RAKSHABANDHAN

Rakshabandhan is a day dedicated to celebrate the unique loving bond between brothers and sisters. It is a day when the siblings pray for each other’s happiness & well-being.

‘Raksha-bandhan’ means a ‘bond of protection’. By tying a band, the brother assures protection to his sister from all the external enemies and obstacles that she may encounter in life; and the sister in turn, prays for a long and healthy life of her brother.

But what about the internal enemies and obstacles? Who will protect us from those?

Our belief that we will perish at the hands of the external forces keeps us in constant fear.

When a sister ties raksha-bandhan onto her brother’s hand, she has a prayer in her heart that, “Dear brother, please protect me from the obstacles that may come up in my life.” And on tying this ‘bond of protection’ the assurance that her brother gives to her puts all her fears to rest. But how much ever a brother may strive to safeguard his sister, ultimately we all are helpless in front of Nature.

So is there a surer way to overcome our fears?

Yes, there is! If the very source wherefrom all kinds of fears originate is uprooted and destroyed, fear would automatically vanish, isn’t it? So let’s learn some more about this.

Say, you’ve gone astray in a foreign territory. And you suddenly find yourself surrounded by enemies who are determined to rob you off all your valuables, even if that means taking away your life. Just imagine the kind of fear you would experience in such a state.

You would want to escape but you can’t, for the enemies have erected huge obstacles on your way. You know your brother, or for that matter any loved one, are more than willing to help you, but how? They too cannot combat these enemies. And you are scared that they may get hurt. All you would want to do in such a situation is to somehow escape from the enemies and make your way home, right?

Likewise, every living being in this world too is experiencing terrible fear for we are outside our home named ‘Soul’ and have got surrounded by the internal enemies of anger, false pride, deceit and greed and there are huge obstacles of the worldly pleasures derived from five senses, which are not letting us escape from the enemies so that we can reach our home.

Who can help us out now?

Gnani (an Enlightened Person) alone can make us realize our eternal Self and get us free.

According to Pujya Dadashri, “Fear exists because of the ignorance of the Self. One has never seen or realized the domain of the Self. That is why there is perpetual existence of fear in the relative world. Fear vanishes with the understanding of ‘I am the eternal Self’!”

Pujya Dadashri further assures that, “Those who have received Gnan (Self-realization) from me will constantly experience samadhi (remain undisturbed) in every situation, regardless of its type.”

Self-Realization destroys the fear from its source of origin and leads us to ultimate liberation.

So come, on this pious day of Rakshabandhan, let us decide to set ourselves free by realizing our eternal Self, and seek protection of Gnani from all types of internal enemies and obstacles to live a life full of bliss and void of all stress!

For this, we shall earnestly pray to Gnani today, “Please protect every living being on this Earth. Help each cross over the obstructions that are not allowing them to attain Self-Realization. Please protect us from the internal enemies that obstruct our path to ultimate liberation.”