No Divorce in Hinduism

Gurudeva begins today's talk by giving his shortest answer ever to Tiru, in Singapore, who asks how to teach meditation to a five-year-old child. Then Gurudeva continues with a longer answer to a second question from Tiru about divorce in Hinduism. Gurudeva stresses that marriage is a union of two families. It is not just between two individuals. Gurudeva says that there is no religious ceremony for divorce. The judge and the law handle other matters.

Unedited Transcript:

Well this is a very interesting question from Tiru in Singapore, "how do you teach meditation to a 5 year old child." An easy answer, you don't.

Tiru's now wondering, in Singapore, why in Sanatana Dharma marriage is final and there is no divorce? Wouldn't it be better if there were no children in the marriage, they were in an unhappy marriage to get a divorce and get on with life?

Marriage is a union of two families coming together, not only a boy and a girl. The two families come together as a one family and they are either harmonious and supportive of the marriage or they're not harmonious at all at working out that part of their karma, by making more karma to be worked out at a future time through conflict and contention. Marriage is not an individual affair just between two people, it involves two families. If the marriage is not getting along as it should, we should look at each of the families and do marriage counseling within the families themselves. Just like the birth of a child is forever, it's a forever situation. You can't get a divorce from the birth of a child. It is community coming together, the sexual union, the marriage ceremony, everything put together that makes the marriage a marriage and there's no judge powerful enough to separate what has been joined together in a religious ceremony. The judge and the law may protect property but that's all. There is no religious ceremony, that is a ceremony for divorce. Therefore, Tiru if you are in an unhappy marriage, it's all your fault, you're not giving your wife everything that she needs and everything that she wants.

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