Significance of Shravan Poornima (Responsibility and Maintaining Purity...) Rakshabandhan is on Shravan Purnima The previous Full Moon was Guru Purnima, dedicated to the masters and teachers. Previous to that was Buddha Purnima and the one before that was Chaitra Purnima. So this fourth Full Moon is called Shravan Purnima and this Full Moon is dedicated to the brother and sister relationship – Raksha Bandhan. It is also the day that the Janeu (sacred thread) is changed. The significance of changing the thread is to remind you that you have three responsibilities or debts on your shoulders – responsibility towards your parents, responsibility towards society and responsibility towards knowledge. These are the three responsibilities or debts that we have. We are indebted to our parents, we are indebted to the society and we are indebted towards the Guru; the knowledge. So we have these three debts and the Janeu reminds us of these three responsibilities. When we say debt, we think of it as some loan that we have taken that we need to give back. But we should understand it as a responsibility. The meaning of debt in this case is what? Responsibility! It is reviewing your responsibility towards the previous generation, towards the coming generation and towards the present generation. And that is why you put the three layers of thread on your shoulder (Janeu). That is the significance – let me keep my body pure, my mind pure and my speech pure; Purity in body, mind and speech. And when there is a thread hanging around you, you remember every day, ‘Oh I have these responsibilities.’ In ancient days women also had to wear this thread. It was not limited to only one caste or another caste. Everybody used to have to wear this whether they were Brahmans, Vaishya, Kshatriya, Shudra; but later on it got confined to a few. Responsibility is for everybody. So, on this day when the sacred threads are changed (Janeu), it is done with a resolve (sankalpa) that – May I be granted the ability to perform such actions that are effective and renowned. The Janeu (sacred thread) is not to be changed just like that. Life has responsibilities. So it is changed with the awareness and resolve that - Whatever I do I will do with responsibility. - H.H. Sri Sri Ravi Shankar - (the Art of Living Foundation )
Posted on: Tue, 20 Aug 2013 07:31:50 +0000
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