Guest guest Posted July 22, 2003 Report Share Posted July 22, 2003 Revered Bhagawathas: Sriman Sadagopa Iyengar's article on this subject is both illuminating and thought provoking to trace the origin of Mangalya dharanam as the ultimate authoritative stamp of divine approval of Hindu matrimony. It is evident from this article that Mangalya dharanam is not a vedic prescription but evolved as social practice to guard women with visible symbols of marriage so that they will not be victimized by unruly men. Everybody obeys the cardinal law that anyone will burn in hell for coveting a married woman. This is the fundamental lesson of Ramayana and of abuses suffered by Dropadhi in Duryodhana's court in Mahabharatha. This is one of the Ten Commandments of the Holy Bible. Adultery is a crime punishable by death in Islam. My inference is that Mangalya dharanam could have been incorporated in Hindu wedding as religious practice during the time of Islamic onslaught to admonish Islamic invaders that a woman is married , with visible signs to remain permanent around her neck and Metti on her feet to emit sound for protection from being kidnapped for possession.. This would also explain child marriage without consent before puberty and desecration of widows to render them unattractive and undesirable for possession. No doubt that some of these practices amounted to feminine injustice and cruelty.and have no vedic justification. Modern times present different dilemma. I know that many ladies consider maintenance of mangala sutra permanently around the neck as troublesome and unfashionable. Sacred yellow thread with three knots disappears by voluntary action as gold thirumangalyam joins with gold chain as jewelry around the neck of the married lady. Mangal sutra becomes ornamental practice at the time of marriage with no subsequent significance. It is also true that several men take off Poonal (sacred thread) as they have given up anushtanam for lack of interest and put it on only if they choose to follow a religious practice.. It is not at all my intention to criticize or condemn anyone for their decision. Social customs arise and fade off as time changes Religious customs are constantly changing and evolving but basic faith and concepts remain affected. This is true for all religions. Even militancy of Islam enforced by Taliban is confronting reformation Today, we are all facing the reality of inter racial and inter religious weddings particularly among Hindus settled outside India. Divorce among Hindus even in India has reached epidemic proportions. Denial of reality is not an escape. When we say Vedic concepts have universal appeal, how do we accommodate vedic rites in inter religious marriage? How do we cope up with divorce? How do you justify vedic marriage services conducted by Hindu priests for inter-racial couple, divorcees, widows and widowers at any age unless you adopt only universal standards with Veda mantram for entrusting bride's hand by her father/elder to the groom and vows of Saptapathi before Agni as God and witness as the principal component of sanctity? I do not know whether Acharyas can provide guidance and remedies for social malady of modern day crisis. To answer Sadagopa Iyengar's riddle, tying of knots is only an idiomatic expression for binding two human souls of feminine and masculine gender in sacred matrimony before God. Adiyen, Srinivasa Raghavan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted July 23, 2003 Report Share Posted July 23, 2003 Dear Srini Raghavan Dear Sir, You have brought to light an important question about our society. Why is divorce on the raise in India? What is the root cause analysis? The idea that a female will mind certain routine chores and help her husband do important things in life (perceived to be) is irrelevant. As many of our sisters and mothers and daughters are working and contributing neck to neck at par with everyone else certain changes are to be expected. When changes expected are not forthcoming, these other institutions such as marriage are bound to fail. We cannot get an agreement in this forum that a soul enclosed in female flesh cannot cry out to Lord Narayana using the best sabda mantram. We will cite a zillion things why this is not allowed. Most of us will agree, soul is independent of sex. Lord Narayana is independent of everything. And yet, we refuse to acknowledge that the rules were devised at a time society was different (like we do not practice nyoga now a days) we should adopt and change. The leaders, thinkers and luminaries are to blame for not guiding children. Many learned members concede in private and do not scold me even though they may for sporting such views. However, they do not wish to take the bull by the horn in the open. May be another 200 years we languish and let things rot and fester..and then we will reform. I guess. slipping right before us. vedic society saw no difference between male/female. That is probably why females saw no disadvantage in following the institutions. Anbil swamin has asked us not to extend SRS into these sort of topics distracting us from Narayana smaranam. Rightly so. So with much deference may I ask anyone interested in discussing this further directly with me +/-ve is not a problem at rkannan. This topic is very dear to me as adiyen is , grandson of the two greatest grandmas, son of a great mother, husband of the better half of my existence, and father of a sweet little girl, whose birthday is today. adiyen, Namo Narayana Thayar Andal Thiruvadigale saranam -- ad --- Srini Raghavan <sraghav wrote: > Revered Bhagawathas: > > Sriman Sadagopa Iyengar's article on this subject is > both illuminating and thought provoking to trace the > origin of Mangalya dharanam as the ultimate > authoritative stamp of divine approval of Hindu > matrimony. It is evident from this article that > Mangalya dharanam is not a vedic prescription but > evolved as social practice to guard women with > visible symbols of marriage so that they will not > be victimized by unruly men. Everybody obeys the > cardinal law that anyone will burn in hell for > coveting a married woman. This is the fundamental > lesson of Ramayana and of abuses suffered by > Dropadhi in Duryodhana's court in Mahabharatha. > This is one of the Ten Commandments of the Holy > Bible. Adultery is a crime punishable by death in > Islam. > > My inference is that Mangalya dharanam could have > been incorporated in Hindu wedding as religious > practice during the time of Islamic onslaught to > admonish Islamic invaders that a woman is married , > with visible signs to remain permanent around her > neck and Metti on her feet to emit sound for > protection from being kidnapped for possession.. > This would also explain child marriage without > consent before puberty and desecration of widows to > render them unattractive and undesirable for > possession. No doubt that some of these practices > amounted to feminine injustice and cruelty.and have > no vedic justification. > > Modern times present different dilemma. I know that > many ladies consider maintenance of mangala sutra > permanently around the neck as troublesome and > unfashionable. Sacred yellow thread with three > knots disappears by voluntary action as gold > thirumangalyam joins with gold chain as jewelry > around the neck of the married lady. Mangal sutra > becomes ornamental practice at the time of marriage > with no subsequent significance. It is also true > that several men take off Poonal (sacred thread) as > they have given up anushtanam for lack of interest > and put it on only if they choose to follow a > religious practice.. It is not at all my intention > to criticize or condemn anyone for their decision. > Social customs arise and fade off as time changes > Religious customs are constantly changing and > evolving but basic faith and concepts remain > affected. This is true for all religions. Even > militancy of Islam enforced by Taliban is > confronting reformation > > Today, we are all facing the reality of inter > racial and inter religious weddings particularly > among Hindus settled outside India. Divorce among > Hindus even in India has reached epidemic > proportions. Denial of reality is not an escape. > When we say Vedic concepts have universal appeal, > how do we accommodate vedic rites in inter religious > marriage? > How do we cope up with divorce? How do you justify > vedic marriage services conducted by Hindu priests > for inter-racial couple, divorcees, widows and > widowers at any age unless you adopt only universal > standards with Veda mantram for entrusting bride's > hand by her father/elder to the groom and vows of > Saptapathi before Agni as God and witness as the > principal component of sanctity? I do not know > whether Acharyas can provide guidance and remedies > for social malady of modern day crisis. To answer > Sadagopa Iyengar's riddle, tying of knots is only an > idiomatic expression for binding two human souls of > feminine and masculine gender in sacred matrimony > before God. > > Adiyen, > Srinivasa Raghavan > > > > SiteBuilder - Free, easy-to-use web site > design software > > [Non-text portions of this message have been > removed] > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You are posting as a guest. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.