Baba
This email contains three sections:
1. Posting: Kanyadan, girl donation ritual, marriage: girls are treated at cattle
2. Bangla Quote: ধর্ম সরল পথেই চলে, কিন্তু
3. Links
Note: Please pay attention to the yellow highlighted sections; those are Guru's direct teachings. The rest of the writing is a report on this issue.
Namaskar,
Every Ananda Margii knows that Baba has given the guideline that males and females have equal status. But in old Indian traditions that is not the case. Especially, marriage ceremonies are done in a very lopsided way. This letter talks about the kanyadan Hindu marriage system. These days even highly educated boys and girls marry according to the old ritual of kanyadan or girl donation - whereby girls are donated to boys and treated as slaves. Those getting married do not think about what they are doing - nor do the participants. They are so indoctrinated that they do not consider or question how abominable this kanyadan ritual is. To understand please go reading.
Sadguru Baba says, “Renaissance people will have to start a movement for social equality and fight against such inequality based on sexual difference. Are women like cattle, or sacks of cloth that people give as gifts at the time of marriage? Are they slaves to be sold to others? As long as women lacked courage or intellect, they tolerated these things – but what a great humiliation! To submit them to such indignities is far worse than to whip them publicly on the road. Are women simply like bundles of cloth to be sent to the washerman’s house?” (1)
Girls dressed up a decorative gifts to be given away like mere objects
In the above photo, the prevailing Hindu marriage dogma is on full display whereby the girls in the first two rows have been decorated and wrapped like holiday gifts. They are treated as mere possessions that will be donated to the husband and his family - just as one would donate a sheep, cow, or a table cloth etc. These girls are viewed as physical property to be donated and traded etc. Verily, females in the Hindu marriage system are not treated as human beings, but rather as mere objects. It is akin to the era of slavery where slaves were taken to the market to be bought, sold, and traded like mundane possessions etc. Similarly, these girls are dressed up as mere decorative objects to be given away. This is the case with typical Hindu marriage ceremonies, whereas the Muslim marriage ceremonies are even worse as they proclaim that three females are equal to one male. That is why sincere Ananda Margiis do not participate in such types of dogmatic ceremonies - even if non-margiis are hosting such events. Participating means degrading the status of women. Indeed, this type of marriage ritual is abhorrent.
Kanyadan dogma: girls are property of boys not vice-versa
Pictured above is the girl donation ceremony. In India, girls are treated as property - just as one has a house, a car, a bicycle, horses, or animals etc. Boys are not treated as property, but girls are. This is pervasive in throughout the Indian subcontinent, the Muslim world, and many other regions as well. In the west, females were formerly treated this way but things have changed drastically in the last half-century whereby women have gained both legal and social rights. But in India - such as in the Hindu wedding scene picture above, girls are mere objects to be traded.
Because this dogma is so ingrained, some may feel frustrated reading this. They have been so indoctrinated into this defective mentality that they think the donation of their girls is something holy or virtuous. In the above scene, the young girls are dressed up and decorated in gems and jewels etc.
Quite humiliating and denigrating for the girl
The name of this social ritual is kanya’da’n (girl donation). Kanya’ means girl, and da’n means gift or donation.Thus when they donate their girls it is called kanya’da’n (girl donation). They think of this as being something virtuous. But in reality, we know that nothing can be donated unless it is something you own. Thus girls are mere commodities or property.
As Sadguru Baba points out, this whole scene is quite humiliating and denigrating for those girls but due to their ignorance they feel ecstatic and glorified during this ceremony. When that girl was small she was taught that a one fine day she will become the property of another family. So they believe that this is a respectful and dignified outcome - i.e. to live as the property of someone else.
Submit women to such indignities is far worse than to whip them publicly on the road
This defective mentality is similar to that of a caged bird that has been caged for so long that it cannot conceive of its own freedom. It likes that small, puny cage.
In His below guideline, Baba is warning us about this kanyadan dogma: Females are not anyone’s personal property like cattle or sacks of cloth. Yet treating females as mere objects is worse than whipping them publicly on the road. Only a few confused or very new margiis participate in this dogmatic Hindu marriage ritual. Every true Ananda Margii is keen to refrain from attending any such type of event etc - sincere sadhakas understand they cannot support or attend this Hindu ritual of kanya’da’n (girl donation) ceremony. After all, these are not innocent affairs, but rather represent the imposition of dogma and the exploitation of women. It is our duty to educate the public and remove this social injustice and gender difference.
