Marriage: Fellow Pilgrims

Husband and wife, in the Hindu view, are like the teapot and its lid: fellow-pilgrims on the journey. Without both, the ancient ceremonies of the home cannot be done. How a boy and girl fall in love may sound very strange to you. They do it after marriage, not before. Marriage is thought far too serious a matter to be left to the chance of romance. It would be selfish for you as individuals to marry for your pleasure alone; you must consider the community also. So parents have tried their best to find for you a partner whose background and interests are similar. Then, they say, the marriage will be comfortable and the family stable. Sometimes the couple have not seen each other before the wedding day, but nowadays it is common for them to meet and talk.
The ceremony is beautiful. The priests come and build a symbolic sacrificial fire. As in other lands, the father of the bride gives her to the bridegroom. Both have been veiled. Now each lifts the other's veil, they join hands, and recite the names in the family lines. Each vows to look upon the other as the Divine in human form. Then together they take seven steps in a circle round the fire. The priests chant mantras. The full ceremonies may take three days, before ending in feasting and merriment.