A very special Raksha Bandhan ceremony took place at Parmarth Niketan (Rishikesh) today. The Rishikumars (students of the Parmarth Gurukul) underwent a yagno pavit (sacred thread) ceremony in the morning. The three sacred strings denote, as Pujya Swamiji explains, the three gunas – sattva (reality), rajas (passion), and tamas (darkness) which are tied together in a knot. The knot is called brahmagranthi which symbolizes the united trinity of Brahma, Vishnu and Mahesh (Shiva).
This yagno pavit ceremony is a very important sanskara- a ‘rite of passage’-symbolizing the transition of a child from the infantile stage of play to their next more serious stage. Under the consistent blessing and guidance of their Guru, who serves as their divine guardian and teacher, and through the three important practices of self-study, sadhana and seva they align themselves with the sangam or the confluence of the holy trinity.
On this special day peace prayers were also offered for the successful yatra (journey) of the next team of Project Hope volunteers. The boys tied a rakhi to the Project Hope team members and prayed that the blessings and vision of Pujya Swamiji will guide and direct them in this vital service. Journey of this team coincides with the completion of the second phase and the beginning of the third phase of green rehabilitation. They will survey the flood-affected regions in Uttarakhand, especially focusing on villages such as Rail-Ravi Gram, Semi-Bhainsari, Tosi-Triyuginarayan (Guptkashi), Pulna and Bhyundar (villages that sustained the caretakers of Valley of Flowers), Parodi (Tehri-Garhwal), as well as some in Uttarakashi which remain in need of assistance and support of an organization to revive their land and their lives.
The festival of raksha bandhan was also celebrated with the customary tying of rakhis by the young girls and sevikas to the rishikumars as their brothers. The rishikumars along-with their Ganga Action and Parmarth Parivar (family) tied raksha sutras to all trees in the campus along with a pledge to protect not only their sisters–as a form of divine feminine–but also to serve Mother Ganga and conserve the environment. They vowed to be Green Ambassadors and coloured this traditional holiday with a green touch as inspired by the divine vision of their Green Guru-Pujya Swamiji. Special honor was given to trees as Nature’s divine examples of the ultimate rakshak (protector), which serve unconditionally with no hesitation, no expectation, no discrimination and no vacation to protect Mother Earth, Mother Ganga and all of life.
