Lions and Brahma Kumaris join together to celebrate Raksha Bandhan |26 August 2016

Clebrating the Hindu festival Raksha Bandhan

Brahma Kumaris members on Wednesday afternoon joined with several members of the Lions Club of Seychelles, who are also Hindu devotees, in a celebration of the Hindu festival Raksha Bandhan.

This first ever activity where the two movements join together to commemorate this festival took place at the Palm Residency at Ma Joie.

Raksha Bandhan or Rakhi is an auspicious occasion on the Hindu calendar when sisters tie a sacred thread called ‘Rakhi’ on the wrist of their brothers and pray for their long life. It is widely celebrated as a festival across India and around the world around August 17 or 18.

Dr Valentina Seth, the president of the Lions Club of Seychelles, hailed the friendship between the Brahma Kumaris and the Lions.

Brahma Kamari Vinayna from Ahmedabad, India here for the auspicious moment  tied rakhis on the wrist of the Lions while Dr Seth applied the ‘tilak’ on their forehead. Traditionally, sisters apply a ‘tilak’ on the forehead of their brothers, tie a colourfully  decorated ‘rakhi’ or thread on their brother’s wrist, and offer sweets as a token of their love. In return, the brother vows to protect his sister under all circumstances and of course, gives his sister a gift.

Raksha Bandhan has a deeper spiritual explanation. The ‘tilak’ is a sign of being victorious over ‘body-consciousness’ and the web of vices that influence us to perform negative actions. It is also a symbol of awakening one’s awareness of ‘soul-consciousness’.

After the tying of the rakhis the Lions and the Brahma Kumaris shared a moment of friendly interactions over coffee and light refreshments.