Last Updated on 18 August 2024 IST | Raksha Bandhan 2024: Raksha Bandhan is the day meant to celebrate the special brother-sister bond. In worldly terms, ‘Rakhi’ or ‘Raksha Bandhan’ is observed as a day to highlight the fact that a brother is an ultimate protector of his sister. Despite such protection, how women are facing so many challenges across the globe, for instance the recent rape and murder case of an on-duty female doctor is amongst the headlines nowadays, it makes one wonder how festivals like Rakhi are spiritually significant? Dive into the article to know how to protect your sister and guarantee her safety throughout her lifetime.

What Is Raksha Bandhan (Rakhi)?

‘Raksha Bandhan’ or ‘Rakhi festival’ is one of the most ancient festivals celebrated in India, dedicated to the pious bond between a brother and a sister. This festival is celebrated in Shravana month during full moon day or Purnima day (generally August as per Gregorian calendar), which is also considered a very auspicious occasion as per Hindu mythology.

Raksha Bandhan 2024 India Date

The dates vary each year as per the position of the Moon. But, this year ‘Rakhi’ or ‘Raksha Bandhan’ will be celebrated on August 19, 2024.

On this day, all girls and boys both dressup in traditional and ethnic attires and sisters tie sacred thread called Rakhi on their brother’s wrist. In return the brothers give gifts and promise their sister protection during difficult and hard times. However, upon witnessing numerous crimes today happening to womens and girls, the rituals of Rakhi seem to be bogus. Only the Supreme God Kabir has the power to give shelter and protection from any kind of mishap happening to us.

Is Raksha Bandhan a National Holiday?

Most of the offices working in India are closed on the festival, however some of the offices working for foreign companies, operate on the day, some of the informal businesses and workers also work on this day.

Meaning of Raksha Bandhan

The festival is made up of two words, namely “Raksha” and “Bandhan.” As per Sanskrit terminology, the occasion means “the tie or knot of protection” where “Raksha” stands for the protection and “Bandhan” signifies the verb to tie. Protection of a soul from a mishap like death or some life threatening diseases is out of a brother’s reach, here the protection from Supreme God Kabir is required to protect the soul.

What Does Rakhi Mean?

Rakhi means “tie or knot of protection” and this festival is also called Rakhi Poornima.

Raksha Bandhan 2024: Ancient Folktales

The festival of Raksha Bandhan is known to have originated centuries before and there are several stories related to the celebration of this special festival. Some of the various accounts related to Hindu mythology are described below

Queen Karnavati and King Humayun

Queen Karnavati tied Rakhi to King Humayun and sought his help as a brother to protect her kingdom. King Humayun fought the war on her behalf and handed over the kingdom to her son Vikramjit.

■ Read in Hindi: Raksha Bandhan in Hindi

Draupadi and Shri Krishna

While killing Sisupala, Lord Krishna accidentally injured his finger. Draupadi immediately tied a piece of her sari on his finger. It is believed that Lord Krishna saved her in Kauravas’ courtroom for that favour which is wrong. However, it was the help of a cloth given by Draupadi to God Kabir (in the form of a blind Sadhu) which saved her in Kauravas’s courtroom.

Lord Indra and His Wife Sachi

Sachi, the wife of Indra tied a sacred thread on the wrist of her husband to protect him from the Demons and win the war that was going on with them.

Goddess Lakshmi and King Bali

Another legend says that Goddess Laxmi tied a rakhi to King Bali and requested him to allow her husband Lord Vishnu to return to her, as he had asked Vishnu to live with him forever. King Bali understood the pain of a wife and allowed Vishnu to go with her in their world. Since then, the festival of Raksha Bandhan is said to be celebrated.

However, these stories don’t have any significance and relevance to the authenticity of the Rakhi festival as per our Holy Scriptures like Holy Geeta ji and Holy Vedas. This festival is nowhere mentioned in our Holy Scriptures.

Raksha Bandhan 2024: Rakhi Celebration

Apart from tying a knot on the day, there are various other means by which the festival is observed in home, school, colleges and other formal institutions. Some of the ways of Rakhi celebration are mentioned below:

• Family outing: On this day some families plan to go out shopping or for having dinner with their relatives.
• Rakhi competition in school: Rakhi celebration in school is to keep the students engaged in festivals and develop their activity levels. Rakhi activity for kids comprises rakhi board decoration for students, faculty and visitors and rakhi making competition.

