Book Presentation

"Marriage - A Sacrament"

by Dr. K. Parvathi Kumar

 

Marriage is an important sacrament to the human being. It sanctifies the one who marries. It purifies and transforms. Copulating is different from marriage. Animals, birds, insects copulate. Man marries. There is a difference between the two. If man understands marriage as a licence to copulate, he is no better than a beast. There is always a higher purpose in every sacrament and marriage stands out as the most important of such sacraments.

The Vedic rituals are generally elaborate and lengthy while much essence is contained therein. Dr. Kumar conceived the whole ritual in a nutshell and presented it in a universal manner. It can be adopted by any couple proposing marriage in a sincere way.


The World Teacher Temple / Dhanishta, Visakhapatnam, India 2004.

 

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Sample:

Marriage - A Sacrament

The Natural Law

It is but the Law of Nature that you give that which you receive to remain neutral, when you receive more than that you give it binds you. When you give less than you receive it weakens you. If you allow inflow and outflow in equal measure, it enables you to live in balance. It applies in all walks of life. It also applies to your body. We received body through our parents. Hence we have a duty to give body to another Soul. A seed becomes a tree to give birth to fruits and seeds. This is Nature's Law of continuity. Nature conducts this Law to perpetuate itself. We receive support from Society, hence we have to support the Society. We receive support from parents and elders during early stages of life. Hence we need to extend this support to youngsters as we grow. We receive teaching from elders. Hence we need to teach the youngsters.


The Responsibility:

The duty to give proper body to souls is thus the purpose of marriage. It is not only proffering bodies that is intended by Marriage. Marriage intends proffering healthy bodies to the incarnating souls. It is a greater responsibility. In these days, man more often bequeaths diseases to his heirs than health and wealth. A couple that carry disease in thoughts, in emotions, and in speech and action, invariably pass on such disease to their progeny. Hence copulating shall have to be while in healthy condition at all levels i.e., at the mental, emotional and the physical levels. For example, a diabetic should make sure that his sugar level is well under control before he plans for a child. An obese person should make sure that he reduces his obesity before he proposes for a child birth. Congenital diseases are not easily amenable for cure and hence the couple need to observe health as a precondition before giving birth to Souls.

The couple should also entertain a fair degree of harmony between them. A couple in conflict produce children that carry conflicting nature in them.

Hence, Health and Harmony are vital requisites before man thinks of giving bodies to the incarnating Souls.


The Polarity of Sex - The Gandharva:

The Nature conducts reproduction with beings as its instruments. To conduct this Reproduction the Nature produces a power and that is KAMA, the sexual attraction. This KAMA principle known as a GANDHARVA functions on the basis of the magnetic power of a Cosmic Principle called SOMA. 'SOMN principle permeates upon Planet Earth reflecting through the Satellite Moon that revolves around our Earth, This KAMA, the Gandharva moves along Soma and is responsible for the youthfulness in the youth. The youthfulness blushes forth further just before the time of marriage in the bride and the bridegroom which is 'Pendli Kala' the splendour The bride and the bridegroom become charming and gain more attraction to each other. This is the function of the Gandharva as is visualised by the Seers of the Ancient Times. Through the Marriage Ritual, this Gandharva is invoked, worshipped and is satiated, so that the couple are blessed to experience the, bliss of the Marriage Sacrament.

Those who realise the power of the Gandharva through the ritual gain the right attitude to sex. To them sex polarity is the means to give birth to good progeny. To others who do not realise the purpose and the power of the Gandharva, sex ceases to be the tool for reproduction. On the contrary they become tools in the hands of sex. Instead of the power of sex cooperating in the act of copulating, it overpowers the couple, reducing the whole reproduction ritual to that of a beastly action, which in turn gives birth to animal-like man. The person overpowered by the power of sex is like the ship caught in cyclonic weather. The sex power wrecks him and leaves him in a damaged health condition for the rest of the life.


The Companionship:

Marriage offers companionship a partnership for life. Man learns to work for the woman and the woman learns to work for the Man through Marriage. "One for the other" as a virtue is gradually realised and man is simultaneously elevated. Each learns to sacrifice his/her comforts for the sake of the other. Each learns to share his/her pleasure with the, other. 'Give and take', 'share and distribute' gradually develop. Above all Man learns to gradually accept other's view point, a big step in evolution. One learning from the other and at the same time teaching the other becomes a natural process. Concern for one another unfolds the heart petals and man gradually starts experiencing the bliss of LOVE. Man protects the woman and her interests and Woman takes care of man's needs and in the process identity is gained, where union of Souls is experienced in distinction to union of bodies. Oneness is realised.


The Group:

As man and woman live in such harmony and health and give birth to Souls, a duty is well performed. But the duty is not yet fully discharged.

As they beget children, together they need to work for upbringing the children in right atmosphere. The children should be given right food, right habits and right attitudes in Life, only then the duly is well discharged. Thus in the process, both of them work for the children learning further lessons of sacrifice. As the family group develops with 4 to 5 members living together, group consciousness is gradually gained as against individual consciousness a step indeed towards expansion of Consciousness. Family thus stands as an important school for learning life's lessons. It is indeed contemplated by Nature as the Fundamental school of learning.

As the family develops in harmony many times, instead of gaining identity at the soul level, attachments are developed, which again becomes counter productive. Attachment is the lower form of Love. It binds persons and limits them. While Love allows living and experiencing together without being bound. "Stand free while surrounded" is the keynote of family life. In the East, more often the Love among family members degenerates into attachment to family, while in the West, it degenerates into detachment of a negative nature. A balance between the two give the experience of Love in family life.