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They Call Marriage a Union. The Gita Calls It Two People Trapped in Maya
Times Life | August 28, 2025 6:39 AM CST

Marriage is celebrated as a union, a coming together of two souls in perfect harmony. We are told it is the culmination of love, the reward for finding “the one.” Yet, the Bhagavad Gita quietly tells a different story: it is two people entering a shared illusion, Maya, where attachment and identity are constantly tested, where the very notion of possession becomes an exercise in self-deception.

The Illusion We Call “Togetherness”

Marriage reflects desires, insecurities, and the impermanence of attachments.


We enter marriage with expectations shaped by fairy tales and social scripts. We believe love alone will bridge differences, silence disagreements, and keep our hearts forever in sync. The Gita reminds us that nothing in life truly belongs to us, not our bodies, not our time, not even the people we love. Marriage, then, is a conscious experiment in holding on while knowing that all connections are ultimately impermanent.
In this sense, marriage is less a promise of eternal bliss and more a mirror. It reflects our desires, insecurities, and illusions back at us. It challenges our patience, tests our humility, and exposes the ways we cling to control. The more we insist on shaping our partner into our idea of perfection, the further we move from reality and the more we suffer.

Love as a Practice, Not a Guarantee

True love requires presence, detachment, courage, and conscious awareness.


The Gita frames love not as ownership, but as conscious awareness. True connection is a practice of presence: showing up without expectation, acting without attachment, and accepting what is without resentment. This is difficult. It requires courage, reflection, and the willingness to face the parts of ourselves we often hide.
Marriage, in this light, becomes a spiritual practice as much as a social contract. Every argument, every compromise, every small act of understanding becomes a lesson in surrender, not to the other person, but to life itself.

Freedom Within the Union

Letting go of control creates space for authenticity and intimacy.


Ironically, the more we recognize the illusory nature of attachment, the freer we become. When we stop trying to possess, control, or “own” love, we allow space for growth, for authenticity, and for deeper intimacy. The Gita’s teaching does not strip marriage of joy, it deepens it. It shows us that love is not about merging into one, but about walking together with awareness, compassion, and clarity.
Marriage, then, is not a trap, it is a profound opportunity. It is an invitation to confront illusion, to learn patience, to cultivate detachment without losing connection, and to transform ordinary life into conscious living.

The Quiet TruthSo yes, marriage is a union, but it is also a reflection of our inner world. Two people do not simply come together; they meet their own illusions, face their own attachments, and discover the subtle, hidden layers of freedom within the shared journey.
The Gita teaches us: it is not the bond itself that grants happiness, it is the awareness with which we walk the path together. And in that awareness lies the truest, most lasting kind of love.


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