[Article in Kannada by Late Vidvan Chayapathy and English Rendering by Smt Padmashree Mohan]
The
following is an account of the māngalya which is a part of the Hindu
marriage rituals. It is brief and
indicative only and not a comprehensive treatment of the subject.
Diverse Views:
The
māngalya is dear and sacred to many women of Bhārata
even to this day. It is a symbol of
being married. The people of our country revere it greatly. We realize what a venerated object it is when
we consider how even a political campaign can sway the minds of people by
saying that the high rate of inflation makes it hard to purchase gold for the māngalya.
On the other
hand, there are also a growing number of women, educated in modern ways, who
question the status awarded to the māngalya.
They liken it to a halter tied around the necks of cattle and horses. Based on
such a comparison, activists and feminists consider the tying of the māngalya as a humiliating practice.
Very often, they decry the māngalya in their speeches and writings.
Marriage is the
(socially approved) union of man and woman. Māngalya is a symbol of that union. Similarly, different
symbols are used by different sects of people in other parts of the world. But
they are all essentially symbols and nothing more. Our feelings and emotions
invest greater meaning and sanctity to them.
Some people cite this reason and hold the view that it would be unwise
to pursue any rational questioning to understand the significance of the māngalya.
The
greed of people and their imprudence has given rise to the shameful practice of
varadakṣiṇā (dowry). Unfortunately, this
has converted marriage into a sordid business of gains and losses. Thus the joy and ardour of conducting a
wedding is replaced by arduousness giving rise to the saying in Kannada "mane kaṭṭi ṇoḍu
maduve māḍi noḍu." It
means that one must perform a marriage or build a house to experience how
taxing it can be. A good number of people fret about how they will buy the gold
for a māngalya in the midst of soaring costs.
Aren't
marriages being performed elsewhere in the world with none of these rites and
rituals? As long as society approves of
man and woman coming together to form a family unit, how do specific rites
matter? Why behave in (financially) suicidal ways just because of some ancient
tradition? Reformists denounce the current form of marriage as being ostentatious
and advocate a simpler procedure instead.
There are
also a good number of people who do not concern themselves with probing into
the meaning of traditions. They make
minor tweaks to conventions to suit their convenience, and are content to
conduct their affairs 'traditionally.'
But there are
also a small number of people to whom traditions are dear. They even wish to
gain a deeper understanding about them. The various views articulated about the
institution of marriage cause anxiety and confusion to them rather than
alleviating doubts and offering clarification.
Instead of
blindly adhering to traditional practices, it is judicious for us to
investigate them and retain only those that are found to be valid and uplifting
for our lives.
That is why
the most relevant question in this context becomes, “How is the māngalya related to marriage? Is it
just a symbol of marriage? Or does it have a deeper significance and meaning?
How does the māngalya benefit our lives?”
The
institution of marriage permits a man and a woman to live together in cooperative
companionship, with the approval of society.
The notion that ‘mutual attraction of personality and thoughts forms the
crux of marriage’ is most widespread.
And this notion is consistent with today's way of life too.
Some Truths:
Although the
earth appears to be stationary, the fact of its motion is well-established.
That the moon's surface is full of craters and not smooth as poetically
described is known from landing on the moon itself! X-rays and scans have now
made it possible to know the inside of the body just as well as we know the
outside. Microscopic and telescopic devices have thus drawn out the mysterious
truths of Nature, and understanding these truths has enriched our lives.
Although a
lens is basically glass, it undergoes a process of refinement and acquires
special optical properties. Similarly a
mind that has been conditioned and refined by the procedures of sādhana acts like a
lens and provides insights into the information gleaned from the sense
organs. There are sādhakas who have turned their
well-conditioned mind inwards, learnt from the truths revealed therein, and
have shaped their lives to be in harmony with those truths. They have fashioned the affairs of their
outer lives to resonate with the truths revealed to them in their inner
lives.
The knowledge
of the inner truths helped such sādhakas determine the true purpose of life and conferred upon them, a state
of bliss unattainable through just the outward manoeuvres of life. Since they were able to present conclusively the
objectives of life, they wove several symbols and practices of that inward life
into the dealings of outward life. This is designed in such a way that their
future generations too would be drawn inward through the contemplation of those
symbols and practices. Just like
geologists discover the lodes and ores bearing gold and other precious gems
within the earth, the sādhakas tapped the rich treasures hidden in the depths of the Ātman and gave
them to the future generations.
People with a
comprehensive knowledge of life have indicated that the kernel of the marriage
ceremony practiced in Bhārata is best understood according to the
pointers given in the previous paragraphs.
Although some marriage practices today are inconsistent with the inner
truths and are just masquerading in the name of śāstras and tradition, there are
other elements that hark back to the inner reality. Only a knowledgeable person
can distinguish between the two.
The Basic Principle:
That marriage
rests on the mutual attraction of thoughts and personalities is outwardly
acceptable. But it is more meaningful to investigate how marriage is a union of
the śaktis (energies) that confer femininity upon the
woman and masculinity upon the man. It
follows from this that we must redirect our attention from the outward
appearance of the body towards the subtle energies that are at work in
Creation. The general understanding is
that the union of a cell each from a woman and a man results in the development
of a foetus. Jñānis do not
reject this idea. But through their deeper understanding, they realize that the
prāṇa is the subtle energy that
operates within the body.
The fount of
that prāṇa is the divine energy which is
itself of the form of Consciousness, known by the name 'Soma.'
