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Question: Can anyone give me more information regarding the roots of Rakhi?
Answer:Rakhri, Rakhi or Rakhsha Bandhan is a Hindu festival completely antithetical to Sikhism. Rakhi or rakhri literally translates to protection. Originally, it was a Tantric ritual exercised by Yogis to guard against evil happenings through the use of "magic" threads.
In present-day Hinduism, a woman ties a symbolic thread to her brother and in some instances to her husband, the latter being a custom prevalent in some Rajput tribes. In exchange, the recipient of the thread, who can only be a male, promises to give the woman tying the thread his protection for one year. The implication is clear that a woman is incapable of protecting herself and she must rely on a man for protection. Guru Nanak disagrees with Hindu theology and his dictum in the Asa Kee Vaar gives women an equal status to men. Furthermore, Guru Gobind Singh gave a kirpan, a sword, to both Kaurs and Singhs and not to men alone. Guru Amar Dass also endeavored successfully to give women an equal status to men when he conferred uponthree women the Bishoprics of different areas.
The "Sikhs" who participate in this Hindu custom undermine the efforts of the Gurus to give women an equal status to men. We should strive to be like the Singhs and Kaurs, who courted martyrdom in the cause of Religion and underwent unspeakable tortures and sufferings of being dismembered alive, scalped alive . . . but never wavered in their faith and remained steadfast in mind and spirit in the cause of Sikhism to that last hair on their body and to their last breath," as we read in our Ardaas each day.
Our Gurus and our forefathers have made innumerable sacrifices to remove Brahminical influences, such as Rakhri, from Sikhism. If we can't further their goal, at least we should not subvert our unique religion by participating in such puerile and asinine rituals.
Now you have to decide the rest, whether or not you should celebrate such rituals.
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I'm so happy to see that there are people out there who have so much pride in the history of our Faith and so much pride in what we are and what we are about. Thank you for that wonderful answer Surinder Singh Ji.
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Re: Is rakhri a hindu holiday ? (10/22/1999)