E D U C A T I O N A L I N S I G H T§
Modern Matchmaking
Hindu Ways of Arranging Marriages,
Traditional and Contemporary
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FROM SATGURU SIVAYA SUBRAMUNIYASWAMI’S LIVING WITH SIVA, WITH EXCERPTS FROM KAVITA RAMDYA’S BOLLYWOOD WEDDINGS; RAJINI VAIDYNATHAN’S WE JUST CLICKED; AND THE EIGHT STEPS OF THE TRADITIONAL MATCHMAKING PROCESS§
ART & PHOTO CAPTIONS BY
SHEELA VENKATAKRISHNAN OF CHENNAI§
Iremember reading a cartoon a number of years ago in which two parents were telling their daughter, “You can marry anyone you want as long as he’s a brahmin.” The family, of course, was of the brahmin caste. Certainly the tradition of marrying within one’s caste, or jati (occupation), and community (language group), is still the strongest one in our global Hindu community. New trends, however, are also manifesting, as our article points out. For example, it is common these days to marry someone of your own profession, often having met each other in graduate school. MBA’s marry MBA’s; MD’s marry MD’s. The jati of birth might be quite different for each and also the language group in India—however what the couple has in common is working in the same profession, a new form of caste system so to speak. On the other hand, a religious community that marries into itself, such as devotees of the same guru parampara, can provide a continuity of religion and culture over a period of many lives for the reincarnating souls enabling these souls to maximize their spiritual progress. ¶Our general advice: the greater the difference in cultural and religious backgrounds, the more important it is that the couple take time to get to know one another before marriage takes place.§
SATGURU BODHINATHA VEYLANSWAMI§