ISKCON Social Model

[Guest guest]

> Is it not that the wife must be inferior in all respects to the husband?

> Then the marriage may be successful. Like in the story of king Kakudmi who

> took great trouble to search out a qualified, or in other words superior,

> husband for his daughter. ...or the story of Sita devi, for example. That

> is an important aspect to be taken to consideration before a marriage is

> arranged.

 

An interesting consideration in selecting a husband is Srila Prabhupada's

criteria for a husband for his daughters - he should either be a hard worker

or a qualified person - that way he can support his wife and family. If the

man has money and is generous enough in fulfilling the wife's material

desires, that will help her become attached to him. As Shyamasundara prabhu

says, though, divorce laws enable her to enjoy the money without the

husband, but still this cannot be rejected as an essential role for the man

in a marriage.

 

Srila Prabhupada also said that nowadays to keep peace in the home, the man

has to follow the wife if she is stubborn! This may be at odds with the idea

of the man as Guru, but we know that he fulfilled his duties with his wife,

even though she went her own way with her tea and biscuit parties, and he

went his with his preaching. He didn't spend the day trying to get her to

become like him, and accepting where the partner is at is an important part

of peace in a marriage. Srila Prabhupada also accepted that a lady devotee

cook meat for her husband, after she became interested in Krishna

Consciousness, rather than leave him. So grihastha ashram can be

successfully executed even when the woman is the "better half".

 

I am, as always, probably missing the point of this discussion, so in that

case, I apologise.

 

And as always, if I am wrong in what I said Srila Prabhupada said, please

correct me, either Shymasundara prabhu (if you have time) or anyone else.

 

Antardwip das