We were asked by Wordswork to rewrite a book about Hindi wedding rituals .

Here's an excerpt which gives a flavor of how this job was tackled.

Before From the dawn of civilization, marriage ceremonies and rituals have reflected the most celebrated values of each culture. Hindu culture celebrates marriage as a samskar, a sacrament; a rite of passage in which two individuals start their journey into the Grihasthashrama, - the life of a householder. By making marriage a sacrament, Hindus have elevated the physical union of two individuals to spiritual dimensions. It is the beginning of a divine union of two individuals. It is a union of not just two individuals but also of two families. It is also a step toward higher goals in life - starting from taking more responsibilities to an opportunity to grow materially and spiritually. Human life is experienced in three states: physical, composed of matter and energy, subtle, composed of mind, intelligence and ego, and causal, composed of soul and spirit. The beauty of the Vedic ceremonies lies in the fact that they invoke the union of two individuals at all the three states of human experience - and not just at the physical level alone.

After Since the dawn of civilization, marriage ceremonies and rituals have reflected the most celebrated values of each culture. Hindu culture celebrates marriage as a samskara, a sacrament, a rite of passage in which two individuals start their journey into the grahastha ashram. By making marriage a sacrament, Hindus have elevated the physical union of two individuals to the spiritual. It is the beginning of a divine union of two people, as well as a union of two families. It is also a step toward higher goals in life, from taking more responsibility to the opportunity to grow materially and spiritually. Human life is experienced in three states: physical, composed of matter and energy; subtle, composed of mind, intelligence and ego; and causal, composed of soul and spirit. The beauty of the Vedic ceremonies lies in the fact that they invoke the union of two individuals at all three states of human experience.

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