Raksha Bandhan creative Ads: Posting about various festivals on social media along with promoting their brands has been the cup of tea for most of the businessmen. For this purpose they design images and videos to keep their audience engaged.

Raksha Bandhan 2024: Facts Behind Raksha Bandhan

Hindus believe deeply in karmas. According to them, good karmas lead to blissful time and bad karmas cause one to endure misery and pain. The Hindu trinity; Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva cannot make any change in an individual’s destiny. So technically, tying a Rakhi to your brother doesn’t guarantee protection.

If tying a Rakhi gives protection then this means that those girls who have a brother can feel protected and the girls who don’t have a brother cannot get protection of any kind. But is this really true? Kaliyuga, the present age is characterized by a lot of turmoil and adverse circumstances.

■ Also Read | Raksha Bandhan [Hindi]: रक्षाबंधन पर जानिए कौन है हमारा वास्तविक रक्षक?

Does tying a Rakhi to a brother guarantee protection for a sister? How can a brother protect his sister if he lives miles apart from her or if he is the one who in fact needs protection from his sister? 

Raksha Bandhan 2024: Present Situation in India

In the current scenario, the brother-sister bond and the love within us have more or less faded in the limelight of sophistication. All the boys who behave very protective towards their sisters do not hesitate even a single bit to misbehave with a stranger girl. Even if a girl ties Rakhi to their brothers they still get molested, brutally raped, or even killed for dowry.

Consider the recent instance of the rape and murder of a female doctor at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital at Kolkata. There are many examples of this, Nirbhaya, Unnao Victim, Dr. Preeti Reddy to name a few. Doesn’t this even ring a bell that tying a rakhi does no good whatsoever in protecting a girl? These instances clearly indicate that a human (brother) is never and can never be capable of helping another human (sister) during distressing times always.

Raksha Bandhan 2024 Gift – Connection to the Real God

The most important gift a brother can give his sister is the right guidance about the real protector and guardian of all beings and this guidance comes by taking refuge in a True Guru. Take the refuge of a Truly Enlightened Saint Who provides true worship, so that one can get the shelter of the Supreme God Kabir. And promise your sister that you will never take recreational drugs and intoxicants, never do gambling, never take bribes and never cheat with someone. So this Raksha Bandhan Gift the book “The Way of Living” to your sister written by Jagatguru Tatvdarshi Rampal Ji Maharaj.

Raksha Bandhan 2024 Quotes

• “Essence of Rakshabandhan is the bond between the soul and the divine”
• “Create a thread (relation) with God which never breaks and you won’t feel like removing”
• “Blood relationships fade and we lose our loved ones over time, but our real hero Supreme God always lives with the soul”
• “Pious souls can always rely on Lord Kabir for protection in this Kaal lok”
• “There should be no other bond like the honest bond for Lord Kabir”
• “Lord Kabir is like a father, mother, brother, and a sister to a righteous soul”
• “Sweets, money, clothes, and human love are perishable but love with God is immortal”
• “This Rakshabandhan, tie a knot to Lord Kabir as a mark of protection by taking initiation from Saint Rampal Ji Maharaj”
• “Look around ! change your mindset, No human can guarantee you more security than Supreme God Kabir”

Raksha Bandhan 2024: Who Is the Real Protector?

Now the question arises: Who is really capable of giving us protection and granting us salvation? The only answer possible to this is that the true Almighty God Kabir Saheb is the only one capable of protecting us from anything and everything. He is the only one Who can put a permanent end to all our sufferings by erasing all our bad karma which are a major cause for all the sufferings we endure during our lifetime.

Today, there is only one enlightened saint in this entire universe Who is imparting the true spiritual knowledge of the True Almighty Kabir Saheb. His name is Sant Rampal Ji Maharaj. The teachings and sermons of Sant Rampal Ji Maharaj not only puts a soul on the path of righteousness and truth but at the same time, the way of worship imparted by Him helps the soul to get rid of all their past bad deeds which not only helps it to live a hassle-free life but at the same time the soul attains salvation with ease. 

To know the correct way of worship and know how to attain true Almighty, kindly listen to the spiritual discourses at ‘Sant Rampal Ji Maharaj’ youtube channel. To take initiation from Saint Rampal Ji Maharaj, please click here to fill the initiation form.

FAQs about Raksha Bandhan 2024

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