imagine the level to which her consciousness and her unfaltering will that must have been so evolved to be able to protect her grandson from harm through this sankalpa. So much so that even the Lord could only defeat Abhimanyu by removing the thread first!
Today, can any of us say with confidence that such will be the case when we tie the thread? Are we confident enough in the power of our sankalpa? The real question is: how can we develop our will to such a subtle level that it becomes a possibility?
This time, let us tie the thread with the most subtle, potent sankalpa we can adopt, along with a prayer to God that the sankalpa is sustained, as long as the rakhi is worn and beyond. This way, the festival of Raksha Bandhan becomes really meaningful; otherwise, it will remain simply a ritual.
On the auspicious occasion of Raksha Bandhan, may we all develop the capacity of sankalpa like Mother Kunti.
All the best,
Daaji
With the festival of Raksha Bandhan, I am reminded of some fond memories of celebrating rakhi when I was a young boy, probably around the age of five or six. The festival was a neighborhood affair, and all my sisters would come to me to tie their threads. By the end of the day, I would have rakhis tied on both my wrists, and even my ankles!
For my friends from outside India, who may be unfamiliar with the festival, Raksha Bandhan celebrates the bond of love between brothers and sisters. The two words raksha and bandhan literally translate to “bond of protection.” The ceremony usually involves a sister tying a wristband, better known as a rakhi on her brother’s wrist. The rakhi is an expression of a sister’s will of protection towards her brother, in turn, also entrusting him with the responsibility of protecting her.
Even today, Raksha Bandhan is a festival of great ritual significance. Yet, the question remains: what can we do to make this festival more meaningful?
The story begins with an episode from the Mahabharata, which takes place between Arjuna’s son, Abhimanyu and his grandmother Kunti. As Abhimanyu is poised to enter the deadly war formation of the enemy, the chakravyuha, Kunti ties a thread on his wrist before he goes to battle, with a prayer for his protection, making a sankalpa that this thread will protect the life of Abhimanyu. For days, this leaves Abhimanyu invincible on the battlefield. No matter how dangerous the situation, nobody is able to touch him. It is only when Lord Krishna comes in the form of a mouse, biting the thread while he is sleeping, that Abhimanyu falters and meets his demise, unable to make it out of the chakravyuha battle formation. This act of Lord Krishna may seem cruel, but it had far reaching consequences. This approach itself requires deeper understanding.
We may wonder: What is it that made this rakhi so powerful? And when we celebrate this tradition today, why is that protection no longer the case?
The answer lies in sankalpa shakti. “Sankalpa” is a Sanskrit word, loosely translated to English as “suggestion made with a will for something to manifest or be removed or to sustain,” however this doesn’t quite convey everything that the word means. Sankalpa can be understood as a complex process where you use the will to manifest your desire for something to happen. The sankalpa is given power by imagining that what you want to achieve is already there. The subtler the suggestion, the more potent it is.
It was Kunti’s sankalpa that resulted in Abhimanyu’s rakhi being so powerful. Imagine the level to which her consciousness and her unfaltering will that must have been so evolved to be able to protect her grandson from harm through this sankalpa. So much so that even the Lord could only defeat Abhimanyu by removing the thread first!
Today, can any of us say with confidence that such will be the case when we tie the thread? Are we confident enough in the power of our sankalpa? The real question is: how can we develop our will to such a subtle level that it becomes a possibility?
This time, let us tie the thread with the most subtle, potent sankalpa we can adopt, along with a prayer to God that the sankalpa is sustained, as long as the rakhi is worn and beyond. This way, the festival of Raksha Bandhan becomes really meaningful; otherwise, it will remain simply a ritual.
On the auspicious occasion of Raksha Bandhan, may we all develop the capacity of sankalpa like Mother Kunti.
All the best,
Daaji
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