What is the reason for rituals that don’t promote liberation such as wife worshiping to get the same husband for seven lives
From: Mukund
If ultimate aim of the human life is to get liberation from cycle of birth and death then why do scriptures recommend women to perform “Vat Savitri” puja to get same husband for Seven lifes (Saat Janam)? Is this practice at all mentioned in scriptures?
Answer Podcast
Transcript
This is an AI-generated transcript and may contain some errors.
Question from Mukunda Prabhu. If the ultimate dream of human life is to get liberation from the cycle of birth and death then why do scriptures recommend women to perform Vata Savitri Puja to get same husband for seven lives? Is this practice at all mentioned in scriptures? Answer, the Vedic scriptures teach at multiple levels. There is Karma Kanda which is material religiosity and there is Jnana Kanda which is speculation which leads to impersonal realization and then ultimately there is Bhakti, Upasana Kanda which culminates in Bhakti which takes us to the spiritual world.
So the ultimate goal is not just liberation ultimate goal is Prema which is supreme liberation which is higher than liberation in the sense that it’s not passive it is active it is not just freedom from suffering but is actually involvement in immense happiness but that is the ultimate goal. There are intermediate goals also and the Karma Kanda primarily focuses on three Dharma, Artha and Kama. So Kama, Artha and Kama are important goals when we are in this world these goals cannot be neglected and especially people who are caught up too much in these goals they should not be kicked out of the framework of religion so they are given facility within the culture within the Vedic scriptures to fulfill their material desires.
So the idea that family values are important and we should be responsible for our family members that is not a non-Vedic and definitely not anti-Vedic. Now from the point of view of transcendence where we want to focus entirely on Krishna if our attachment to family members distracts us from attachment to Krishna then it is an obstacle but if the family members are devotees so the Vedic cultures husband is a devotee and the wife follows the husband and the wife will get elevated and attain the same destination as the husband and now if they are devotees then both of them can practice spiritual life and make advancement nicely but within the traditional Vedic context where it’s Karmakanda then the wife does the Dharma and by that of following her husband and then the husband gets elevated to Swarga the wife will also get elevated accordingly so the idea is that the faithfulness of the wife to the husband and the desire for the continuation of that relationship indicates the strength of that affection and that affection is not considered wrong because it is Dharmic and within Karmakanda where people are interested in material things then this is accommodated so for those people who are pursuing Karmakanda their immediate goal is not liberation their goal is material enjoyment so then within that framework the desire to perpetuate material enjoyment through religious means is definitely not wrong now the specific practices that are done today for in the form of Karmakanda are often not exactly the properly done according to what is given in the Vedic scriptures but the essential point is that the idea of emphasizing family values is not at all wrong it is only when the family values contradict the spiritual values which they don’t have to all the time especially not in the religious culture then they are not at all to be given up and within a family for the wife to be devoted to the husband is not wrong and for those who are practicing Karmakanda they don’t expect to be liberated immediately in fact liberation is not even their goal and many times in the near future Krishna talks about this how they go to Swarga and then they come back and he says they are also worshiping me and they are doing this in 9.2021 he says that Tri Vidya Mama Soma Paha Poota Papa Yagya Nishtva Swarga Timpra Artha Yantey so they Maam Nishtva they are worshipping me but indirectly through Karmakand and their goal is Swarga so this is indirect worship and Krishna contrast this with in 9.22 he says that those who directly worship me Ananyas Chintayanto Maam for them there is Yogakshamam Vahamyam I protect what they have and preserve provide what they lack and protect what they have but in 9.21 in between these two he says that those who seek to go to heaven they come back again she may put name at a low commission but the point is that is also recognized by Krishna as Vedic and as authorized as worship of him but indirect and because it’s indirect the results are short-lived and they take one to transcendence only gradually Bahunam Janmanamanti but still the point is that it is included within the Vedic fold and similarly the worship the forms of worship which involve fulfilling of material desires within the context of Dharma are a part of Karmakand although they may not foster the goal of liberation immediately but they keep a person within the precincts of Dharma and gradually by increasing one’s faith in the process of Dharma encourage a person to move towards higher levels of Dharma where one will seek liberation more directly and intensely thank you