Has Raksha Bandhan, India’s prime festival lost its actual meaning behind astrology?

Festivals are the significant portrayal of cultural diversity in India. The country celebrates each festival with full of colors, lights and stories. Raksha Bandhan is one such Indian festival celebrated by Hindus. According to the beliefs of followers, the day is celebrated in the memory of an ancient story from a Hindu scripture called, The Mahabharata. Hindu worships several gods and Raksha Bandhan is dedicated to a story about Lord Krishna. Princess Draupadi once cut a piece of her saree, a traditional Indian dress to tie around Krishna’s hurt finger and he promised to return the favour. Later, he saved her and represented the pure and trusted relation among the two.
In India, Raksha Bandhan is called the festival of brother and sister. Sisters tie a bracelet around their brother’s wrist and in return brothers promise to protect them whenever needed. Surrounded with sweets, gifts and get togethers, this festival arrives in the month of August. But now the festival has become more of a task than a celebration. According to Manvi, who lives in Mumbai said, ‘I have two younger brothers. And we share a beautiful bond. We are close since our childhood and always share everything with each other. As per the astrology and stars, the correct time to celebrate this festival is between 9 pm to 7 am.’ She further added, ‘Earlier, we never cared about such timings. All we knew was the importance of this festival and the bond we share together. Nowadays, you hear people talking about this particular time period is not lucky etc. Too much following the astrology and stars has made the festival to lose its definition.’
According to astrological calculations, best time to tie Rakhi was after 9:01 pm on 30th August to 7:05 am on 31st August. While most of them followed the crowd, Deepa on the other hand wanted to be with her brother on top of all. She told EAT news, ‘I don’t believe in such discussions. I am Hindu and celebrates every festival with equal joy but the behind calculations do not make sense to me. I tied Rakhi to my brother on 30th August in the morning as I had to leave the other day. For me. Being with my brother is the most cherished moment of the day. And surprisingly, I belong to a priest family’. Priests in India are a religious leader who strictly follows rituals and customs. Having a father as a priest, Deepa said today nobody wishes to research deeply.
‘Earlier we used to eat at a particular time, everything was done according to my father’s astrological calculations. But now even he understands, it does not work that way anymore’, she said. Mr. Gopal Sharma is a priest in a temple inn his society and is quite is a respected figure around his neighborhood. Father to Deepa and two sons, Mr. Sharma has a different belief regarding Raksha Bandhan and the way of celebrating it. While talking to EAT news he said, ‘Nowadays people are hooked to astrology. They call us to know the best time for every small celebration. It has become like a trend now especially for rich and elite families. And when media picks this topic, it becomes a necessity that cannot be avoided.’
There has been a sharp observation that there has been a rise in such news where Indian media houses flashes auspicious time for every festival. According to Mr. Sharma, news channels focus keenly on similar subjects. ‘Media house shows it like a do or die situation, whereas a priest never tells you like this. We give you a date or a time but we never tell you the dangerous consequences if you do not follow that. That is not a part of astrology. We are not trained to scare people, but to give you a knowledge about that world’, he said.
On asking, is astrology demolishing festival feelings by interfering with its estimation of auspicious days and time? As per Mr. Sharma, astrology and Hinduism is connected by the origin. The problem is people. He said, ‘Well, if you read old mythological stories or scriptures in Hinduism, astrology exists then. But it’s the people hyping the whole concept for personal interest which is affecting individual’s choice of celebrating a festival. Media is making it a big deal for some Television rating points, but they are somehow promoting astrology culture that people do not know how to adapt.’
Meanwhile, thousands of people celebrated Raksha Bandhan on 30th and 31st August without physically present with each other or in a different time zone. With no sense of fear of superstition, they celebrated Raksha Bandhan with utmost love and joy. However, others followed the auspicious time and tied Rakhi.