Rakshabandhan is not merely a festival celebrating the protection of a sister by her brother. Its deeper meaning is about recognizing vulnerability and taking responsibility for what needs protection. Today, that responsibility must extend to the environment—rivers, mountains, trees, oceans, wildlife, and the planet itself. True religion lies in self-knowledge, compassion, and understanding that greater power brings greater responsibility.
This summary is AI-generated. Please read the full article for complete understanding.
Questioner: Namaste Acharya Ji. Raksha Bandhan is coming in a few days, and I wanted to ask you something about it. What was the cultural or psychological need that led to the emergence of a festival like Raksha Bandhan? Why is this particular brother-sister relationship so important that a festival is celebrated across India, even beyond Hindu communities? Because if we see, for example, in the US, Mother's Day, Father's Day are quite popular. That's not something regarding brother-sister relationships. So how is it so important in India? That is what I wanted to understand.
Acharya Prashant: See, you can visit the history of the festival and you will get all the facts. So all that is quite well known beyond history. Straight away move into psychology, right? You will not say that, for example, millionaires or billionaires need to be protected. Will you say that? You'll not say that, for example, the US Army needs to be protected.
Special protection is needed only for someone who is weak, and if a protection day, Raksha day, has been needed for sisters, for women, that simply tells us that we have had a big section of the society not empowered enough and therefore in need of protection. That's all.
