WHY GET MARRIED?
In every man, there is a bit of a woman, and there is a bit of a man in every woman. But if they are in equal proportion, then you become a homosexual. No man can achieve enlightenment without going through the experiences of a woman. So, in a previous life, all of you guys must have had some lives as women as well, and therefore, that bit of woman in a man is a carry-over from previous lifetimes.
You will find that men and women are built with different qualities. The man is the breadwinner, the hunter. Since primitive times, he has been the one who brings home the bread and beans. At the same time, the woman has certain qualities like tolerance, patience, kindness, and compassion. She has all those gentler qualities to make her fit to become a mother. A mother could never look after a child well if she has not got kindness, patience, compassion and all those things.
So, marriage is for one purpose, where the qualities of man and woman can combine. In love for each other, the woman imparts her qualities to the man, and the man imparts his qualities to the woman so that wholeness can occur. And marriage is one of the best ways to learn these qualities.
MARRIAGE IS A PARTNERSHIP
Linda loves David very much. Why? It is because it is an overwhelming thing that wells up in her heart. She does not analyse it that David is so handsome and his lovely blue eyes and what-have-you. No, that does not matter. I told my wife so many, many times she is a beautiful woman, that even, God forbid, even if she has an accident and gets shrivelled and burned, I will love her just as much because I do not love the outer shape that she is. I love her inner Self, which is God. So, before you love your spouse, you love God first because God is love.
Marriage is a partnership, in or out of wedlock. In wedlock, there is more caring, more responsibility and things like that, and it helps them grow and evolve. So, it is an outstanding institution. And then, little Bubba is born, and both care for the little child. Look at all the goodness that is coming out of us. We will do anything for the child. Even if the child is crying, the mother or father will wake up at two, three, or four in the morning to see the child. A woman has a certain quality; you can call it a kind of telepathy, that if something is going wrong with the child, she just suddenly wakes up and goes and sees the child. Some of you married women that have children, you will know.
These things happen, and this forms coordination. If this coordination can be formed between two or three people, it can expand more and more so that you start loving the whole town, the whole country, the whole world, and the entire universe.
Of course, the love between husband and wife is different from the universal love you develop, and that is what life is all about.
THE INNER SELF IS THE IMPORTANT THING
Marriage is an institution created by man. God did not create marriage, and man created marriage for more significant social stability. Till death do us part. That is one of the things you say when you get married. I say, “Even death shall not part us.” That is my view because my Spirit has become so at-one-ment with yours that even death, shedding these stupid little bodies, cannot affect you. Do you know what this body is worth? It is worth one dollar and twenty cents if it is brought down into its chemical components. That is taking into consideration inflation as well.
The important thing is our inner Self, which is helped so, so much through meditation and spiritual practices. Through sincerity, through self-help, you try to help yourself. You know the saying; God only helps those that help themselves. We do not just sit in our seats; we do something about it, also. And combining all these things makes our lives much happier and more conducive to living. And we feel the throb of energy going through us vibrating, jubilant, joyous, blissful, ecstatic. I could empty the whole dictionary for you there.
THE WEDDING FORM IS FOR SECURITY
Many times, mainly in Western countries, we find people that live together without being legally married or without a piece of paper, and they feel guilty about it. And they come and speak to me, and I say you do not feel guilty about it. That piece of paper is of no sense, of no use. That is just made for the security of the woman or the man’s safety so that no economic injustice is done to them and the children can also be protected. That is all there is. The paper we find in the toilet is even better than marriage certificate paper and is much nicer and softer. But if you live together, by all means, you have my blessing, but be sincere. Be sincere, be truthful. Be truthful.
… Gururaj Ananda Yogi: Satsang US 1984 – 43