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Family Structure in Sanatana Dharma (सनातनीय कुटुम्बव्यवस्था) (view source)
Revision as of 20:44, 18 August 2021
, 20:44, 18 August 2021adding and editing content
Contrary to the sociologists' views of just the husband, wife and children constituting a family, the Indian family system advocated a united undivided family consisting of the parents, siblings and even students. It is no wonder that our seers expressed that the world is one family, "vasudaiva kutumbakam" which aptly depicts the inclusiveness of the sanatana kutumba vyavastha.<ref name=":02" /> <blockquote>अयं बन्धुरयं नेति गणना लघुचेतसाम् । उदारचरितानां तु वसुधैव कुटुम्बकम् ॥ ७१॥ (Maha. Upan. 6.71)<ref>Mahopanishad ([https://sa.wikisource.org/wiki/%E0%A4%AE%E0%A4%B9%E0%A5%8B%E0%A4%AA%E0%A4%A8%E0%A4%BF%E0%A4%B7%E0%A4%A4%E0%A5%8D Adhyaya 6])</ref></blockquote>Summary: Those who think "he is mine", "He is not" are petty-minded. The large hearted ones regard the world as one family.<ref name=":2">Jois, Rama M. ''Dharma, The Global Ethic'' </ref>
Contrary to the sociologists' views of just the husband, wife and children constituting a family, the Indian family system advocated a united undivided family consisting of the parents, siblings and even students. It is no wonder that our seers expressed that the world is one family, "vasudaiva kutumbakam" which aptly depicts the inclusiveness of the sanatana kutumba vyavastha.<ref name=":02" /> <blockquote>अयं बन्धुरयं नेति गणना लघुचेतसाम् । उदारचरितानां तु वसुधैव कुटुम्बकम् ॥ ७१॥ (Maha. Upan. 6.71)<ref>Mahopanishad ([https://sa.wikisource.org/wiki/%E0%A4%AE%E0%A4%B9%E0%A5%8B%E0%A4%AA%E0%A4%A8%E0%A4%BF%E0%A4%B7%E0%A4%A4%E0%A5%8D Adhyaya 6])</ref></blockquote>Summary: Those who think "he is mine", "He is not" are petty-minded. The large hearted ones regard the world as one family.<ref name=":2">Jois, Rama M. ''Dharma, The Global Ethic'' </ref>
We find the following version in Hitopadesha, it is of the same purport and widely known.<blockquote>अयं निजः परो वेति गणना लघुचेतसाम्। उदारचरितानां तु वसुधैव कुटुम्बकम्॥</blockquote><blockquote>ayaṃ nijaḥ paro veti gaṇanā laghucetasām । udāracaritānāṃ tu vasudhaiva kuṭumbakam ॥</blockquote>The vidhi given in the Grhyasutras that only the eldest son should kindle the Grhyagni, after the death of the householder, shows that after the householder passes away, the eldest son alone moves into the position of the householder, if all the brothers continue to live together without partitioning their inheritance. This vidhi is found in Sankhyayana, Kaushika and Gobhila grhyasutras.<ref name=":02" /> <blockquote>पित्र्यमग्निं शमयिष्यञ्ज्येष्ठस्य चाविभक्तिन एकाग्निमाधास्यन् १ (Kaus. Sutr. 69.1)<ref>Kaushika Sutra ([https://sa.wikisource.org/wiki/%E0%A4%95%E0%A5%8C%E0%A4%B6%E0%A4%BF%E0%A4%95%E0%A4%B8%E0%A5%82%E0%A4%A4%E0%A5%8D%E0%A4%B0%E0%A4%AE%E0%A5%8D/%E0%A4%85%E0%A4%A7%E0%A5%8D%E0%A4%AF%E0%A4%BE%E0%A4%AF%E0%A4%83_%E0%A5%A6%E0%A5%AF Adhyaya 9])</ref></blockquote>This vidhi refers to the joint family system and undivided families, where the eldest son becomes the head of the household after the father. Until recent centuries, families in India chose to stay united as joint family.<ref name=":02" />
We find the following version in Hitopadesha, it is of the same purport and widely known.<blockquote>अयं निजः परो वेति गणना लघुचेतसाम्। उदारचरितानां तु वसुधैव कुटुम्बकम्॥</blockquote><blockquote>ayaṃ nijaḥ paro veti gaṇanā laghucetasām । udāracaritānāṃ tu vasudhaiva kuṭumbakam ॥</blockquote>The vidhi given in the Grhyasutras that only the eldest son should kindle the Grhyagni, after the death of the householder, shows that after the householder passes away, the eldest son alone moves into the position of the householder, if all the brothers continue to live together without partitioning their inheritance. This vidhi is found in Sankhyayana, Kaushika and Gobhila grhyasutras.<ref name=":02" /> <blockquote>पित्र्यमग्निं शमयिष्यञ्ज्येष्ठस्य चाविभक्तिन एकाग्निमाधास्यन् १ (Kaus. Sutr. 69.1)<ref>Kaushika Sutra ([https://sa.wikisource.org/wiki/%E0%A4%95%E0%A5%8C%E0%A4%B6%E0%A4%BF%E0%A4%95%E0%A4%B8%E0%A5%82%E0%A4%A4%E0%A5%8D%E0%A4%B0%E0%A4%AE%E0%A5%8D/%E0%A4%85%E0%A4%A7%E0%A5%8D%E0%A4%AF%E0%A4%BE%E0%A4%AF%E0%A4%83_%E0%A5%A6%E0%A5%AF Adhyaya 9])</ref></blockquote>This vidhi refers to the joint family system and undivided families, where the eldest son becomes the head of the household after the father. Until recent centuries, families in India chose to stay united as joint family.<ref name=":02" />
