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Arya Samaj Weddings There are a literally scores of ways in which a marriage ceremony can be performed, though usually the religion/caste of the bridegroom (and
sometimes the bride), decides the kind of ceremony and the nature of rites. Sometimes, the
bride and groom choose to have an Arya Samaj wedding. This kind of wedding is very
different from the other types in many ways.
One of the basic rules of the Arya Samaj is that it conducts marriages only for Hindus, since the movement's founder Maharishi Dayanand Saraswati sincerely believed Hinduism to be the 'original' religion and that conversions accounted for the spread of other religions from Hinduism. If in case a couple belonging to religions other than Hinduism want to get married under the auspices of Arya Samaj, they first have to be converted, through a process called "shuddhi", meaning purification. The wedding is conducted according to Arya
Marriage Validation Act XIX of 1937 and is solemnized according to Vedic rites. In these
weddings, the pooja is not performed to any specific deity because the Samaj doesn’t
believe in idol worship. Fire and the other elements are the only witnesses to the
ceremony. Simplicity is the hallmark of Arya Samaj weddings. The rituals performed are the ones prescribed by the Vedas and the mantras are translated into the Tamil / Hindi / English so that the couple know what the meaning of their marriage vows. The complete ceremony lasts about an hour and the bride and groom are not to be disturbed during the ceremony. Parents and relatives running helter-skelter, priests booming for things at the top of the voice and children running up and down the dais, the all so familiar scenes from the usually chaotic Indian weddings are non existent. Instead, you end up having a beautiful and meaningful ceremony.
The Samaj’s purohits (priests) are very flexible – they will cheerfully come and perform the wedding for you any place you specify – even if it is outside of Chennai, in which case, you will have to just provide them the fare. The maximum time taken to organise an Arya Samaj wedding is 15 days only! The Arya Samaj in Chennai is located at #183, Avvai Shanmugam Salai (Lloyds Road), Chennai 600086. Phone: 8279267. Arranged marriage | Bridal Make-up | Hindu marriages | Christian Weddings | City Marriages
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As the icing to the cake, the Arya Samaj wedding doesn’t dry up your
coffers. The wedding costs only about Rs.2,400 (NO – we haven’t left a zero off
somewhere!) – if the bride/groom have to be converted to Hinduism, then that costs an
additional Rs.300. If the wedding takes place in any of the Samaj owned wedding halls,
then the halls are free as well. 