And marriage in India is still better than marriage in the West.

[Guest guest]

>The real issue is about understanding that India is not the ideal paradise

>you and the GHQ-club make it out to be.

 

That we never did.

 

There are aspects of Indian culture, as it exists today, which are still

models for us to look to. Srila Prabhupada personally thought that marriage

was one such aspect of Indian culture that his disciples should emulate.

Srila Prabhuapda also spoke about nonsense that goes in India, in the name

of religion also, but marriage as it is practiced in India, is something he

had high regard for.

 

>It's a very complex country with

>strengths and weaknesses, with some very saintly people and with some

>grossly immoral people.

 

And many kinds of people in between.

 

>It's a country with the most beautiful temples in

>the world and where women sometimes get burned to death because of

>insufficient dowry.

 

Here is where Indian society is more complex than you might give it credit

for. In these bride-burnings, the mother-in-law is often the instigator.

In Indian family life, the elders, the mother in particular, are highly

regarded. When the parents are good people, this is especially beneficial

for the children and other family members. But when the parents are greedy,

avaricious, etc., the respect they command makes it very easy for them to

blackmail the other family members into doing their dirty work. Dowry

deaths are a "family affair", not simply just husband hates the wife.

 

Contrary to western feminist thought, the mother, or mother-in-law, is a

powerful entity within the family unit. If she desires to be rid of her

daughter in law, that is as good as a death warrant.

 

My wife's biggest worry before marriage was what mother in law she would

get.

 

>It's a country where you can find posters of Krsna in

>stores in virtually every street and where some girl fetuses are aborted

>because of their sex.

 

You mention "posters", "temples", "burnt brides", "fetuses", but what about

relationships? This is why your use of statistics paints an inaccurate

picture of Indian society, and further perpetuates cultural biases which,

unfortunately, many western devotees maintain against Indians, and Vedic

culture. You may not think these biases are there, but many Indian devotees

have complained to me that they are treated as second class by visiting

western devotees. I have seen this to be factual.

 

>It's a country full of contradictions and much

>beauty.

 

You can have a better understanding of those contradictions by staying for

some time in India, and living with the people, as they live. The

contradictions are not so contradictory once you become familiar with the

intricacies of Indian culture. Certainly, I'm not familiar with all of

them, or most of them, but my exposure to them, for me, certainly

illustrates and exemplifies many things Srila Prabhupada talks about in his

books.

 

Or even from your observations, you note that there are very saintly people

and very sinful people. Aparent contradiction, no? Note how the respect for

elders in the family manifests both extremes: excellent upbringing and care

for all members, or cruel murders. Both phenomena are grounded in respect

for elders.

 

>And you're not doing anyone a favor by pretending it is.

 

I never said it was "a paradise". Show me where I said it was.

 

Specifically, I have been talking of marriage as Indians generally practice

it, which Srila Prabhupada himself had high regard for. Your attempt to

demonstrate that marriage, as it is in India, is something that has become

at least as inebriated as it is in the west, is in actuality a disservice.

Because, in general, marriages in India are still quite strong, healthy,

happy (meaning they can tolerate each other), and those marriages are the

norm. This is my personal experience. Inebrities are there, but they are

exceptional, not the general rule.

 

In India, if a man and woman are walking around together, it is assumed they

are married. Here in the West, you cannot assume that a couple are married,

or rather, would probably assume the opposite. And yes, men are generally

dutiful with regard to taking care of their wives, children, and parents.

How many convalescent homes are there in Mumbai or Delhi? Not many, for

sure.

 

>Just get off this comparison trip.

>

 

 

For the record, Srila Prabhupada himself made these comparisons. And he did

so, usually to point out examples for his disciples to follow, or not to

follow. Marriage as it is practiced in India is one such institution that

he hoped his married disciples would emulate, and he often referred to

marriage in India, and compared it with the marriage in the west. I'm sorry

that you find these comparisons inappropriate, because you are missing a

chance to understand something Srila Prabhupada thought was important, and

something that his disciples should learn from. You might as well say Srila

Prabhupada was on a comparison trip and just dismiss his comments as

archaic.

 

If by quoting statistics, by editing these things out of Srila Prabhupada's

books (or annotating them into irrelevance), you try to cover Srila

Prabhuapda's desire for his disciples to take up Vedic culture, then you are

doing a great disservice.

 

Your servant, Krishna-kirti das

 

p.s. New articles at www.ghqd.org :

 

"The Myth of Equal Rights", by Sri and Srimati Jivan Muktaji

 

Table of Contents http://ghqd.org/articles/toc.htm

 

Introduction http://ghqd.org/articles/intro.htm

 

Section 1 Parts 1-4 http://ghqd.org/articles/1.htm