“Renaissance people will have to start a movement for social equality and fight against such inequality based on sexual difference. Are women like cattle, or sacks of cloth that people give as gifts at the time of marriage? Are they slaves to be sold to others? As long as women lacked courage or intellect, they tolerated these things – but what a great humiliation! To submit them to such indignities is far worse than to whip them publicly on the road. Are women simply like bundles of cloth to be sent to the washerman’s house? Women must not be suppressed, and there should not be domination of males in the society. Society should have a cooperative leadership, not a subordinated leadership; there should be a coordinated, cooperative leadership, leadership between males and females. Renaissance people will have to start a movement immediately to fight against all these disparities; otherwise if fifty percent of the population, that is the ladies, remain downtrodden, how can there be all-round progress of human society? So these are all the social duties, the social responsibilities of the Renaissance movement. Renaissance people will have to wage war on these disparities, these inequalities – they will have to be rooted out of the society.” (1)
Solution
In order to save our universal human family from various dogmas and degrading traditions of ritualistic marriages, Sadguru Baba has graciously given an ideal revolutionary marriage ceremony that grants full respect and dignity to females and places them on equal footing as men. The Ananda Marga system eradicates all dogmas - no kanyadan, no dowry, no castism - and enables our human society to march forward into a whole new era of gender equality based on neo-humanistic values.
Namaskar
in Him,
Sulekha’ Singh
Note 1: Reported in newspaper as kanya’da’na - not anything else
The above photo depicts the kanya’da’n (girl donation) ceremony that took place in Madhya Pradesh. In the newspaper, it is stated that the government sponsored eleven kanya’da’n (girl donation) ceremonies on this particular day that were witnessed by the chief minister’s staff. To ease the burden of marriage in India and overcome the trappings of the dowry system, the government founded a program where they financially back such kanya’da’n ceremonies like the one shown in the above photo. Verily the newspaper openly reports how these are not just marriages but kanya’da’n (girl donation) ceremonies as well. So there is no doubt about it.
Reference
1. AFPS-7, Renaissance in All the Strata of Life
ধর্ম সরল পথেই চলে, কিন্তু
“মহাকাল - সে কুটিল পথে চলে, কি ভাবে কি হয়ে যায়, লোকে ৰুঝতে পারে না | আজ যে সম্মানের সুবর্ণ শিখরে আরূঢ়, সে কখন কোথায়, কোন অতলে তলিয়ে যায়, ৰোঝা যায় না | তাই ৰলা হয় “কালস্য কুটিলা গতিঃ” | কিন্তু ধর্মের সম্বন্ধে ৰলা হয়, “ধর্মস্য সূক্ষ্মা গতিঃ” | ধর্ম সরল পথেই চলে, কিন্তু ৰড় সূক্ষ্মতার পথ” |(1)
Reference
1. Giitay Dharma Deshana-2
3. Links
Kanyadan, girl donation ritual, marriage:
girls are treated as cattle
girls are treated as cattle
Note: Please pay attention to the yellow highlighted sections; those are Guru's direct teachings. The rest of the writing is a report on this issue.
Namaskar,
Every Ananda Margii knows that Baba has given the guideline that males and females have equal status. But in old Indian traditions that is not the case. Especially, marriage ceremonies are done in a very lopsided way. This letter talks about the kanyadan Hindu marriage system. These days even highly educated boys and girls marry according to the old ritual of kanyadan or girl donation - whereby girls are donated to boys and treated as slaves. Those getting married do not think about what they are doing - nor do the participants. They are so indoctrinated that they do not consider or question how abominable this kanyadan ritual is. To understand please go reading.
Sadguru Baba says, “Renaissance people will have to start a movement for social equality and fight against such inequality based on sexual difference. Are women like cattle, or sacks of cloth that people give as gifts at the time of marriage? Are they slaves to be sold to others? As long as women lacked courage or intellect, they tolerated these things – but what a great humiliation! To submit them to such indignities is far worse than to whip them publicly on the road. Are women simply like bundles of cloth to be sent to the washerman’s house?” (1)
In the above photo, the prevailing Hindu marriage dogma is on full display whereby the girls in the first two rows have been decorated and wrapped like holiday gifts. They are treated as mere possessions that will be donated to the husband and his family - just as one would donate a sheep, cow, or a table cloth etc. These girls are viewed as physical property to be donated and traded etc. Verily, females in the Hindu marriage system are not treated as human beings, but rather as mere objects. It is akin to the era of slavery where slaves were taken to the market to be bought, sold, and traded like mundane possessions etc. Similarly, these girls are dressed up as mere decorative objects to be given away. This is the case with typical Hindu marriage ceremonies, whereas the Muslim marriage ceremonies are even worse as they proclaim that three females are equal to one male. That is why sincere Ananda Margiis do not participate in such types of dogmatic ceremonies - even if non-margiis are hosting such events. Participating means degrading the status of women. Indeed, this type of marriage ritual is abhorrent.
Kanyadan dogma: girls are property of boys not vice-versa
Pictured above is the girl donation ceremony. In India, girls are treated as property - just as one has a house, a car, a bicycle, horses, or animals etc. Boys are not treated as property, but girls are. This is pervasive in throughout the Indian subcontinent, the Muslim world, and many other regions as well. In the west, females were formerly treated this way but things have changed drastically in the last half-century whereby women have gained both legal and social rights. But in India - such as in the Hindu wedding scene picture above, girls are mere objects to be traded.
