Protector and Protection

I

The Festival of Raksha is observed by our Hindu brothers, and the true meaning of Raksha Bandan is to have good intentions towards someone and be a protection for them in every way – to protect them from difficulties, unhappiness, calamities, etc., or to save them from the force of such occurrences as cannot be prevented. The custom has been upheld in India for many generations, and at the time of wars for instance, sisters would tie a small token on the wrists of their soldier brothers, and whisper the prayer, May God protect you! It is a common custom still continued nowadays, but unfortunately with time it has deteriorated from its true meaning, and we find that when the sister now ties the token, she feeds him some sweetmeat and then expects some money in return, and so the true reason for the custom is lost.

What is Raksha or protection, and who can give it wholeheartedly? When a child is born it has no awareness of anything, but its mother protects it from birth until it is fully grown. The father is the bread-earner, but the mother is the protector. First, for nine or ten months she carries the baby in her womb, giving it all her love and attention; then when it arrives in the world she starts to take care of its every need. She keeps him clean, for he is constantly dirtying himself. If he gets wet and there are no more dry clothes, though it be the depth of winter she will keep him warm on her breast and cover him with her own clothes, oblivious to the danger of catching cold herself.

When the child gradually begins to have some awareness of his surroundings, he starts to realise a little of the love of his mother towards him, for the mother first loves the child, not vice versa. The child’s love comes in response, and when he learns to love he is reluctant to leave his mother’s lap. She spends her life in worrying about the child – his health, his food, his education, good character, and his future. Everything concerning him is dear to her heart until he stands on his feet and gets established in life. Even then her worrying does not cease. You will find that most mothers are like this, the whole world over.

However, this worldly life is not the True Living – we have to be born again, not physically but into a new and different world. Christ said that unless a man be born again he cannot enter the Kingdom of God, and only after getting this physical form can we get rebirth into the beyond. Just as the mother is the physical protector, it is even more necessary to have a Protector through the second or Spiritual Birth and on through the Spiritual Life until one has grown in awareness and is able to stand upright spiritually. With conditions as they are today, even man’s closest ties offer little protection. A brother is not a true brother; father is not for his son and the son will do nothing for his father. Even the mother has started cursing her child, who in turn has lost all respect for its mother. It is such a terrible and degraded condition that mankind has sunk into – I feel like weeping.

Anyway, one might have the sympathies of a righteous person, but for how long can he protect one? For as long as he stays in this world – not beyond that, and in the process of rebirth he will be of no avail whatsoever. So who can protect us in the new world? He who dwells there. The True Raksha Bandan happens when you have a Protector for your soul, Who can take care of you in this world and the next, and without Whom nothing can be achieved; with all due respect and gratitude to our physical and material protectors.

The mother hen sits on her eggs with full concentration, so that the chicks will form. When they are fully formed, she conveys to them that they are ready for the world which is waiting for them with open arms; the sun which is brightly shining, the grass is green and fresh, and there is plenty of food to eat. But the chick is in darkness, and cannot realise there is any other state. The mother then has to resort to tapping on the shell with her beak, and on hearing this he instinctively feels encouraged to do the same from inside and in a short time he is putting his head into a new atmosphere filled with light and life. Only then does he understand the promise conveyed by his mother.

If we want to be born into the new world, we need the help of Someone Who will not only take us there, but Who will protect us to the end of the journey. Do you think this is work for our mother, father, sister or any friend? No, it is impossible. The whole world is unable to assist you.

There is an account of an incident during the life of my Master, Baba Sawan Singh Ji, of a woman disciple whose only son was arrested on a false charge of murder, and was given the penalty of death by hanging. The sessions judge presiding over the case was also a disciple, and before the final verdict was concluded, Baba Sawan Singh Ji requested him to help the accused, and said, I know he is innocent and falsely implicated; but the judge disregarded the Master’s words and gave the death sentence.

A few days later, I was present when this same judge came to pay his respects to Hazur, and when the Master passed very close to him, without even looking in his direction, he said casually to another person, I have no need of a judge – I can ask the Lord to do my work. Just then, the mother approached the Master and started crying. He has been sentenced to death, she said. Baba Sawan Singh Ji replied, Don’t worry – you just put in an appeal.

It was not the type of case that had the slightest chance through appealing, but on the Master’s advice the mother did appeal; and when they re-examined the case, certain facts came to light and eventually the son was released.

So one can see that even when there is no hope in any direction, a True Protector can give the maximum help. Frankly, what is a human being’s life but a series of interruptions? At each step there is a barrier – what one wants does not happen. Some people are dying, some are sick, some are in difficulties of various kinds. There are thousands in poverty, and in appallingly afflicted conditions. The whole of mankind is lamenting its unhappiness every step of the way. Who is there to give consolation in world, and guidance in the next?