A family is, thus, characterized by<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1" />
== Different Roles of the Family ==
=== As a Functional Unit ===
From the composition of and the principles of integration underlying the family, it is clear that a family is a functional unit. The basic functional unit above the individual level is the family in a society. It is regarded and studied as one of the universal and permanent institutions of mankind.
An environment to permit the satisfaction of intimate biological needs cannot take place without organized co-activity. For a healthy and satisfactory living man seeks a secure satisfaction of his biological drives. By cooperating with other members of his family, and dividing work with them, he is able to satisfy his own basic need for food. He also contributes to the similar satisfaction of the other members who are cooperating with him. Economic needs grow out of biological needs, particularly those of the expectant mother and the infant child, who cannot support and live by themselves.
The family as an economic unit has a personal and a collective aspect. It provides for the personal satisfaction of the individual and collectively it does the same for the family. It is a means of regular and channelized intimate biological satisfaction. It is a unit where not only the psychological instincts of parental love and solitude are satisfied but also contribution towards perpetuation of the group and the race. The family is thus an educative unit and a socio-cultural agency.<ref name=":0" />
=== As an Association ===
Yet another way to study a family is by regarding it as a group or a deliberately formed association. Such an approach would study the form and the content of the family, i.e., its character and composition, variations from time to time and place to place. Bound by the biological matrix, the basic grouping of the husband and wife and their children, has been called as the nuclear, the immediate or primary family. It includes all families consisting of those individuals who are bound by a procreative urge and grouped with their children into a protective and productive association. Inclusion of closely related kin is called an extended family. A larger association further includes more members of the extended family as seen in the case of Indian joint family system.
=== As a Process ===
The family has been viewed, not only as a permanent functional institution and an ever-active affective association, but also as a process. The process called the family can be divided into three or four well-defined stages on the basis of data available to us in India. In the first instance, we have the formative stage, when the individual as a growing child is prepared for his adulthood roles as a responsible member of society. Then follows the nuptial stage among most of the rural and urban groups, particularly in the former, child marriage having been a very distinctive feature of the Indian rural social structure. After marriage come the children, i.e., the post-nuptial stage. Speaking from the point of view of society at large, this stage is the most significant. As the growing generation of children come of age, they set the same process going again. Thus, the family is an ever-continuing process, on the smooth continuity of which depends the continuity of society itself.<ref name=":0" />
A family is, thus, characterized by<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1" />
* institutionalized mating, i.e., some type of marriage
* institutionalized mating, i.e., some type of marriage
* a nomenclature for knowing the descent, i.e., a mode to know the descent
* a nomenclature for knowing the descent, i.e., a mode to know the descent
