Re: Mangalsutra
Namaste,
I think this thread has lost its direction. Poor Maggie may never have imagined how mush dust she was going to raise by asking this simple question.
I am tempted to conclude my opinion before saying a goodbye to this thread :
a) Mangalsutra is a scared thread which is offered by Hindu bridegroom to her bride. Mangalsutra = Thread which is auspicious. Wearing this scared thread, wife wishes good and long life for her husband and wishes that God would grant the couple a happy conjugal life. This faith can do wonders for those who have faith in it.
b) A thread with black beads purchased by a Hindu wife and worn by herself is NOT a Mangalsutra. So, it doesn't matter what one does with it.
c) Seeing divinity in our near and dear ones is part of Hindu culture. Wife sees God in her husband. Husband sees Goddess Laxmi in her wife. Parents see goddess in their daughter/daughter-in-law. If someone doesn't want to see this way, he/she may call himself/herself as a Hindu but it is not as per our culture/dharma.
d) Mangalsutra is not worn by all Hindus but only by women from Southern part of India though this is catching up with Hindu women from North also. In North, wives apply Sindur (Vermilion) on their head on hair-parting line. So, it is not compulsory that all Hindu women wear it. However, Hindus don't criticise any Hindu custom prevalent in other regions even if they don't follow that. So, Renuka's making light of this custom is not a Hindu way of looking at things.
e) Sati system was never a Vedic system but came into our religion when there were attacks from outsider invaders (mostly Muslims) and rapes of Hindu women became common by people who were in power. I very strongly criticise this system. This was one of the biggest blot on our Hindu culture. Rig Veda advises a widowed woman to shed attachment to her dead husband and start a new life and even encourages her to remarry.
I have heard this question often from some Hindu women, "Why only women and not the men ?". I don't have answer to this question. But why not ask this question : Why Hindus are married for life and why divorces are so uncommon in Hindu society ? Why do we take care of our elders so well in our society and respect (even worship) them ? Why in our Hindu culture, we are taught that we are not married to the bodies but with "self" of the other person and that we will get married again and again for next seven lives ? It may all appear to be ridiculous and may also sometimes be misused .... so we have to be careful. If any custom is truly harmful, let's drop it by taking a conscious decision. Let's not do it just for the heck of it. You are out to destroy something ... but think before you do it ... what new good thing you are bringing in, in lieu ?
OM
"Om Namo Bhagvate Vaasudevaye"
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