Amma encourages women and chastises men

[Guest guest]

>From the Hindu Press International list and the May 16

edition of the Hindustan Times, some excerpts from

Amma's speech last fall in Geneva/

 

 

Ammaji Encourages Women and Chastises Men

http://www.hindustantimes.com/news/printedition/160503/detFAI03.shtml

 

GENEVA, SWITZERLAND, May 19, 2003: Excerpted from H.H.

Mata Amritanandamayi Devi's speech at the Global Peace

Initiative of Women Spiritual Leaders: "Captivity is

in the mind. Look at the elephant, which can uproot

huge trees with its trunk. When an elephant living in

captivity is still a baby, it is tied to a tree with a

strong rope or a chain. Because it is the nature of

elephants to roam free, the baby elephant

instinctively tries to break free. But it isn't strong

enough to do so. Realizing its efforts are useless, it

finally gives up. When

this elephant grows up, it can be tied to a small tree

with a thin rope. It could then easily free itself by

uprooting the tree or breaking the rope. But because

its mind has been conditioned by its

prior experiences, it doesn't make any attempt to

break free. This is what is happening to women.

Society does not allow women to rise. It has created a

blockage, preventing this great strength from pouring

forth. In a village there lived a deeply spiritual

woman who found immense happiness in serving others.

She was soon made a priest by the

villagers. Since she was the first woman priest in the

area, the male priests didn't like it at all. One day,

all the priests were invited to a religious gathering

at a place three hours away by boat. On boarding the

boat, the priests discovered that the woman was also

invited. The boat set off, but an hour later the motor

died and the boat stopped. There was no petrol. Nobody

knew what to do. At this point, the woman priest stood

up and said, 'Don't worry, I'll go and fetch some

fuel.' She stepped out of the boat and began to walk

on the water. The priests were astonished, but were

quick to remark, 'Look at her! She doesn't even know

how to swim!' This is the attitude of men in general.

They are conditioned to belittle and condemn the

achievements of women. Men

treat women like potted plants, making it impossible

for them to grow to their full potential. In ancient

India, the Sanskrit word a husband used to address his

wife were patni (the one who leads the husband

through life); dharmapatni (the one who guides her

husband on the path of dharma or righteousness and

responsibility); and sahadharmacharini (the one who

moves together with her husband on the path of

dharma). All these terms imply that traditionally

women were meant to enjoy the same status as men in

society, or perhaps even a higher one. In reality, all

men are a part of women. Every child first lies in the

mother's womb as a part of the woman's very being.

Women are essentially mothers, the creators of life.

Is God a man or a woman? The answer to that question

is that God is neither male nor female. God is "That."

But if you insist on God having a gender, then God is

more female than male because the masculine is always

contained within the feminine. Masculine energy is

static. A man's mind easily becomes obsessed with his

thoughts and actions. The mind and intellect of a man

usually get struck in the work that he does, and

because of this, most men cannot separate their

professional life from the family life. Feminine

energy, on the other hand, is fluid like a river.

That's why each woman has a dharma towards the world

and to herself. Along with

men, she should shoulder equal responsibility in the

growth and development of society."

 

 

 

 

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