On June 25, 2013 the City of Surrey launched its third rakhi project with the theme of love and respect, and reduction of domestic violence. It is commendable that the City has undertaken such a project to foster love and respect for one another. The rakhi project has been spearheaded by council member Barinder Rasode, and supported by mayor Dianne Watts and the City Council.
Rakhi celebration is an ancient Indian tradition in which a sister ties a rakhi on her brother’s wrist. There are various legends about how the rakhi celebration got started. One such ancient legend is that Lord Krishna suffered an injury on his hand and was bleeding. Draupadi tore a piece of her sari and bandaged the wound. Lord Krishna was very moved with this kind gesture, and promised to protect her. When she was being disrobed in the palace of King Dhritarashtra to dishonor her, Lord Krishna extended her sari indefinitely so she could not be disrobed. In India rakhi was also practiced by the Rajput Queens who sent rakhis to neighboring kings as expressions of love. This helped to prevent hostility between the different kingdoms. As generally practiced, the rakhi is tied by sisters and cousins on the wrists of their brothers or male cousins. The sister feeds the brother with sweets and the brother, in turn, gives money or other gifts to her. This beautiful, simple ceremony cements love between a brother and sister. The brother undertakes to protect his sister whenever she needs such protection.
The theme of reducing domestic violence is a noble one, as domestic violence occurs and nearly one third of all women belong to different cultures and ethnicities. The City projects to reduce domestic violence based on the rakhi, can accomplish a great deal if its significance can work itself into the hearts of all people, even those that are not related. This awareness needs to be emphasized because all people are spiritually brothers and sisters. We accept God as our father, and we pray to God with the feeling that we are God’s children. Although we may not belong to the same biological family, we all belong to the same spiritual family. We, therefore, should have a sisterly and brotherly type of love for one another. When looked at from this angle, all people can celebrate rakhi. This would enable each woman, of any age, to see a man as her brother, and a man, of any age, to see a woman as his sister. Once this relationship is psychologically established, it would be difficult to be violent towards the opposite sex. This sentiment would perhaps need to be avoided only in a wife/husband relationship since the stigma of incest may lurk in the deep recesses of the mind.
May the City of Surrey continue to promote such socio-cultural events for the benefit of all its citizens.
Dr. J. Das, Kabir Association of Canada
