“Indian culture is essentially much more of a we culture. It’s a communal culture where you do what’s best for the community – you procreate.” – Aasif Mandvi.
Rakshabandhan, an auspicious and traditional Indian festival, celebrates the sacred and blissful bond shared between siblings in a ritualistic manner. The panorama of this one-day special festival for which everyone waits eagerly the whole year makes brothers and sisters’ hearts pound with cheerfulness, joy, exhilaration, and utmost happiness.
Sisters offer their blissful prayers to almighty God to bless their beloved brothers with health, wealth, prosperity, happiness, peace, harmony, and long lives. In return, brothers make an everlasting promise to protect their loving sisters from all the evils and judgmental beliefs throughout life.
The Rakhi festival is originally from India, but there is no religious boundary or distance factor that obligates anyone from celebrating the festival dedicated to brotherly-sisterly love. From Christians to Muslims to Sikhs, everyone loves to celebrate this festival with full-fledged rituals, customs, gaiety, and enthusiasm. That is why; Raksha Bandhan celebration holds utmost significance for every brother-sister bond, family togetherness, and in Indian culture as well.
Indians celebrate Raksha Bandhan with utmost liveliness and devotion. The special festival binds every family member with the pious thread of protection, love, care, affection, and warmth. We have been celebrating this festival for the past many decades. The festival of Raksha Bandhan has now revamped with new traditions and celebration styles. No, a very few sisters are there who tie Mauli thread as Raksha Dhaga.
Everyone has switched to the designer Rakhis and the modern way of celebration. Also, nowadays, it has become very daunting for the brothers to take leave for the one-day festival and visit their sisters. Now, sisters can effortlessly send online Rakhi Via Rakhi.in and gifts to their brothers in India and across the globe.
Ritualistic Raksha Bandhan Celebration
After globalization and westernization waves hit India, several things have been changed, and so does the way of observing Indian festivals. India has accepted these changes wholeheartedly, and the Rakshabandhan celebration people see around the Indian subcontinent in recent days is not what the legends left Indians with. People used to celebrate this beautiful festival with due diligence and enthusiasm, following every ritual and religious custom.
The Raksha Bandhan festival holds utmost significance in Hinduism, and hence, this day should also be celebrated traditionally and ritualistically, just like Holi, Diwali, Bhai Dooj, and Teej. For everyone who wishes to celebrate this Raksha Bandhan just like ancestors do, then it is essentially important to adhere to all the minute and significant details of performing every Rakshabandhan ceremony.
Here, a list is given stating a few important rituals of Rakshabandhan that must be adhered to for a religious festival of Rakshabandhan. Do have a look:
- Waking up early in the morning, taking a bath, and cleaning the temple of the house is the most important thing that everyone should do first so that the day starts well.
- The second most important thing is to know the auspicious time of Rakshabandhan. To complete any festival with happiness, it is very important that all the work should be done at the right time. Panchang has the shubh muhurat for the Rakhi tying ceremony as well. So, make sure to check for the auspicious time before performing the rituals.
- In many Indian states, sisters keep fast on the day of Rakshabandhan and pray for their brother’s long life, happiness, and well-being. Sisters open their fast after tying Rakhi on their brother’s wrist.
- As far as the Raksha Bandhan celebration of ancient times is considered, sisters used to make Rakshabandhan Puja Thali at home with authentic metal, sandalwood, and vermilion. But, nowadays, several online Rakhi stores are offering designer Puja Thali along with Nariyal, Mauli, Kalash, betel-nuts, gold/silver/brass plate along with beautiful Rakhis. A Puja Thali is one of the indispensable parts of the ritualistic Raksha Bandhan celebration.
Rakshabandhan Puja Vidhi and its Significance
How to prepare for the Maha Puja on Rakshabandhan
- Raksha Bandhan puja ceremony holds the profound meaning and essence of the festival.
- Sisters prepare puja thali with all the essential things needed for performing Puja Vidhi.
- All the family members should take a bath before sunrise, i.e., Pratahkal on the day of
- Rakshabandhan, and clean the temple for the ceremony.
- The next thing to do is to perform the ritual of appeasing almighty Gods, Goddesses, and ancestors. It is known as “Deva and Pitra Tarpan.”
- The Upakarma ritual should also be performed in the early morning after taking a bath.
- The Rakhi tying ceremony should only be performed during the auspicious Aparahna time.
- The puja ceremony involves the worship of almighty Raksha, followed by tying Raksha
- Dhaga to the wrist as Raksha Potli.
- The Raksha Potli contains unbroken rice, gold thread, and white mustard woven with cotton or woolen fabric.
- Later, the Raksha potli is tied to the wrist along with pious mantra:
Significance of performing Rakshabandhan Puja
- If any family completes the Rakshabandhan Puja with rituals and customs, the almighty power of Raksha brings prosperity, happiness, peace, harmony, and divinity to their lives.
- The fruit of performing puja is the blessings of Lord Vishnu and Goddess Laxmi for the happiness and togetherness of the family.
- This auspicious puja ceremony also brings good times for bhaiya and bhabhi, and tying a blissful Raksha Dhaga on their wrists will strengthen their bond.
- The holy fire of Maha Rakshabandhan Puja sanctifies the house and destroys all evil powers present in the home.
- All the negative energies also ward off by performing Rakshabandhan Puja at home with full-fledged rituals and traditions.
Importance of Raksha Bandhan
Raksha Bandhan is celebrated by Hindus as one of the significant days commemorating the unbreakable bond of siblings. It is celebrated across northern and western Indian parts along with Nepal, Mauritius, and Pakistan.
- For the Jainism community, the auspicious occasion holds a whole different set of significance. On this day, the priests of the Jain community give pious ceremonial threads to their devotees.
- In the Sikhism community, the festival is observed as “Rakhari” or “Rakhardi” by the Sikhs.
- This festival represents the duty of brothers and sisters, meant for strengthening the brother-sister relationship, even when they are not biologically related.
- This festival also brings happiness, wealth, good health, prosperity, and harmony to the lives of the family members.
- The sacred Raksha Dhaga, when tied on the wrist of Bhaiya and Bhabhi, strengthens their bond and fills their life with happiness.
Warm Closings
The best way to doll up the Rakshabandhan celebration is to include the tradition of gift-giving ceremony in the ceremony. Brothers can get Rakhi return gifts from their sisters, and sisters too can send Rakhi gifts to their brothers along with a designer Rakhi.
