Child Marriage or Child Pregnancy?

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Child Marriage or Child Pregnancy?

 

(From "Respiritualize or Perish," a chapter of Glimpses of

Traditional Indian Life, by HH Bhakti Vikasa Swami)

 

While recalling his early life, Rasaraja Dasa [aka Ravi Gomatam,

Ph.D., International Secretary of the Bhaktivedanta Institute]

suggests that the spiritual and philosophical foundations of Hindu

society are missing and that...we must bring back this spiritual

dimension.

 

When I was living in the States, someone asked me, "Is it true that

in India they have child marriages?"

 

I said, "Yes, my mother got married when she was eleven."

 

He said, "Isn't that barbaric?"

 

Now, this would put most Indians on the defensive. If you are a

pseudo-inellectual following one of these shallow Westernized Indian

writers, you may even vigorously agree! However, by this time I had

just started reading Srila Prabhhupada's books, and could thus come

up with a good response. Already in the late 70s they had separate

resting rooms in the high schools of Detroit for pregnant

shcoolgirls. So, I asked him in turn, "Is it true that in America

even yong girls, 11 or 13 years old, get pregnant?"

 

He said, "Yes."

 

Then I asked him, "So which is more barabaric, child marriages or

child pregnancy?" The answer was obvious to him.

 

Indians busy imitating the West want to give up child marriage, but

now they will have to accept extra-marital child pregnancies. That is

already happening. What else can we expect when we let boys and girls

mingle unrestrictedly? Anyway, the point is, as much as every Tom,

Dick, and Harry is ready to criticize Vedic tradition, let them also

try to comprehend its deep spiritual dimension. Whether it should be

adopted in all its details is another question. The first thing is to

understand and follow the underlying spiritual principles. In this

case, the underlying principle is chastity. Exactly how that

principle is adhered to can be adjusted according to the changed

circumstances in modern times. But that principle itself should not

be abandoned. (GOTIL, p 174)