Is live-in-relationship justified?

[Shri Hrushikesh asked: Hi Swami, I request You to kindly answer the questions below. In today's world "Live in relationships" between couples have become most common in the western world and also slowly growing in India? Is it justified to live together in a registered partnership without getting married?]

Swami replied:- What is the difference between a marriage and a live-in-relationship? In both, minds are united and bodies are also united. The difference is only in the word, which is the scripture recited making God as the witness. If both promise on God not to leave each other, the live-in-relationship becomes the marriage. If you say that the word in the marriage is strong and cannot be broken, this is not observed today because there is the way of legal divorce. Hence, breaking the promise on God is commonly observed in both marriage and live-in-relationship. There are three instruments (Trikaranams of a soul, which are body, word and mind). Here, all the three are important, but, in this context, word becomes most important because the word is given before God. Hence, not leaving each other becomes the most important angle because God is involved in such promise-word.

God Krishna is the ultimate incarnation of divinity. One shall not imitate God Krishna. One shall imitate God Rama. There is a saying in Tamil “Do what Rama did and do what Krishna said in the Gita”. Krishna also violated the rule of Pravrutti in the case of Gopikas only and He did not repeat it in any other case. This exceptional case must be understood by observing the background of the Gopikas. Gopikas were sages, who were doing penance from millions of births for the sake of God. No human being can imitate the Gopika and there is no question of imitating God Krishna, who lifted the Govardhana mountain against non-stop thunder-bolt rains by His last tender finger for seven days continuously while He was a seven year old boy!

God Krishna and Radha lived in a live-in-relationship without official marriage and without getting children. Radha was officially married due to the force of her parents, but, she always loved Krishna only. Among body, word and mind, mind is the most important tool since it is non-inert awareness. Radha never allowed her husband, Ayanaghosha even to touch her body with not only by his finger, but also, by the nail of that finger! Both Radha and Krishna performed secret marriage (Gaandharva vivaaha) in the presence of God Brahma in a garden. In spite of all this background, Radha and Krishna avoided children for the sake of the welfare of Pravrutti in the world. Radha is the incarnation of God Shiva. She is also incarnation of sage Durvaasa just like other Gopikas are re-born sages. But, sage Durvaasa is the incarnation of God Shiva. In this way, Radha is special among the Gopikas and she became the leader of the Gopikas and finally the queen of the Gopikas in Goloka. No human being can be anywhere near Radha or Krishna!

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