A Wedding in Hinduism - Essay Example

A Wedding in Hinduism In most religions of the world marriage is considered a sacred commitment between two people. Hinduism, the world’s third largest religion considers marriage a sacrament, a divine practice. Hinduism is filled with concepts of birth after death, they believe that the human soul never dies and when a human is dead, their soul transfers into another body and takes birth again, the body not being specifically of a human. There is a concept that all humans have seven lives in Hinduism and marriage in their religion is said to be a commitment for all their lives, seven of them, to the person that they marry. Such importance is given to marriage, called a bonding of souls between two people. Below, the practices necessary for a wedding to take place in Hinduism are given accordingly; Matching of Horoscopes The first and foremost step before any marriage is the matching of horoscopes. The bride and groom’s horoscopes are taken and the compatibility of both the partners is matched to predict if the marriage is going to work out or not. Hinduism has high beliefs in astrology and if the horoscopes of any two partners do not match, the marriage is most likely not to take place because it is predicted that the divine gods do not agree of this commitment. Exchanging Garlands and Offering Honey/Yogurt The wedding ceremony begins with the bride and groom sitting around the holy fire and exchanging garlands. This gesture represents a sense of acceptance to each other as lifelong partners. Then both the partners offer each other small spoons of honey or yogurt. This sweet edible process shows respect for each other as their partner. It also represents another Hindu tradition in which it is a good omen if something sweet is tastes before the start of anything new. Letting go of the Bride Known as Kanyadan it the process in which the bride is given away to the in laws from her parents. The father does the ceremony in which he places the hand of her daughter in the hand of the groom as a representation of Hindu union of goddess Laxmi and her groom Narayana. The father, by doing this, requests the groom in a way to accept the bride as an equal partner. The Sacred Fire and Sacrifice to the Fire As the couple sits around the sacred fire they are asked to put crushed herbs, oils and sugar rice in the fire to make it burn further and invoke the fire. This process is to witness their process of commitment. For the sacrifice the bride places her both hands in the groom’s hands. The brother of the bride places rice in her hands and they both offer rice to the holy fire and perform the ceremony of the sacrifice. Tying the Nuptial Knot and Walking Around the Fire The next steps include the tying of scarves that both the bride and groom wear. They are tied a tight knot which represents their eternal bond and represent that they take pledge to their gods to love each other and remain faithful to each other as long as they live. The couple then takes clockwise rotations around the sacred fire which represents the four goals of life that they wish to achieve with this bond which are; prosperity, earthly pleasures, spiritual salvation and liberation. The rotations are first lead by the bride which represents that the bride is willing to take on all sorrows and pains before the husband to protect him from all life’s harms. Walking Seven Steps and Taking Blessings Towards the end of the ceremony the bride and groom take seven steps together which represent the beginning of their new life together. The seven steps, while representing the seven lives that Hindus believe in also represent vows of respecting, honoring each other, sharing pain and happiness and being loyal to each other, work together in search for knowledge, values, reconfirming their vows of love, spiritual growth, family duties and to nurture their eternal bond of togetherness. After these steps the couple bows down to their parents and touch their feet to take their blessings. Parents sprinkle water on the couple by dipping a rose in it and showing them that they have their blessings. Putting Red Powder and Wearing the Goodwill Necklace The red powder, called Sindhur is worn by the bride from the groom. He puts a red dot on the forehead of the bride and welcomes her in his life as his eternal partner, for the togetherness for their seven lives and puts on the Goodwill Necklace, called Mangalsutra, around the bride’s necklace which is a representation of her marriage. The Mangalsutra holds a very sacred placed in Hinduism and is told to hold the sign of her being married. Genders in Hinduism From the steps of the wedding ceremony in which the wife leads the steps around the sacred fire, one is meant to believe that it may represent the wife being the better half but instead it represents something entirely different. It represents that if any problem, any sorrow or any trouble is to come in the couple’s life; the wife should step forward and should bear all pains to protect her husband. This shows the status that women hold in Hinduism. The ceremony step also shows the domination that the man holds in Hinduism by making the father of the daughter requesting him to treat his bride equally. It shows that the husband holds all authority and even the parents of the bride are in his debt as he is willing to take her in his life. The other step in which the groom takes hold of the bride’s hand in pouring herbs in the sacred fire shows the dependent self of the wife towards the husband. Apart from the wedding ceremonies when the husband dies, the bride is treated in the worst of ways. In ancient history women were burnt alive because after their husbands died they did not appear to have any purpose in their lives. To this day widows are out casted from societies and are considered a bad omen if they attend any joyful ceremonies. Widows are pledged to wear white throughout their lives after the death of their husbands which represents their will of giving up on everything in their life and surviving as the living dead. Works Cited Wedding Details Inc. "Hindu Traditions." Wedding Details - Your Complete Wedding Planning Source. N.p., n.d. Web. 30 July 2012. . Read More