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Rakshabandhan - Day of Girls

Raksha Bandhan is a festival for protecting mental tendencies and developing self-respect. The ritual involves tying a protective thread, signifying a brotherly duty to offer protection and help. This bond is for siblings and can extend to others, but it must be genuine. Using it as a trick to pursue marriage is dishonest and wrong. A Raksha Bandhan brother can often be more helpful than a real brother. The festival includes exchanging presents based on age. It is a day celebrated with food sponsored by the boys for the enjoyment of all.

"It becomes the duty of that boy to protect that girl and help her in all situations."

"You should not do this trick, neither boys nor girls. If you do not have the genuine feeling, do not do it."

Filming location: Strilky, Czech Republic

To protect certain vṛttis (mental tendencies) and to develop self-respect, we have a tradition in India, a festival called the festival of brothers and sisters. Tomorrow is Raksha Bandhan. Raksha means protection, and Bandhan means a knot. The girls tie the rakhi—a protective thread—on the wrist of a boy, signifying that he will always be like a brother to her. From that moment on, it becomes the duty of that boy to protect that girl and help her in all situations. This is for real siblings, but also for others. You can get closer to someone and say, "Oh, you are my Rakṣābandhan brother." However, to do this and then, slowly, slowly, marry that person is wrong. About five years ago, one girl made a Rakṣābandhan brother—this is a true story. After two and a half years, she wanted to have a consultation with me because she wanted to marry him. I said, "But he is your brother; that is a better relationship." For her, it was a trick to fish, a trick to hunt him. It was not honestly meant. You should not do this trick, neither boys nor girls. If you do not have the genuine feeling, do not do it. But it is nice to have brothers, and you should always remember that in many cases, a Rakṣā Bandhan brother is more helpful than a real brother. Now, regarding presents: if the boy is older than the girl, he is obliged to give her a present every year, just as you might give a birthday or Christmas present. You should remember each other on such occasions—your birthday, his birthday, Christmas, New Year, and all occasions like Guru Pūrṇimā. If the girl is older than the boy, then lucky boys, you will get the presents. You will get chocolates. Tomorrow is Raksha Bandhan, and it is also a full moon day. We are going to have a Rakṣābandhan festival. You can prepare some thread, or we can find some in the office, and we will do it in the garden. I think it will be very nice. Those who do not want to participate can just look and wait for next year. I think it is nice to have some brother-sister relationships. Tomorrow, nice food will be cooked—something like halvā or other dishes—and it will be sponsored entirely by the boys. All boys collectively can put something in the donation box. The girls can wish for what they want to eat tomorrow: spaghetti, pizza, halvā, purī, sabjī, or something else. So tomorrow is the day of the girls and of happy brothers.

This text is transcribed and grammar corrected by AI. If in doubt what was actually said in the recording, use the transcript to double click the desired cue. This will position the recording in most cases just before the sentence is uttered.

The text contains hyperlinks in bold to three authoritative books on yoga, written by humans, to clarify the context of the lecture:

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