Essence of Marriage
Marriage is a union of a man and wife. Only death separates them and nothing else. This is the essence of marriage. During the marriages, the bride groom and the bride make vows to love each other, live together not only for this birth, but for many births to come.
The institution of marriage is losing its sanctity, because, many married couples forget the vows they make to each other and the society and start fighting on many issues.
Can we repair this damage to the institution of marriage and the society?
Yes, if we only want to restore faith in each other and remember the vows of marriage. We must repeat each day the vows as wife and husband so that the friction in relations never arises and the family relationship lasts for ever.
Let us now consider what marriage vows are according to Hindu customs.
• To each other
1. We will share the responsibilities of the house, food and finance together. May God bless us with children and may they have long lives
• To his wife
You are only my beloved wife. I will love you and only you. I give commitment will provide strength and courage to you, my wife, always.
• To each other
We will work for the growth of prosperity and wealth and to educate our children
To his wife
Thank your wife for bringing auspiciousness and sacredness in his life.
To Goddess of Prosperity: together
Both must pray Goddess of Prosperity to make them prosperous
To his wife
I will fill your heart with joy and peace, time and time again.
To his wife
You made our love and friendship firm and inseparable. Now you have become mine and I offer my total self to you. May marriage successfully last for ever.
These are among the most important vows husband and wife make to each other during the marriage function.
Because we make no attempt to understand the vows of husband and wife to each other, that, the divorce rate is increasing and families are experiencing more and more difficulties.
I ask the warring husbands and wives to first understand the import of marriage vows, before they marry. Only if they feel that they can fulfill the vows to each other, they should proceed to marry.
If the married couples recall their vows, daily I am sure that no strain can ever come in their relationships. My suggestion is that you take a print out of the seven vows and read aloud to each other daily. This will sure create a better understanding and guide the relationship between wife and husband.
Bond between wife and husband starts, the moment marriage is conducted and the bride and bride groom makes vows to each other. Marriage function is like planting a seed so that the wife and husband relationship sprouts and grows into a massive tree. Like the seed needs to be nursed to sprout, survive and grow, marriage too need to be nursed with mutual affirmation of marriage vows, daily and making attempts to live by the vows.
