Promise of Stolen Traditions

John Friend, the founder of Anusara Yoga, recently blogged about Rahki (Rock-ee) Day. Each year as the full moon of August waxes in India people exchange bracelets symbolizing their promise to serve, care for and protect friends and loved ones. My initial thought was how altogether missing this endearing check point was within the panoply of traditions that dot my calendar each year. What a wonderful world it would be if just once a year we turned to our sisters, parents, friends, significant others and promised to protect each other, or simply said aloud, “I commit to being a good friend .” In contrast it occurred to me that the latent promises of the equally sweet traditions that I know—holidays, birthdays, anniversaries—have been clouded over by the realism and materialism of the mundane: the disappointment of traditions which fell flat and left me empty, the insecurity over giving just the right gift, the worry that I will celebrate alone or the complacency brought on by the sheer monotony, year after year after year, of the rite. There is something to be said about customs that aren’t our own, that we can adopt, and start anew with a virgin’s perspective, holding close the picture perfect ideal, seeing its promise as shinier and more poignant because it’s unfettered by all the stuff that seemingly gets velcroed onto the traditions bestowed upon us by karma.

Yet, a promise, whether held within a tradition or otherwise, is merely a shell (dharma) that we use to give form and life to our greatest hopes and expectations. I envision a promise, if I were to draw it, would look like an exquisite crystal vase or an hot air balloon encircling our yet unmanifest desires providing them a means to take flight, to live. And just like the yoga asanas we perform on our mats, the living is less about achieving the perfection of the promise but rather our steadfast commitment to its pursuit. A teacher of mine has been known to say that yoga is a promise we make to ourselves and it is only ever as good as our commitment. You get out of a promise whatever you want, to whichever degree, as it is a matter of choice.

So why not take a moment each August, illuminated by the scintillating reflection of a late summer full moon, to celebrate Rahki Day renewing your commitment to first and foremost lovingly “protect” (raksham) and care for yourself and secondly to “protect” the collective community of like hearts (kula) in your life.

There is power in simply making the exchange. As the story now attached to this tradition goes, Indra’s wife, Shachee Devi put a Rakhi Bandham around Indra’s arm before his battle with a terrible demon king, Daitya Raja. In the battle Indra was protected against this mighty demon, who had previously humbled Indra, and consequently Indra was able to vanquish him. As I see it, Sachee, his wife, does not go with Indra to the battle field, rather it’s her action of making a promise which creates an energetic seal (mudra, if you will ). It’s this connection that invokes what he needs to triumph.

This Rahki Day I commit to doing my best to serve the unique practices of every_body :) who plays on the mat with me each week as well as my family, friends and neighbors. I also pledge to look under the covers of the traditions I know well, remove any dust bunnies covering their original intent and in turn make them as meaningful as I choose.