TV Channel

Tomorrow is Pūrṇimā, the full moon. For us, it is also like a Guru Pūrṇimā. You have celebrated Guru Pūrṇimā in different places this year—in every country, in every āshram—and now this full moon arrives. It, too, is like a Guru Pūrṇimā. This full moon reminds us of something beautiful: what we call Rakṣābandhan. Every full moon after Guru Pūrṇimā is Rakṣābandhan, and we have been observing it for nearly ten years now. Rakṣā means protection, and Bandhan means a bond—to tighten your relation. This festival is dedicated to sisters. It is the day of the sister-brother relationship. Traditionally, it is the brother's duty to protect the sister in every aspect: to support her, to help her if she is in a difficult financial position, and to give her presents on this day, inviting her for a nice meal. It does not matter if she lives in Australia; send her a plane ticket. That is why you are the brother. The festival began with a beautiful story. There was a lady and a king, a Mughal ruler. He wished to marry anyone he liked. There was a very beautiful young lady, and the king said he wanted to marry her, but she was already married and did not wish to marry anyone else. If she refused, he would have her killed, have her husband killed, and torture her. He was that cruel. But she was very clever. She said, "I will not hate him. I do not hate." As Mahātmā Gāndhī said, we do not hate the person; we hate the actions. She had very positive thinking. It is always like this: where there is positive love, there is always a winner. She took a nice thread in her hand and went to him. He was very happy that she came. Before she came near, she said, "Please give me your hand." He stretched out his hand, and she tied a beautiful thread around his wrist. He asked, "What is this?" She replied, "This is the thread of love." He said, "Yes, please tie it nicely." She explained what kind of love it was: the love of a sister for a brother. She told him that whenever he saw the thread on his wrist, he would remember it was a symbol of his sister, and this knot should never open. He said, "It means you are my sister now." She confirmed, "Yes, now we are related as brother and sister." He asked, "What is my duty?" She answered, "Then you are my elder brother, and your duty is to protect me in every respect." He promised to protect her as a sister, gave her many presents, and sent her home respectfully. Every year on this full moon day, he would invite her. He declared this day in his kingdom as a day for brothers and sisters, to protect the morals of the village and of human society. They said all boys in the village are like my brothers, and all girls are like my sisters. Through this, perfect harmony was established in the village. It became the duty of every boy in the villages to ensure no one acted unjustly towards any girl—no kidnapping, no rape, and so on. Slowly, this day became the day of brother and sister. You have a duty towards a real brother or sister. But if you have no real brother or sister, you can adopt one. You should love your adopted sister as your blood-related sister. If you have this kind of love, then you should adopt someone as a sister. Just the day before yesterday, there was a question: "I have a Rakṣābandhan sister, and now we have decided to marry. So Swāmījī, what kind of karmas will we have? How should we finish this relation of sister and brother and create the relation of husband and wife?" This is not something you can simply repaint from white to green. When you tell someone, "You are my sister," then she is your sister. Or "You are my brother," then he is your brother. If you have one sister and one brother, of course you can adopt ten more sisters or brothers. It depends how rich you are—I mean, as a brother. If you have ten sisters, you have to invite all ten from America to Europe; otherwise, you create jealousy and fighting in the family. Your adopted sister is your real sister. You can also adopt sister to sister, girls to girls. In Indian tradition, on this day, they exchange sarīs. One gives her sarī to another, and the other gives hers in return. Thus, they become real sisters, establishing a sisterly relation. If you have no sarī, you can give yours to her and receive hers. Brother to brother, they exchange turbans. You give your turban to the other, and he gives you his, and you embrace as brothers. I heard that in ex-Yugoslavia, or in Serbia, when they adopt someone as a brother—brother to brother—they make a little cut on the head, and the other does the same. When the blood comes, they stick together, signifying they are real blood brothers. But nowadays, this is not healthy, as you do not know if the other brother has an illness that could enter your bloodstream. Therefore, the turban system is safer. If you have no turban, you can exchange hats or ties. Then you become brothers. If you adopt someone younger than you, it is always the elder brother's duty to give a present to the younger one. Tak bude vždycky povinnost toho staršího dávat dárek tomu mladšímu (Thus it will always be the duty of the older one to give a gift to the younger one). If you, as a sister, adopt a brother who is younger than you, then it is your duty to give him presents. Of course, he will also have to give you something, but it is your duty to give to him. The younger ones always have privilege. So, search for a young brother or sister, or search for an older one so that you will receive something. On this day, you should at least write a postcard or a letter, telephone, or invite someone for a meal. Express your care as you would for a real sister on her birthday, or for a brother on his birthday, and on occasions like New Year, Christmas, Guru Pūrṇimā, or Dīvālī. Similarly, this applies to your guru-brothers and sisters. The one who has received a mantra from your master becomes your guru-sister or guru-brother. That is how the relation is created. Now, if there is a couple, husband and wife, and they both receive a mantra from the master—or from one master—are they now guru-brother and sister, or husband and wife? In this question, someone once asked Mahāprabhujī because there is a thought that husband and wife should not have the same master, otherwise they become brother and sister. Mahāprabhujī said, "It means husband and wife should also have two gods." But there are not two gods; there is only one God. Therefore, you do not see in the master the worldly relation of father, brother, sister, or friend. You see the divine one. For this reason, it is advised that husband and wife should be disciples of one master. If there are two masters, you will have fighting at home. She will want to go to Guru Pūrṇimā to her master, and you will want to go to your master. Where will the children stay? Therefore, it does not matter if you are husband and wife, brother and sister, or father and daughter; you all have the same one Kṛṣṇa, or all have the same one Śiva, or all have the same one Jesus. That is it. We have to realize our relations, cultivate them, support them, and take care of them. Therefore, tomorrow is the day. You have many guru-brothers and sisters. Among them, you also have Rakṣābandhan sisters and brothers. Some have already brought presents from home because they were aware of this Rakṣābandhan; some have not. Luckily, we have the DNM shop here. You must hurry to buy the best present for your sister before it is sold out, or go to the village or other shops. Whatever you wish to buy—flowers or chocolate—tomorrow will be Rakṣābandhan as well as Pūrṇimā. Recording location: Czech Republic, Strilky, Summer seminar