This entity can be experienced and it is of the nature of Light and Bliss. They
also call it by the name Nārāyaṇa - where Nāra means the aggregate of all forms
of life, and ayana means
the fount and resting place of all those forms of life. Similarly, Prakṛti - the energy or principle which aids the expansion and manifestation
of that underlying divine energy - is called Lakṣmī. Puruṣa (also used to mean “man”) has the potential like Nārāyaṇa to fill and grow. In the
image of Lakṣmī, stri (a woman) has the
potential to give expression to Nārāyaṇa’s power to grow. Just as a seed
grows into a tree, and in return, produces a seed at maturity, life that
blossoms from the Source of Consciousness must trace its path back to the
source. Every stage of the blossoming of life should be without any deterrent
that prevents the journey back to the source. This is the view of the realized
people.
Similarly,
since marriage too is a relationship that furthers the blossoming of life, it
is most meaningful when people participate in it with the remembrance of the “Source-Energy”
behind all Creation. That is why every mundane marriage invokes the divine
marriage of Lakṣmī and Nārāyaṇa.
Reaching
adulthood with the capability of bringing forth a new generation of children is
not the only criterion for the marriage of a man and a woman. A financially
sound standing to ensure the supply of food, clothes and comforts is not the
only qualification to look for in a man.
A man should be a 'vara'
('groom', 'boon' and ‘superb’ in Sanskrit), not just a man. He must have inquired into questions like 'What
makes the body grow?' and 'What is the source that has given rise to my present
form?' The search for the answers to these questions ought to have prompted him
to be a 'brahmachari', which
does not merely mean “a bachelor” or “an unmarried person”, but one who has moved
towards the brahma-śakti that has manifested itself
through all Creation. Having submitted
his mind to the Nārāyaṇa-śakti which is the root and source of
Life, his body must enable the flow of that power through itself just like a
copper wire conducts electricity.
The realized
guru of such a brahmachari notices this
qualification in him, and exhorts him to get married. The girl chosen to be
wife of such a man must be capable of not only receiving that Nārāyaṇa-śakti, but
of giving it a manifest form too, like Goddess Lakṣmī.
That is why marriage is not considered merely to be the coming together of the
external bodies. It is the union of the inner principles, the inner Śaktis. Vyaktis (people) are
mere instruments for the eternal play of those Śaktis. When we take a second look at
the rites, rituals and mantras that are part of a marriage while keeping the
above thoughts in mind, we realize the deeper meaning of marriage.
The Significance of the Māngalya:
Just
like all the auspicious ornaments that are part of a marriage, the māngalya too bears the mark of these
elevated thoughts. Contemplating its outer form draws our thoughts inwards and
reveals the inner truths to us. The meaning of the symbols impressed on the māngalya becomes clear to all as soon
as they become adept at looking inwards.
Since a great many ṛsis of Bhārata have strived to look inwards, it is only
in this land that the rites and rituals of marriage (including the form and use
of the māngalya)
have evolved to embrace and reflect the meaning of the inner life of the Ātman. These practices
cannot be censured just because others have not arrived at a similar
understanding and have not advocated similar practices.
The
appearance of the māngalya varies - in shape and in the design made by the symbols imprinted on
it. Generally every māngalya bears marks of the Bindu, the Visarga,
and the Surya-Chandra-Agni
on it. It is always made of gold. And it is always tied around the neck of the
bride. Let us look at the significance of these.
When
the inward focus of the eyes of the Jñānis reaches a
point just above the line formed by the eyebrows, they have a vision of a
luminous Bindu (dot).
That is the Light known by the name Śiva. That
solitary Bindu joins
with another Bindu to
form a Visarga (two
dots in this (:) shape). The Bindu then becomes
capable of opening up and expanding. This comes to be known as Śakti or Lakṣmī or Prakṛti. When the Bindu of the form
of Śiva joins with Visarga of the form of Śakti or Prakṛti,
Life blossoms. The coming together of Śiva and Śakti,
or again of Nārāyaṇa and Lakṣmī is indicated by the presence of the Bindu and Visarga on
the māngalya. The same union of Śiva and Śakti is reiterated by the use of
the symbols of the Soma,
Surya and Agni on the māngalya.
Just
like the picture of a flower can evoke the memory of the experience of the
flower, these symbols on the māngalya reach back to the experience that the Jñānis
had. Being reminded of that inner truth, the Jñānis look upon
the external object - the māngalya - with reverence. The brightness of gold most closely resembles the
effulgence of the inner Light and draws the vision inwards. Besides, the
contact of gold has the special power to facilitate such an inward shift. For
these two reasons, the māngalya is made out of gold. A piece of turmeric root has these properties to
a good extent and hence can be substituted, in times of need and financial constraints,
for a māngalya made of gold.
The region in
the body from the Mūlādhāra Cakra (at the base
of the spine) to the Kaṇṭha (the throat) has been identified
by Jñānis
as the seat of the Śakti (the feminine principle). The region above the throat is the seat of
Śiva (the masculine principle). The throat, then, is the seat of the
union of Śiva and Śakti. That is why the māngalya
bearing the symbol of the union of Śiva and Śakti is tied around the neck at the level of the throat which is their
seat of union in our body. The vara (groom) who
ought to have had an experience of Śiva and Nārāyaṇa, during his brahmacharya days, remembers all this and ties the māngalya around the neck of the bride
to imbue her with the same experience.
This mangala-sūtra (the thread which ties the māngalya) with the
pointers it bears to our inner lives is the mangala- sūtra of our lives. It is an
auspicious reminder of the inner truths revealed to the Jñānis.
It is a blessing in keeping with the inner harmony.