This past weekend, volunteers of the Wilton chapter of Hindu Swayamsevak Sangh USA (HSS) celebrated the holiday Raksha Bandhan with the Wilton Police Department, Wilton Volunteer Ambulance Corps, Wilton Fire Department, Wilton CERT, members of the Wilton Interfaith Action Committee and other civic leaders. Congressman Jim Himes (D-4th) also joined the celebration.
HSS is a voluntary, non-profit, Hindu social and cultural organization with 250 chapters across 33 states.
Loosely translated as the “Protection Connection,” the Hindu holiday traditionally reaffirms the relationship between sisters and brothers. During the ceremony, a sister symbolically ties a string known as a Rākhī (pronounced rah-KEY) around her brother’s wrist to protect him from life’s adversities, and he promises to protect his sister.
Since 2004, HSS has celebrated Raksha Bandhan as “Universal Oneness Day,” broadening its scope from the family to the wider community, extending the idea of community connection and protecting one another. HSS members believe it reaffirms the group’s social and civic responsibilities to support and protect its wider community by meeting with civic leaders and public safety officers to offer them the Protection Connection by tying Rākhīs on them.