A Celebration of Love and Commitment
Marriage of two people coming together and being with each other for life, sharing the joys, adversaries and challenges. As societies evolved, the marriage system and the approval also brought systems to protect the system. Celebrating a marriage is more important than ever and relevant today. “World Marriage Day” is observed every year on the second Sunday of February (9th February this year) and is a celebration of the joy of married life. Different traditions have their unique perspectives. But they all highlight the importance of love, duty, mutual respect, and spiritual growth. A disturbing development is the increase in the divorce rates, ~1.8 divorces per 1,000 peopleannually, and the average divorce-to-marriage ratio is 30-50%. A good marriage must be built on trust, respect, love and understanding. Let good sense prevail, and young people explore themselves and gain strength to be together. Develop the culture of enjoying the silence of being together.
The best relationship is when you can sit together in silence and yet feel perfectly happy.
Swami Vivekananda
Marriage of two people coming together and being with each other for life, sharing the joys, adversaries and challenges. To say that you are there. As societies evolved, the marriage system and the approval also brought systems to protect the system. The progress humankind made also brought challenges, such as intolerance, too much focus on self, lack of ability to accommodate diversity and many more. Celebrating a marriage is more important than ever and relevant today. “World Marriage Day” is observed every year on the second Sunday of February (9th February this year) and is a celebration of the joy of married life, the sacred bond of marriage and promoting long relationships. It is also acknowledging the sacrifices couples make and being faithful. The observation of Marriage Day is traced back to Louisiana, USA (in 1981).
Different traditions have their unique perspectives. But they all highlight the importance of love, duty, mutual respect, and spiritual growth. There is more to marriage in Indian scriptures. It is more than companionship. It is Dharma (righteousness) and the means of achieving Moksha (salvation). In Hindu Marriage, the couple takes vows while walking around the sacred fire (Saptapadi), raising a righteous family and lifelong and unbreakable commitment. Statistics indicate that ~60 million marriages occur worldwide annually, which is ~7-8 million in India. About 2 million marriages happen annually in the US and ~7 million in China. Marriage rates have declined in the past few decades, presumably due to changing social trends, evolving lifestyles and career priorities. It remains stable in Asia and the Middle East, where traditional marriage norms are strong. Arranged marriages still dominate India (~80%), though there is an increasing trend of people finding their companions, mostly in urban areas.
Another disturbing development is the increase in the divorce rates. ~1.8 divorces per 1,000 peopleannually worldwide. The average divorce-to-marriage ratio is 30-50% in many developed countries. Across societies, it varies due to economic, cultural, social and legal factors. India has one of the lowest rates (~1%). A strong influence of societal and family, social stigma and a higher rate of arranged marriages could be the contributing factors. In the US, ~40–50% of marriages end in divorce. It is ~35% in China. The average age of people getting married is also on the rise. It has an impact on the ability to adjust amongst the couples. More divorces occur within 5 years of marriage, especially among younger couples (25–35 years). Another pattern seen is the Rising Cases of Mutual Consent Divorce.
Many marriages have survived for long times and are celebrated. Elton and Betty Denner (both centenarians) from the US celebrated their 82nd wedding anniversary in 2024. They attribute their long-lasting marriage to patience, mutual respect, and shared faith. The world also has seen marriages surviving for a very short time. Internet search gives startling statistics. A couple in Kuwait got divorced just three minutes after their wedding. A couple in Uttar Pradesh divorced one hour after the wedding because the bride discovered the groom had lied about his job. Causes for such short marriages are rushed decisions, misunderstandings, incompatibility, and family or societal pressure, which leads to hasty marriages.
A good marriage is built on four pillars: trust, respect, love, and understanding.
Buddhist Teachings
As Buddhist teachings indicate, a good marriage must be built on trust, respect, love and understanding. People are becoming impatient, looking for instant gratification, lacking knowledge about themselves, and unable to look inside and beyond the present. Instant gratification is one of the reasons. Humankind is making progress and bringing materialistic comforts. Still, in the process, it is distancing itself from the reality of knowing oneself. Why do you want to do something? Is it because others do it? Celebrating the marriage system and married couples is also an occasion to contemplate and ensure the relations survive for a lifetime. If marriages have survived for long years, it is not because everything is perfect. It is just that they did not consider both being together as an option.
Let good sense prevail, and young people explore themselves and gain strength to be together. Develop the culture of enjoying the silence of being together.
Toons: Anusha Thati
Logs: M Sai Baba
ToonLogs