Because this dogma is so ingrained, some may feel frustrated reading this. They have been so indoctrinated into this defective mentality that they think the donation of their girls is something holy or virtuous. In the above scene, the young girls are dressed up and decorated in gems and jewels etc.
Quite humiliating and denigrating for the girl
The name of this social ritual is kanya’da’n (girl donation). Kanya’ means girl, and da’n means gift or donation.Thus when they donate their girls it is called kanya’da’n (girl donation). They think of this as being something virtuous. But in reality, we know that nothing can be donated unless it is something you own. Thus girls are mere commodities or property.
As Sadguru Baba points out, this whole scene is quite humiliating and denigrating for those girls but due to their ignorance they feel ecstatic and glorified during this ceremony. When that girl was small she was taught that a one fine day she will become the property of another family. So they believe that this is a respectful and dignified outcome - i.e. to live as the property of someone else.
Submit women to such indignities is far worse than to whip them publicly on the road
This defective mentality is similar to that of a caged bird that has been caged for so long that it cannot conceive of its own freedom. It likes that small, puny cage.
In His below guideline, Baba is warning us about this kanyadan dogma: Females are not anyone’s personal property like cattle or sacks of cloth. Yet treating females as mere objects is worse than whipping them publicly on the road. Only a few confused or very new margiis participate in this dogmatic Hindu marriage ritual. Every true Ananda Margii is keen to refrain from attending any such type of event etc - sincere sadhakas understand they cannot support or attend this Hindu ritual of kanya’da’n (girl donation) ceremony. After all, these are not innocent affairs, but rather represent the imposition of dogma and the exploitation of women. It is our duty to educate the public and remove this social injustice and gender difference.
“Renaissance people will have to start a movement for social equality and fight against such inequality based on sexual difference. Are women like cattle, or sacks of cloth that people give as gifts at the time of marriage? Are they slaves to be sold to others? As long as women lacked courage or intellect, they tolerated these things – but what a great humiliation! To submit them to such indignities is far worse than to whip them publicly on the road. Are women simply like bundles of cloth to be sent to the washerman’s house? Women must not be suppressed, and there should not be domination of males in the society. Society should have a cooperative leadership, not a subordinated leadership; there should be a coordinated, cooperative leadership, leadership between males and females. Renaissance people will have to start a movement immediately to fight against all these disparities; otherwise if fifty percent of the population, that is the ladies, remain downtrodden, how can there be all-round progress of human society? So these are all the social duties, the social responsibilities of the Renaissance movement. Renaissance people will have to wage war on these disparities, these inequalities – they will have to be rooted out of the society.” (1)
Solution
In order to save our universal human family from various dogmas and degrading traditions of ritualistic marriages, Sadguru Baba has graciously given an ideal revolutionary marriage ceremony that grants full respect and dignity to females and places them on equal footing as men. The Ananda Marga system eradicates all dogmas - no kanyadan, no dowry, no castism - and enables our human society to march forward into a whole new era of gender equality based on neo-humanistic values.
Namaskar
in Him,
Sulekha’ Singh
Note 1: Reported in newspaper as kanya’da’na - not anything else
The above photo depicts the kanya’da’n (girl donation) ceremony that took place in Madhya Pradesh. In the newspaper, it is stated that the government sponsored eleven kanya’da’n (girl donation) ceremonies on this particular day that were witnessed by the chief minister’s staff. To ease the burden of marriage in India and overcome the trappings of the dowry system, the government founded a program where they financially back such kanya’da’n ceremonies like the one shown in the above photo. Verily the newspaper openly reports how these are not just marriages but kanya’da’n (girl donation) ceremonies as well. So there is no doubt about it.
Reference
1. AFPS-7, Renaissance in All the Strata of Life
== Section 2 ==
ধর্ম সরল পথেই চলে, কিন্তু
“মহাকাল - সে কুটিল পথে চলে, কি ভাবে কি হয়ে যায়, লোকে ৰুঝতে পারে না | আজ যে সম্মানের সুবর্ণ শিখরে আরূঢ়, সে কখন কোথায়, কোন অতলে তলিয়ে যায়, ৰোঝা যায় না | তাই ৰলা হয় “কালস্য কুটিলা গতিঃ” | কিন্তু ধর্মের সম্বন্ধে ৰলা হয়, “ধর্মস্য সূক্ষ্মা গতিঃ” | ধর্ম সরল পথেই চলে, কিন্তু ৰড় সূক্ষ্মতার পথ” |(1)
Reference
1. Giitay Dharma Deshana-2
== Section 3 ==
Links
Recent postings
Mahaprayan of one senior family acarya
Why getting punished
Other topics of interest
Peeping into women's zone
Those confused about core issues of life
Links
Recent postings
Mahaprayan of one senior family acarya
Why getting punished
Other topics of interest
Peeping into women's zone
Those confused about core issues of life
