Changing facets of Marriage vas as an institution.


Darwin used to tell us that we were monkeys before we became human beings. I have no reason to disbelieve his claim especially seeing many among the modern human beings reacting during social intercourse more like monkeys provoked by natural  instincts than like human beings directed by sense of discrimination.

In modern times, Internet has been a great source of information of the behaviour of monkeys in their natural surroundings. You-tube gives dramatic demonstration of their behaviour especially in sexual relationship. It seems that monkeys have no marriage as institution which restrains sex as decisive human behaviour, for monkeys  free-sex being commended as the goal of all ultimate Bliss.

We see from the You-tube that in the world of Apes, might is right  and bravado is better than hesitation. Them male species dominate sexual behaviour, the male bully shooing all the weak males to scatter far and beyond, even as the frightened female monkeys seek shelter in the safety of other females. Even as the male monkey approaches  one female monkey he sees another one, leaves the earlier one and follows the other. The case with humans the facts were not much otherwise. The modern male follows his ancient ancestor.

Though Eve was carved out of Adam's bone and even when he continues to listen her every word and follow her every instruction to the last bite of the Apple, Adam hated Eve because he was robbed of natural innocence with which he was born. Out of their union were born Cain and Abel but the four together did not end up being a Family because in their union they did neither seek divine sanction  nor spiritual evolution. There was neither a family or love between Adam and Eve nor Between Cain and Abel. Therefore, when Adam asked Cain where Abel is, the reply which Cain gave was - "Am I my brother's keeper?".

There is not much difference now in modern world from what was once in Garden of Eden. Marriage is no more a sacrement where the male and female are brought together nor is there of family ties that bind people together for evolution of the human race or furtherance of the human ideals. There is preponderance of human desire becoming transformed and strengthened by contractual arrangement for satisfaction of the senses. Therefore marriage as an institution has ceased to be relevant in the present world or accepted more as a tradition that necessity, divorces being frequent and Living in partnership being viable and convenient alternative, homo sexual relationship giving independence one needs. Fulfilling the contractual conditions is more important than fulfilling moral and ethical obligations. Being CORRECT is more important than being PROPER.

Men wise in Wisdom do not subscribe to these views. For them Marriage as an institution has relevance and Family being being the foundation on which lasting relationship can be nurtured, improved, strengthened and substantiated.

The marriage as institution in their different facets needs serious reconsideration.

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Rama crossing the river Sharayu

When Rama on being  banished to live in the forests for fourteen years, the entire population of Ayodhya mourned. And unable to bear the denial of his rightful claim to be the Prince who will one day be the king, he people rich and poor became ready to follow him to the forests.  Seeing the people following him and not return back to the live their normal life, Rama with the help of Guha, crossed over the river Sharayu in a boat unseen by the mourning men ajmd women.

Once he crossed over the river and. Reached the other shore, he made him mind to compensate the boats man for the effort taken by him. But he had nothing to offer to him. Therefore he looked at Sita to co offer the boatsmanwhat issue to him. But when Sita took one of  her golden bangles from her wrist to offer to the boatman, he refused to receive it.

Rama was surprised and was sorry to see such refusal. He asked the boatsman the reason for such refusal, when due compensation was his right and and is entitled to receive it. The boatsman was firm in his decision saying the people in the same profession do not accept compensation from others in the same profession.

Rama was perplexed with reply given by the boatsman and asked - Same Profession. How come does the boatsman consider both Rama born a Kshatriya and groomed to be a ruler could belong to the same profession as the boatsman born a Shudra and groomed to ferry the boat as belonging to the same profession!

The boatsman who was clear in his mind and firm in his conviction replied that both Rama and he ferry people from one shore to the other, the difference being that Rama ferries people from

the shore of संसार सागर - the Ocean of Primordial Life

while he ferries people from one. Shore to the other shore of the temporal world. The difference is one of the Essence not of the Form. Therefore, if compensation is to be paid for the effort of the boatsman in ferrying Rama from one shore to the other shore of the temporal river then Rama should ferry the boatsman from the shore of this संसार सागर - the Ocean of Primordial Life to the other shore of the spiritual life.

Rama was stupefied by boatsman's reply and the intense devotion behind the life he was leading.

It is for the people to become consciously aware of the life they live and the spiritual life they aspire to achieve.

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Ashvatha as the symbol of Family

Family means big or small rivers becoming part and merging with Ocean and not standing apart from the Ocean as distinct big or small rivers, becoming part of  the consolidating community not becoming. distinct communes, assembling together not separating from others, thinking of others, accepting others than expecting from others, giving to others rather than taking from others, speaking to, communicating to and sharing with others, the joys as well as sorrows, exchanging good fortune with others as well as experiencing misfortunes of others.

Family, as traditionally understood and symbolised as the vast Ashvatha tree, with branches  well spread far and wide, each branch sourcing it's sustenance from the common root and the common trunk, is fast disintegrating, the branches considering themselves independent of the trunk or the roots. Few realise in their own life time that they exist as long as the sustenance sourced from the roots remains to make their life resurgent and once the sustence dries from the roots stops the branches become dry and die eventually. Those who realize this eternal truth live long.

