Women in Hindu Dharma

"A bad son maybe be born but there is no such thing as a bad mother"

This piece of write-up is a series of posts that will follow in the coming days on Women’s Roles in Modern and Ancient India. Stalking/rape of Women aired on TV, dowry harassment reported in the press, and stupid talk of mindless Feminism by educated women forced me to write the below one. I am trying to be sincere in presenting my views without any prejudice. Neither, I am against Men nor Women, If at all I have to stand against anything, then I would fight all “isms”. Be it Male-Chauvin"ism” or Femin"ism” . Both are hindrances to the existence of a Happy family. And both the above "ism’s” are worst than Nazism.

Apart from this, the other subject I want to venture into in coming posts is the diabolical claims of so-called equal rights by educated women, who feels that working somewhere and getting a paycheck gives them real freedom. This has been the one of root causes of heartburn between couples. In fact, this is the social chaos created by the neo-economic policies wherein she has to work to meet the family's needs. Let these Women understand sooner, that in a family there are responsibilities, not rights. I will get into this subject in another write-up.

Mother is first god, then father, then guru...

The importance of the mother in Hinduism reveals that women were regarded highly. Hindu scriptures preach that women are eternal mothers, full of Love and compassion, and shud be revered. Many parts of the Vedas were written by women. The wives of great rishis such as Gautama, Agastya, etc. all had wives who were their equals and authored many scripts. Hindu women enjoyed greater freedom before the invasion of India by Muslims. “Swayamvaram,” the concept of choosing her own Groom tells the freedom she enjoyed in olden Vedic days.

In Ancient Hindu – India, women were treated on par with Men. Courage, Valour, and Strength were feminine and was represented by Women. Goddess Durga Mata was one such symbol of Shakti, The Power. Hindu Scripture says, that all the power in this Universe comes from Shakti, The Mother. Hindus believe that the Universe was created at the behest of Gayatri Mata, again a Woman. Lord Brahma whom we often credit with the creation of the Universe is just an tool in the hands of “Shakti”.

Many of the Holy scripture in India were written by women. Women were rulers too, not just rulers they went into the battlefield and fought with the enemy. Rukmini fought for her husband Sri Krishna, in fact, she saved his life. How can one forget the Heroic episode of Jhansi Ki Rani, Laksmi Bhai? It clearly shows that Hindu Women were not confined to Kitchens. They were Rulers, Warriors, Poetess, and Spiritualists and excelled better than men in many fields.

Hindu scriptures are the only religious texts which gave the status of Divinity to Mothers. Hindu texts say that God has created Woman coz God cannot be visible every time and one can see God himself in her. I remember reading a Sanskrit Sloka from ancient Hindu Scriptures in my childhood days, “Janani  Janmabhoomisha Swargadapi Gariyasi”, which meant “Mother and Motherland are greater than Heavens “. Where wud you find such a beautiful saying which says even Heaven is not equal to Mother. That’s the respect a woman use to get in ancient Hindu India.

"Let women be always propitiated (worshipped) by their fathers and brothers, by their husbands and the brothers of their husbands, in other words, they should speak sweetly to them and provide them with good food, nice clothes, and ornaments, and thereby keep them happy. Those who seek great prosperity and happiness should never inflict pain on women." 

~ Manu ( Hindu Law Giver) Manu Smrithi 3: 55 (Hindu Law Book).

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But everything changed once Hindu India went under the foreign rule of Muslims and Christian Britishers. Many malpractices creeped into our Hindu system. When the Mughals invaded us, with them they bought the Supremacy of Men as told in their Holy Book Quran. Later, during British rule, the misinterpretation of the caste system proved costly to Womanhood. The real suppression has started from here.

Women should understand that physical equality by all means is not possible. The feministic meaningless approach to Equality & Fight for Rights in the family has dampened the relationships. In a family, there are no Rights but Responsibilities.

Feminism has done more damage than reviving the quality of Women in Modern society. Talk of superior Rights led to the disintegration of Families. If Feministic equality is all about money, power & position then this Western concept is not applicable to Bharatiya culture. In India respect & dignity are more important than physical or materialistic equality.

What does equality mean ?? Aping the Men ??? Dressing like men, smoking/boozing like men, hair-cut like men, roaming around like men ??? By doing so in the name of Equality aren't women trying to look like Men and in turn losing their own identity. What kind of pride do feminists get by imitating Men? Why in the name of Equality Woman should forego being her own self?? Modern Women should understand, Being themselves does not lower their outlook or dignity.

But what is the status of Women in modern India? Who is to blame for their sorry state ??? Definitely, it's a chauvinist mindset. It's the egoistic dirty tribe of Media & Capitalists, which have degraded the dignity of Women. In the modern world, these materialists to continue their supremacy have downgraded Women by showcasing them as Sex objects. This is a clever ploy invented by the materialist world and spread very fast across the globe. This theory has taken such deep roots that plucking out has become next to impossible.

Revere your Mother as God

~ Taittiriya Upanishad

Who is to blame for such a rising tide of Male chauvinism and Feminism in modern India? The answer is simple, partly it's MOTHER. I am not cleverly passing the blame on the Woman (mother) . Don’t you guys think the discrimination against women starts before the birth of a Girl child, almost in the Womb? How many Mothers have discarded a Girl child with abortion, for their Love for a Male child? Maybe a mother does it under compulsion from her Husband or In-Laws, but with such disease in mind how gender equality is possible???

