I am in my late twenties and was brought up in a culturally rich Indian society. This society, which I earlier felt proud of, attracts me no more. I am pretty sceptical about its reasoning and logic. Our society teaches us to sacrifice our dreams rather than pursue them. It teaches us to make compromises rather than to fight, just not to disturb the status quo. Due to such a myopic vision, ours is becoming a more and more regressive type of society, and unfortunately, such thinking is more prevalent in the case of marriages, which are the basis of any society to grow. Oxford defines love as A strong feeling of affection and sexual attraction for someone. It never says it should first consider religion, then caste, then social status, and so on!! In Sikhism, as quoted in Guru Granth Sahib, “They are not said to be husband and wife, who merely sit together. They alone are called husband and wife, who have one light in two bodies.”
Also read: From One Light
In our society, our decision to marry is influenced by a lot of social factors. So, when the search for a life partner starts, we put up the default filters of religion, caste, and bank balance. The psyche has become such that even when one gets attracted to someone and sees him/her as a future life partner, the first thing that comes to mind is whether the person belongs to his/her religion or not. A person’s nature, qualities, social etiquette, and other gentlemanly qualities take a backseat. We try to satisfy every condition and rule set up by our society but can’t dare to listen to what our heart wants.
So how is it love? Isn’t it a compromise intended to satisfy the collective conscience of society? Does love discriminate? How is it one light in two bodies? Do you think it is possible to find love purely based on feelings and attractions you develop for someone? At least not in our society!!! Period. It is not love unless it is pure. It is not pure unless it is done unconditionally, like a mother loves her child, like a devotee loves his God.
So we make compromises, not love. We satisfy the myopic vision of this society, sacrificing our feelings for the sake of not disturbing the status quo. We choose to love and not love to choose!! So if you are having a love affair, have a little introspection, and if not, then you are still lucky enough to throw off these shackles and follow your heart!!!
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