Praayachitham & Widow Remarriage!
SIR - one significant aspect of braminism is the presence of prrahachitham i.e. repentance. brahminism says even if you have committed major sins, crimes,but if you sincerely repent and make suitable amends, you will be excused with lesser punishment.
the plight of widows is pathetic in all religions. The old testament recognised no inheritance rights for widows, and so their plight was most pathetic in jewish religion.so, widows were the lowest class in ancient israel and widowhood was considered a symbol of great degradation.(ISAIAH:54:4).
what about christianity? as per Genesis 38, a childless widow must marry her husband's brother, even if he is already married! if the brother is very young, then she must wait until he becomes eligible for marriage! 'Then judah said to Onan "Lie with your brother's wife and fulful your duty to her as a brother in law to produce offspring for your brother" Genesis 38.8
apologists say islam is only religion which allows widow remarriage. but if you look closely, you will understand this is not a big deal. in islam, a man is allowed to have 4 wives! so , naturally any man will be ready to marry a widow, because, even then he can ensure that he has 3 more women with him apart from this 1 widow!
whereas in orthodox hinduism,monogamy is the rule always. so, many men hesitate to marry a widow, because, afterall marriage is something which takes place in a hindu man's life only once, and naturally he is not prepared to experiment to show himself as a 'revolutionary' or 'reformist'! in hinduism, even male widowers have restrictions. when hinduism originated, there were no widows or widowers at all. so i do not think sanatana dharma has any specifc codes how widows or widowers are to be treated. these tenets & traits about widows should have come later. most of these tenets restricting widows are applicable mainly for elder widows. but unfortunately, because of wrong inference even widows of young age are subject to same restrictions. if widows take part in orthdox functions, and anything untoward happens, then some sentimental persons could blame these widows. it is mainly because of this that even sages, seers do not see widows, and widows are not generally allowed primacy in orthodox functions ,so that they are not blamed in anyway if anything goes wrong even slightly.
it is for govts. who waste their money on foolish doles to carve out schemes for these hapless widows and handicapped women, so that they are protected. i have heard that in advanced countries, govts. themselves fund schemes exclusively for elder persons. why not , in india, have spl. govt. funding for widows & handicapped so that they do not find themselves out of society?
