Spiritual Aspects behind Marriage and Childbirth
The
painful conflicts in the families, the breakdown of marriages, incidents of
physical as well as mental deformities and the delinquent behaviour of children
are caused by the thoughtless marriages performed by ignorant parents, who have
neither understood the path of spiritual guidance from a wise seer nor its
positive effects in life. Sensual gratification rather than spiritual fulfillment
is guiding the man-woman relationship. The increasing trend of abortions, the
culture of contractual marriages and divorces reflect this moral degradation.
Humankind
has reached this ruinous state because our society has long ago deviated from
the guidance of omniscient sages who can reveal the true secrets of life. Man
has become more religious than spiritual. He has been unable to grasp the depth
of important life-cycle ceremonies like marriage, birth and death, the
spiritual aspect of man-woman relationship etc. These life-cycle ceremonies and
relationships are divine in nature because they are related to one’s spiritual
evolution and that of the family stock or gotra.
The breakdown of the institution of family seen in the advanced Western
countries is owing to this spiritual ignorance about the depth of family life.
Navajyothisree
Karunakara Guru said that if a woman could be led to spiritual enlightenment
that family would become blessed and through such uplifted families, the
society and the nation would evolve to a healthy future. A woman through her
virtuousness can guide her family to a positive direction. However, she needs
spiritual guidance for the nourishment of her family. We can receive spiritual
guidance only from an elevated seer. Not knowing the true character of an elevated
seer, a few women fall in the trap of fake swamis,
fakirs, padiris, tantriks and jyotishis
and are cheated, which brings a bad name to the brotherhood of elevated
spiritual masters, authentic ashrams and spiritual institutions.
We
should not confuse the tantriks, jyotishis, evangelists, priests and the like
with the true guru concept. Because of such bogus and questionable spiritual
practices and beliefs and because of their own ignorance about true
spirituality, both the learned and the uneducated generally view ashrams and
gurus with suspicion. It would be beneficial to
go through the Sree Gurugita published by Santhigiri Ashram, which mentions
about the different types of gurus and the characteristics of a true Guru.
We must
realize that without a true preceptor, we cannot improve spiritually and
materially. Some rich communities in India such as Marwaris, Sindhis, Punjabis
and Gujaratis became prosperous because they lived respecting and serving their
gurus and accepting their guidance. Recently somebody reported that Kerala
spends approx. Rs.10, 000 billion per annum on rituals in temples, which is a
sign that people are getting more and more ritualistic than spiritual.
Different from this crowd of favour seekers at the doors of temples and
darghas, for the people in the sagely path, spirituality is a meritorious way
of life that would transform them for the better both spiritually and materially.
A
successful and enduring marriage is fundamental to the health of a family,
which is possible only when the couples are united spiritually. Therefore, a
Guru gives the nod for marriage only after looking into the spiritual, cultural
and ancestral background of couples. A mismatch in any of these aspects would
adversely affect their family life including the life of their children. However,
this need not be on the basis of one’s birth, caste, community and religion. It
is purely a spiritual alignment of couples under the All-knowing Guru. With
this type of marriage a pristine gotra or Guru Parampara is born.
Guru
cleanses the harmful astral and ancestral aspects of the marriageable couple
for the birth of a pure lineage free from cultural and genetic drawbacks. After
marriage, Guru gives the couple necessary guidance on how to live as husband
and wife. He advises about the prayers, sankalpam
and other sacred deeds including the auspicious time for the birth of a
virtuous child. The followers of Guru perform certain rituals and prayers,
especially during the seventh month, which helps the developing baby in the
womb. Thus, the life of the couple becomes spiritually oriented.
Bringing
up a child too is as important as the regimen and rituals required for the
birth of a fortunate child, free of genetic and cultural drawbacks. The habits
of a child are moulded during its early years and adolescence. Good and bad
children are born from a mother. The mother should pray and do sankalpam for getting rid of the bad
traits in children. The mother should try to change the bad characteristics
through loving and painful prayer. Like food, which is important for the body,
prayer is as much important for the soul.
The
women in the path of Guru are weaned away from decadent and meritless religious
beliefs and rituals and atheistic beliefs of some people who neglect spiritual
aspects altogether. They are guided to a healthy spiritual vision based on
eternal values and verities based on the sage tradition of India. In the final
count, we can say that a true social transformation can take place only through
spiritually sensitized women and families in the society.
Spiritual
masters and prophets were innumerable in human history, but their followers
seem to have given only a cursory importance to the astral aspects behind
marriage and childbirth including the spiritual mentoring of women. The
guidance initiated by Navajyothisree Karunakara Guru is a correction in this
regard.
Mukundan PR
Mukundan PR
