By Prof. Manisha Bajpai Gupta, Educationist and Columnist
Today, when most festivals have turned into “Instagrammable Moments” and relationships are limited to “reels”, there is a need to understand and live Raksha Bandhan afresh.
This festival is not just the name of a sweet, a gift and a selfie, nor is it a symbol of one-sided “brother’s strength, sister’s weakness”. Due to cultural Marxism and intellectual colonialism, it is a big challenge for Gen-G to understand that in reality Raksha Bandhan is a festival of trust, not trend and gender, that is why we are naming it Raksha Bandhan – 2.0 in the discussion.
This is not a hoax wrapped in the hollow pomp of days but an attempt to establish the sacred paradigm of the festival. Rakhi is not a gender neutral festival interpreted from a western perspective, but a live expression of our Indian culture which is based on duty, affection, trust, responsibility and thoughtfulness. This is a perfect example. Message of mutual responsibility
Misleading propaganda of Cultural Marxism
These days social media and some so-called reputed newspapers are recommending to make this festival gender neutral. Some people suffering from ideological bankruptcy are rejecting this festival by calling it a “celebration of patriarchy”. This is the same trick of Cultural Marxism which wants to create distrust and separation in the society by portraying family, religion and tradition as “tools of exploitation”. But the basic philosophy of Sanatan culture says –
“Defense is not one-sided, it is mutual responsibility”
A sister is a representative of the same strength, inspiration and sensitivity for a brother as a brother is for his sister. It is not just a festival of “boy-girl” gender – it is a festival of “trust and promise”. Trying to make it “gender neutral” is not only an injustice to its soul, but it is a well thought out, ideological attack of Cultural Marxism against our cultural soul, whose aim is to weaken the familial, cultural and moral traditions of India and disintegrate the Indian social structure.
This conspiracy is as much on the intellectual level as it is on the emotional level. In such a situation, the challenge for us is that we should not see our traditions only in external forms, but by understanding their basic purpose, authentic meaning, cultural and spiritual messages, we should take the responsibility of proudly transferring them to our next generation with the same scientific and psychological approach and beauty.
Psychology of Rakhi: Towards a better society
Rakhi is not just a “gender relationship” between brother and sister, this emotional sentiment is a very lovely tangle.
When we tie a Rakhi if so, — then we declare that:
“I bind you with my emotional, moral and social responsibility.” It strengthens the consciousness that protection and respect is a broad social value, which applies to everyone – not just gender or any one relationship. The festival of Rakhi awakens feelings like kindness, compassion, sympathy and sense of duty within a human being. It breaks the boundaries of “I and you” and gives birth to the thinking of “we”. This is the psychological effect of Rakhi – it takes us out of self-centeredness and gives us the thinking of “we”. It is not a celebration of anyone’s superiority or inferiority, but of mutual responsibilities. This is the feeling that shows the way to overcome mental depression, loneliness and social breakdown.
Not a thread, but a social resolution of responsibility
The thread of Rakhi is not just to decorate the relationship of brother and sister. It is an unspoken social resolution, a festival that takes us above personal feelings and leads us towards collective sensitivity and social responsibility. The philosophy of Sanatan Dharma is not based only on rituals, but on the purification and sublimation of human consciousness. The festival of Rakhi strengthens this consciousness.
Raksha Bandhan 2.0: It is not only a promise of protection, but also a pledge of purity of character and attitude. It is not just a protective thread, but a social thread, which connects emotions, thoughts and duties together.
A brother should tell the sisiter, “I am responsible for you, not just because you are my sister, but because you are in the role of a woman who is a creator, affectionate, respectable and not just a poor beggar for protection”
So from there begins the real meaning of Raksha Bandhan – purity of thinking and this attitude is the strongest basis for women’s safety – which does not arise from any law, but from the land of sanskar and thought.
Raksha Bandhan 2.0
Today when society is struggling with self-centeredness, moral deviation and insensitivity, festivals like Rakhi show us the beautiful path of moral revival, social fabric. Now the time has come that we should see Rakhi again not as a trend but as a symbol of trust and take the initiative to restore Indian festivals with the belief that this is the festival which teaches the dignity of relationship.
- It not only awakens the feeling of “my sister” but also “the woman of every house should be equally safe in my thoughts.”
- It reminds us that culture, protection and dialogue are the backbone of any relationship.
- Respect is not just a right, it is also a responsibility.
- Security is not just external, it is also mental and social.
- Relationships are not only blood and biological, they are also made of thoughts. And with these resolutions begins the purity of festivals and this is the philosophy of Indian festivals