'''[[Varna System (वर्ण व्यवस्था)|Varna vyavastha]]''' - The varna system presents a structure of values and functions which provide both personal and social justice. It is based upon the moral principle of Karma. It is believed that everyone is born with peculiar leanings, temperament and abilities due to his past karmas. In personal life varna was based upon the twin ideals of Svabhava and Swadharma. These two are the psychological and social aspects of the same phenomena. The social duties of a person are relative to his psychological makeup. Each one should follow his own psychological make up, since by that alone he can make a holistic contribution to the society. Thus within the person Swabhava is the guiding principle. One who acts based on his Swabhava acts spontaneously. Spontaneity is the result of totality and results in harmony. Svadharma means one’s duties in society. These duties should not be imposed from outside pressures. In order to be natural, spontaneous and divine duties must be based on Swabhava. A persons' value system so regulated becomes a better contributor to the society and hence the marriage system was so structured such that the husband and wife belong to the same varna. In case of love between man and woman which knows no rules and transcends all bounds, it was natural that males and females belonging to different varnas met and even married against social conventions. Such marriages were known by the names of anuloma and pratiloma marriages. The varna-vyavastha in the society, was thus four fold and was based on the scientific idea of division of labor.<ref name=":0" /> '''[[Ashrama Dharma (आश्रमधर्मः)|Ashrama vyavastha]]''' - While the varna vyavastha focuses on social justice, ashrama vyavastha concentrates on justice within the individual. The human life has been divided into different stages. Brahmacharya ashrama is the educative and disciplinary stage of life. In Grhastha ashrama, the youthful stage is diverted towards a life of duty. Hence the individual cultivates dharma, artha and kama. In Vanaprastha ashrama, he learns to withdraw from the society and learns to ignore his worldly attachments. He dissociates from artha and kama. Therefore, dharma and moksha becomes his main concern. In Sannyasa, moksha occupies the supreme place. In other words, the dharma which an individual cultivates in former ashramas becomes identified with moksha.
'''[[Varna System (वर्ण व्यवस्था)|Varna vyavastha]]''' - The varna system presents a structure of values and functions which provide both personal and social justice. It is based upon the moral principle of Karma. It is believed that everyone is born with peculiar leanings, temperament and abilities due to his past karmas. In personal life varna was based upon the twin ideals of Svabhava and Swadharma. These two are the psychological and social aspects of the same phenomena. The social duties of a person are relative to his psychological makeup. Each one should follow his own psychological make up, since by that alone he can make a holistic contribution to the society. Thus within the person Swabhava is the guiding principle. One who acts based on his Swabhava acts spontaneously. Spontaneity is the result of totality and results in harmony. Svadharma means one’s duties in society. These duties should not be imposed from outside pressures. In order to be natural, spontaneous and divine duties must be based on Swabhava. A persons' value system so regulated becomes a better contributor to the society and hence the marriage system was so structured such that the husband and wife belong to the same varna. In case of love between man and woman which knows no rules and transcends all bounds, it was natural that males and females belonging to different varnas met and even married against social conventions. Such marriages were known by the names of anuloma and pratiloma marriages. The varna-vyavastha in the society, was thus four fold and was based on the scientific idea of division of labor.<ref name=":0" /> '''[[Ashrama Dharma (आश्रमधर्मः)|Ashrama vyavastha]]''' - While the varna vyavastha focuses on social justice, ashrama vyavastha concentrates on justice within the individual. The human life has been divided into different stages. Brahmacharya ashrama is the educative and disciplinary stage of life. In Grhastha ashrama, the youthful stage is diverted towards a life of duty. Hence the individual cultivates dharma, artha and kama. In Vanaprastha ashrama, he learns to withdraw from the society and learns to ignore his worldly attachments. He dissociates from artha and kama. Therefore, dharma and moksha becomes his main concern. In Sannyasa, moksha occupies the supreme place. In other words, the dharma which an individual cultivates in former ashramas becomes identified with moksha.