My request to all Mothers (and yet-to-be Mothers) is not to discriminate against sons and daughters at home. Teach your son to respect his sister in general and Women in particular. Do not pamper your son to such an extent that he keeps thinking of himself as a “Prince". Never side with your Son when they fight, be neutral.

Never make your daughter do your son's work at home. Tell him to do it all by himself. Make your son do household chores, otherwise, he feels that all the kitchen work is only for Women. Teach him how to cook, this way he will understand the hardships of cooking, otherwise, he will feel it's just 30 min’s playful work. Moreover, it's important to learn, once he is married, he can be helpful to his wife as well.

The most important thing is to discuss his academics, sports, and politics( if he is interested) with him, coz, these are considered General Knowledge. Don’t send him to his Daddy Dear when he has doubts over those topics. If so, he feels that Daddy is intelligent and Mummy is Dumb, and his Sister is Dumbest. So, Mothers update your IQ skills. Let the Boy know that his Mother too is an “Knowledge Bank “ and thus Intelligent.

When it's for some sort of “decision-making”, get yourself involved. Even if he which movie to go or which location to move to for a vacation, just doesn’t leave it to his daddy. Again the danger of him assuming that Women are not part of decision-making is high and presumes that only Men have to decide and make women follow.

Lastly, teach him all about Hindu culture and the role of women in ancient Hindu Dharma. I am an Agnostic, I don’t believe in GOD, still, I suggest you take him to Temples and Historical places to make him understand the rich heritage he is born into. Show him/her the picture of Durga Mata with ten hands all decorated with lethal arms, and make him understand that women in the olden days were warriors and used arms to safeguard Dharma. Tell him the stories of Jhansi ki Rani and she dares to fight for the country.

Male chauvinism and Feminism are both harmful to the harmonious existence of the family system. The art of Male & Female relationships should not be weighed under the equal rights nor on economic freedom of Women. Where Mutual understanding, dignity and responsibility will alone save the gender conflict that we often see among newly wedded couples. Strengthen one's relationship with trust and reciprocate the feeling, this alone will save the family system.

Bharateeya women especially the younger ones are in dilemma whether to follow the fashionable inherently failing Western model or the subtle but silently succeeding Bharateeya model. Often, Women are carried away by the vociferous advocates of women's Libs and now find themselves at crossroads - whether to earn Rights or earn Reverence, whether to be Liberated or to be Venerated.

The sacred bond of Man & Woman has come under considerable strain bringing its wake, several aberrations. Along with class conflict, caste prejudice, and communal bigotry, we have a gender war going on. There is male chauvinism, now encountered by female chauvinism.

The pious relationship has been subjected to an unhealthy debate verging on vulgarity, to say the least. involved. The Media and pseudo-social reformers are having a heyday inciting one against the other with no personal stakes

Not all Women are innocent, and Not all Men are violent. The Gender war is not in the interest of the Family. Gender equality can be addressed through traditional family values prevalent to changes in the present social condition. Mother Nature has defined the roles for men & women, let's abide by it with current societal changes. One has to remember that it’s the Family that holds the society, if the family is tampered upon with brutal assault of gender liberation then there might not be any society nor any values. Let us not our intelligence get clouded by Male or Female chauvinism. May good sense prevail and harmony in families flourish.

I felt I should address this Feminism topic a bit more. I hate it as much I hate Socialism or Communism. Infantilism's are bad. I sincerely wish Hindu Women does not fall for such "misandry".

Do not precipitate of having a notion me taking sides or discriminating on gender topic. I always side with women forgetting what they did to me. I RESPECT the fairer sex as much I respect myself. If i hate any, then its Feminism preachers ( & also male chauvinists). As a Male , I reject Male chauvinism, equality can not be achieved by ghetto thinking of "us & them", it should be viewed as Human rights. One should understand that, Total equality does not exist anywhere in the world.

To survive one does not have to break traditionalism and inject ugliness in the name of activism or revolution, there would be a backlash for certain . Equality among men and women is OK but on what platforms , this can be debated. Let the women understand forever, MEN are powerful ANIMAL's . Equality on all fronts is just impossible. BTW why should we discuss EQUALITY among men & women ? Who are the givers and who are the takers among them ?? I feel one should have RESPECT for each other and it would solve all the gender problems.

There is lot of difference between a modern Man and Woman's greed . Man gets greedy to protect his Family from starvation and give them prosperous life. Where as Woman greed is too personal , most of the time she do it for her fame and success. For a Man, his Kids & Wife come first, for greedy woman its her Success & Fame . That what i was trying to say, gender EQUALITY is not possible on lot of platforms. Its good to acknowledge that Man & Woman are 2 different species, recognize their space and respect it.

My observation of fairer sex is women who are less emotional and more greedy for money, fame & better life, always choose a loser for a life partner. Maybe it has to do with their inflated Ego or they know the truth that they can't handle the real Man. All such greedy women have now taken to activism to seek fame & attention. How would those who do not understand the importance of family will reform their own gender in the name of equality?

Why don't they try and reform themselves instead of being divisive and disturb harmony among Men & Women in the name of Feminism? Instead, should vouch for Egalitarianism and its basic tenets of harmonious equality without playing victimhood.

My Take:: Dear activists, you do not become stronger by constantly attacking men as villains. Do not exemplify men as less precious. Because you are a woman that does not automatically make you victim . Its high time you understand that you are pretty responsible for your actions. You as a Feminist harming women more than all men did to her since evolution. Gender equality by and large is possible provided we respect each others rights.