Parables in religious Scrtures. In India we donot have historical documents, though Mahabharata and Ramayana are referred as histories - the Sanskrit worth being इतिहास - the word which means इति - thus हास - happened. Mahabharata and Ramayana are more fashioned as parables, the temporal events used to point out some thing more nobler ethical, moral or spiritual principle than narrating actual temporal events. Therefore, whether a legend or an anecdote mentioned in these important sources of histories - इतिहास, have as a narrative have neither any beginning nor any end, the purpose being not to inform or narrate a temporal event but to point out something nobler ethical, moral or religious principle. Therefore it would be unfair and unwise to treat Mahabharata and Ramayana as narratives of temporal and historical events rather than collection of various parables pointing out some ethical, moral, religious principle. Therefore they are not considered on temporal level but on religious and spiritual level, pointing out some nobler ideal than the ordinary event in life. Consequently they did not cease to be dead material of events that happened in ancient, medieval or modern times but remained to be alive perennially, even in every ones to become resurgent being receptive, reflective and meditative on the parables narrated, without being concerned as practical reality in primordial world but as ethical, moral and religious possibility in spiritual world. The parables are not the record of the real events but point out and reveal the Real, Satya, the Prime Existence. Y the

The life one needs to live.

Life is as much concerned with living as it is concerned with dying. One who does not know how to die, does not how he came to be born, therefore life is knowing how to die die as one should know how is to be born. Life is not an event, it is a process, there one who does not how to die does not how he is to be born.
Therefore, life is not only some thing to be learnt but also is some to be experienced. If one has experienced dying when one is alive knows what is it to be born again even when one is alive. Life is not a goal to be achieved, but a moment to be experienced.
Venkatraman first experienced what death is, therefore  he came to know what living is, being known as Maharishi, the great seer.

Whatever you experience now  in this body as life becomes the life you will lead when you are born again in a new body. That is what Karma means. Birth and death are events in the process of living; living life being an eternal process. Death is not the end, birth is not the beginning. Seen differently death could be the beginning and birth in a new body could be the conclusion.

Life and living is an endless river, which never ceases entering the ocean it comes again as river becoming vapour, mist, clouds and rain in between.

Gayatri Mantra

 In Upanishad  there is an important statement that lays down the course which one should accept in his journey to take him from the gross material temporal world to the subtle, superior, spiritual world, which reads as under : असतो मा सद् गमय ; तमसो मा मृत्युर गमय ; मृत्योर अमृतम् गमय. These exhortions are translated literally as - one should go from untruth to Truth ; from darkness to Light ; from death to Immortality.

The words contained in Upanishad are not simple to understand. Hey contain deep mystical truths within the overtly perceived meanings. Therefore the inner meaning should be listened with receptive mind, reflected and meditated to have clarity and benefit.

The words should understood by going to the source from which the word derives it's meaning.

असतो मा सद् गमय - सत् derives it meaning from the root अस् - to be, to exist, therefore सत्य, the Prime Existence. असत्, therefore is that which is not सत्, the Prime Existence. Therefore, the first exhortion should be understood as going from the gross temporal existences to the subtle, spiritual Existence.  The world is manifestation by way of forms, symbols in which the essence of the Prime Existence is posited. The essence is not known because human beings attracted and bewildered with the attractions of the forms in the primordial world fail to experience the concealed mystical essence within those forms. The forms and the symbols, the marks and the instruments are for the purpose of
making known the Prime Existence, which being mysterious requires to be searched by the constituents as one would search the cow by following its foot marks, which acts as the symbols.
This enables the manifest world to recognise each other and transcend from the known forms as symbols, marks to reach out the Unknown essence, the Prime Existence.

तमसो मा सद् गमय - going away from obscurity, ignorance to clarity and Wisdom. When one knows the gross, temporal existence is not the unknown subtle, spiritual, the Prime Existence then one is on the right Path to Perfection.

This takes one to final objective in life and the purpose of spiritual Path - मृत्योर अमृतम् गमय - going from decay, degeneration and dissolution of the mortal existence to resurgence, rejuvenation and re-existence in the immortal Prime Existence.

Reflect on these words because they indicate the true Path to Perfection, becoming liberated from the shackles of the World of Appearnce and deliverance to the World of Real Prime Existence.

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Form (रूप) and the Essence (नाम).

Upanishad declares that in the beginning Brahman was One but Unknown and for becoming known manifested as नाम (Essence) and रूप (Form), the नाम being posited in the रूप, to the tip of the fingure, as it were. The नाम is not seen because it is covered by रूप and becomes experienced only when actions are performed by the रूप, as sight when seeing, as breath when breathing, as sound when hearing, as smell when inhaling and as thought when thinking. रूप, the forms become manifest when one perceives externally  the actions performed and नाम, the essence concealed within becomes experienced when one perceives internally within रूप, the forms.

Therefore, it is said that there within रूप, the form - city of Brahman is the abode, a lotus flower, within that is a small space. What is within that Space should be sought, for that assuredly is one should desire to experience. Thus when one directs one's attention externally one sees and becomes distracted by रूप, the forms. When one directs one's attention internally one sees the नाम, the essence. Therefore, to experience the नाम, the essence one should transcend the attraction of रूप, the forms. This is what the seer prays for, when he pleads with the divinity, Pushan that the face of Satya, the Prime Existence is covered with the golden disc (attraction of रूप, the forms). Uncover it so that he may see
the Prime Existence. Pushan, the sole Seer, the Sun, the offspring of Prajapati, gather your rays which radiate in resplendence, so that he may behold the auspicious face.

Therefore, when one withdraws one' attention from the actions performed by रूप, the forms, through attractive only then one would to experience नाम, the divine essence within, in all it's resplendence and glory.

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