'''[[Samskaras (संस्काराः)|Samskaras]]''' - Samskaras are those activities which helo to achieve purity and as a result complete development of the individual's personality is possible. In fact, the development of the individual is necessary in accordance with society. In order to fulfil this need, samskaras have been laid down as a means in the Hindu society and is connected with physical and non-physical aspects of man. This helps the socialization of the individual and he develops respect for labor, virtue and duty. Sacraments are generally prevalent in almost all the societies of the world. For example, Sunnat and baptism are prevalent among the Muslims and the Christian respectively. But Samskaras are those kinds of sacraments that have a special significance in Hindu society. They have always been related to the age, occasion and Ashrama etc of the individual. They help refine and develop the personality of an individual and pave way for his social and spiritual progress. During the whole life of an individual, he is vested with some new responsibilities and duties. Samskaras inculcate the feeling in him to do his duty and discharge the responsibilities assigned to him for the welfare of others around him. Sanskaras are not only for his own good, but they also represent man's responsibility to society.<ref name=":0" />
'''[[Samskaras (संस्काराः)|Samskaras]]''' - Samskaras are those activities which help to achieve purity and as a result complete development of the individual's personality is possible. In fact, the development of the individual is necessary in accordance with society. In order to fulfil this need, samskaras have been laid down as a means in the Hindu society and is connected with physical and non-physical aspects of man. This helps the socialization of the individual and he develops respect for labor, virtue and duty. Sacraments are generally prevalent in almost all the societies of the world. For example, Sunnat and baptism are prevalent among the Muslims and the Christian respectively. But Samskaras are those kinds of sacraments that have a special significance in Hindu society. They have always been related to the age, occasion and Ashrama etc of the individual. They help refine and develop the personality of an individual and pave way for his social and spiritual progress. During the whole life of an individual, he is vested with some new responsibilities and duties. Samskaras inculcate the feeling in him to do his duty and discharge the responsibilities assigned to him for the welfare of others around him. Sanskaras are not only for his own good, but they also represent man's responsibility to society.<ref name=":0" />
'''[[Joint Family (संयुक्तकुटुम्बम्)]]''' - A dharmic society in India owes its very existence to the united family system called as a Joint Family (संयुक्तकुटुम्बम्). Even after repeated invasions and influence of foreign rulers for thousand years, if a dharmic society is still seen today, it is due to the family structure. After 300 years of contrary education, people have remained faithful to the dharmas propounded by our seers. However, as with any lengthy battles, Indian family system has been gradually weakening while the education system introduced by McCauley and others are steadily gaining ground over centuries. We have seen how the world which is steadily imitating countries like America, are lately realizing that it is a land of broken families. The dharmik values which shape the moral and ethical values of a person are not easily awakened unless given adequate exposure during his/her upbringing. Such values have largely been an integral part of our family structure which helped in keeping families united.
'''[[Joint Family (संयुक्तकुटुम्बम्)]]''' - A dharmic society in India owes its very existence to the united family system called as a Joint Family (संयुक्तकुटुम्बम्). Even after repeated invasions and influence of foreign rulers for thousand years, if a dharmic society is still seen today, it is due to the family structure. After 300 years of contrary education, people have remained faithful to the dharmas propounded by our seers. However, as with any lengthy battles, Indian family system has been gradually weakening while the education system introduced by McCauley and others are steadily gaining ground over centuries. We have seen how the world which is steadily imitating countries like America, are lately realizing that it is a land of broken families. The dharmik values which shape the moral and ethical values of a person are not easily awakened unless given adequate exposure during his/her upbringing. Such values have largely been an integral part of our family structure which helped in keeping families united.
'''Linguistic Structure''' - India has numerous languages and dialects. There are important languages such as Assamese, Bengali, Gujarati, Hindi, Kannada, Kashmiri, Malayalam, Marathi, Oriya, Punjabi, Sanskrit, Sindhi, Tamil, Telugu, Rajasthani, Manipuri and Urdu. Hindi has been given the status of India’s official language along with English. The underlying linguistic thread that holds people of all these languages is Samskrit.
'''Linguistic Structure''' - India has numerous languages and dialects. There are many important languages such as Assamese, Bengali, Gujarati, Hindi, Kannada, Kashmiri, Malayalam, Marathi, Oriya, Punjabi, Sanskrit, Sindhi, Tamil, Telugu, Rajasthani, Manipuri and more recently Urdu. Hindi has been given the status of India’s official language along with English. The underlying linguistic thread that holds people of all these languages is Samskrit. The cultural, moral, ethical and dharmik values of all these people have a common origin viz., the Vaidika vangmaya, Itihasas and Puranas etc. The language in which all these texts have been composed is Samskrit, the root language of all cultures in India.
'''Gotras''' - In the Indian society, marriage is in general restricted in three ways. A man may not marry
# outside his class (jaati)
# those who fall within certain degrees of prohibited relationships (the sapindas)
# inside his own clan (gotra)
To marry a woman belonging to the same gotra is regarded as incest and requires a severe penance such as Chandrayana. Gotra means a family or a clan according to families.<ref>Chentsal Rao, P. (1900) ''Gotra Pravara Nibandha Kadambam, The Principles of Pravara and Gotra.'' Mysore: Government Branch Press (Introduction)</ref>
== References ==
== References ==
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