This is a response to a message posted on one of my favorite pages and sites,
https://www.facebook.com/moveon
Here's the original message,
"And if you love this Hollywood liberal, you're gonna love this piece, too: http://j.mp/PHE3gd"
The link to it on fb, http://tinyurl.com/8jf6s7u
And the image/message that went with it,
Now this here response is for your serious, respectful and kind consideration
There is a tradition in India with regards to the subject of marriage. Usually among Hindus they check to see if the horoscopes of the bride and the groom match and if they are compatible or not. Sometimes there are flaws or malefic signs such as a "Manglik Dosh" where in the planet Mars is badly positioned within the natal chart often portending the death or affliction of the other partner. So as a cure for this they have the person ceremonially marry a tree and then they ritually offer the tree as a sacrifice to avoid and do away with the ill that would have afflicted the other partner. Trees are quiet beautiful, some may really Love them, some have genders.. male and female like a banana tree or a peepal tree. May be it's possible to imagine the tree as a beautiful Woman filled with Life and Love. So would it be ok to fall in Love with a tree? Would it be alright to get married to a tree? Could you kindly legalize it if you think so. Such remedial rituals are ancient, purposeful and meaningful. It may seem really strange.... :)) Would it be ok if someone is capable of imagining and falling madly in Love with an inanimate object such as a stone and then get married to it. Again, It might seem a bit different, bizarre and strange but it is still Love, it is a question of companionship and marital bliss for the concerned person. Can we have a new law that permits these unions..... Again from the image and the quote above -> What You fall in Love with is entirely up to You. Does it make any difference to anyone else who is reading this ?
FYI:
"If a Hindu bride has Manglik dosh (chevvai Dosham), the bride groom also should have it. Then the effect of one is cancelled by the other. This is a major problem in finding a suitable bride or bride groom. Several marriages are delayed because of this.
In Hindu tradition, if the broom doesn’t have the manglik dosh, in order to neutralize the influence of evil manglik dosh of the bride, she should marry a Sacred fig tree (Peepal / peepul / pippala / Arasa maram / Arayal) or a plantain tree (banana tree / vazhai maram / vaalai maram / waalai maram) before the broom ties the Mangal sutra. This is a cleansing ceremony. Alternatively, the bride marries a clay urn and breaks it soon after the nuptial ceremonies. This signifies that the bride has become a widow, and the manglik dosh (chevvai Dosham) problem has been solved."
ref.
http://hindumarriages.blogspot.com/2010/01/manglik-dosh-bride-to-marry-sacred-fig.html
Here's a real life example from Bollywood,
"Aishwarya Rai, who has been in the news lately because of her engagement to Abhishek Bachchan, has apparently been ritually married to not one but two trees before her real marriage (thanks, Antahkarana). The aim is to counter the astrological effects of being born a Manglik: ...."
ref.
http://www.lehigh.edu/~amsp/2007/02/aishwarya-marries-trees-setback-for.html
P.S ~ Hey, You know What... I happened to have a bit of that Manglik thing in my horoscope. I need to find me a tree for marriage... for the cleansing ceremony and stuff. I am an open and honest man, I always aim Straight and I promise to Love and thank Her(my tree) for being their for me as a sacrificial blessing. I know this is way too much to ask but for the sake of the Tree and my Love for it can we consider legalizing this brief union ;)
I know....Yes it's true.. apart from the 16 trillion dollar debt apparently this really IS anY extremely grave issue during election 2012 and we need to focus and work hard on it.
Love is important. Human rights are important. Respect is important. Perhaps more than anything else..... with or with out an ounce of thought or feeling for this great country and for those who are helpless and obsolete before this growing, enslaving and staggering debt. And yes off course my tree is important to me and my bride to be. But for the sake of my own conscience I'll keep her (my tree and all the popularly practiced rituals of India) a personal secret for now :) It doesn't make a difference..does it ?
With Tons of Love to Absolutely All the minorities and All You people and Trees out there. I Wish You All without any discrimination what so ever the very best of Blessings :)
Sincerely,
Jai Krishna Ponnappan
Love & Have a lil Fun While You're at it ;)