Marriage, A Commitment; a talk by Sri Sri Ravi Shankar the founder of Art of Living organization on August 2004 at Montreal, Canada. In this talk He has given answers to some of the questions that are related to marriage, devotion, love and commitment in our life. Thanks Guruji for giving such a valuable knowledge and education to us.
Q Guruji, can you comment on the commitment in marriage?
A: life energy meets two banks to flows; those are commitment. Water when they flow between two banks, they have a direction. Similarly life force in you flows is a direction and the banks of those directions are commitment. And wedding is such a commitment. Commitment to share and care. Share one’s life and care for the other. It
helps one to come out of self centeredness. In marriages, you know always think about one self; then now you have to don’t to think about yourself, think about your spouse. For everything, even if you want go on vacation you can’t just wonder alone; you’ve to consult madam. You’ve to consult your better half; and all decisions have to be taken in consultation.
Q: Guruji how can be one devoted in the institution of marriage?
A: devotion is nothing but love; it mix maturity. See you love somebody, because you like something in that somebody. Your likes and dislikes always changing. Suppose tomorrow your likes changed, your dislikes changed, and then your love turns into hatred. But when the love matures and doesn’t turn into hatred, that love is called devotion. Some so devoted to wife means, how much she is, whatever she is, I just am committed to her. That’s devotion. The first is attraction; just on the physical level. Attraction dies on very fast. On the physical level there is attraction. The step further on the mental level, there is love. And it is in the mental level - jealousy, possessiveness, hatred all these distortions of love happens. But when you surpass that level, then there comes devotion. It’s at to the love of that mother to her child. Mother doesn’t bother about the child thinks and does. You know, the child kicks the mother or are screams at the mother; she is not perturbed at all. Still she goes and takes the parents feet, sits and dissolves everything. Child is kicking in, screaming in, running in, it refusing to take medicines that she loves conclusion and doesn’t get emotions, cheese after the kid; and she siege that kid has what he does for that kid, she gives it; and that is what devotion is; which is independent of the reaction or response. The love which is independent of response is called devotion.
