Glory of Womanhood

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Glory of womanhood

 

In this country of Bharat was born Savitri,the woman of chastity,Who could fight with Yama, the God of Death,and bring back to life her dead husband.In this country of Bharat was born Chandramathi,

the paragon of virtue,Who suffered the terrible ordealsof her husband, Harischandra.Sita, the devoted consort of Ramaand the divine daughter of Mother Earth,Who demonstrated her chastity by coming out of

blazing fire unscathed, was born in this Bharat.Damayanthi, also a woman of pristine purity andchastity, who stood by her husband NalaThrough thick and thin, was born inthe sacred land of Bharat.

 

Embodiments of Love! This Bharat is the land of sanctity andchastity, which has given birth to such great women of exceptionalcharacter, who lent glory to Bharat as a nation of heroicwomen.

 

From ancient times, the presiding deity of Gayathri mantra,Gayathri Devi, has been worshipped as the Mother of theVedas, which are held as the most ancient and authoritativescriptures of wisdom. Gayathri mantra originated in this holy

land. The glory of this mantra has spread all over the world.The people of Bharat have worshipped Gayathri in severalways and have redeemed their lives. Gayathri has been worshippedin four forms: (1) Sathyavathi, (2) Angavath,i (3) Anyavathi,

and (4) Nidhanavathi. All the four are equally sacred,and elicit limitless grace of the Divine.

 

The first one, Sathyavathi, signifies the existence of Atmain every being, just as butter is present in every drop of milk. Itproclaims, "Ekatma sarvabhutantaratma (One Atma is presentin all beings)." There is one Sath (truth), which is spoken of in

many ways by the wise.

 

The second one is Angavathi, which signifies the five elementspresent in all beings and also the five senses of hearing,touch, vision, taste, and smell. There is nothing in this worldthat is not composed of the five elements. This Angavathi is

pancha bhuta swarupa (the embodiment of the five basic elements).The third one, Anyavathi, refers to the attributes of the differentforms of the Divine. For example, Lord Siva is associatedwith trident, three eyes, etc. Vishnu is always described as

having conch, discus, mace, and so on. We call him Sankhachakragadapani.Ganapathi is identified by his elephant face and big belly.He is first to be worshipped in all rituals. Saraswathi is describedas one with veena in hand, through which she is

 

teaching the Divine sound principle as Nadabrahma. Thus Anyavathisignifies the different constituents of the forms of theDivine.

 

Nidhanavathi, the fourth, teaches the nine types of worship,namely, sravanam (hearing), keerthanam (singing theglory of God), smaranam (thinking of the names of God), padasevanam (service), vandanam (prostration), archanam (worship),

dasyam (servitude), sakhyam (friendship), and atmanivedanam(surrender).

The world is symbolised by these four forms of Gayathri.That is why it is described as Nature (Prakriti), a female form(Sthri). We refer to our native country as motherland.The importance attached to women in Bharat

Bharat (India) has always accorded a high place to womenas the upholders of all social virtues. The very fact that inmentioning the names of the divine couples like Vishnu andLakshmi, Siva and Parvathi, the name of the consort is given

the first place, as in Lakshmi Narayana, Uma Maheswara,shows what importance Bharatiyas (people of Bharat) attachedto women.

People generally speak of women as the weaker sex. Atlast, now Bharatiyas recognize that women cannot be consideredas weak. The woman in charge of the home plays themain role in bringing good name and fame to the home. Not

only in respect of individual homes but also in the good nameof the country and the world the woman plays the main role.From ancient times, woman has been accorded a high place inthe society.

The scriptures have ascribed seven virtues to women as aclass: sathya (truth), prema (love), dharma (righteousness),santhi (peace), sahana (tolerance), ananda (bliss), svanubhuti(spirituality).

 

The woman at home has been held in high esteem as Grihalakshmi,the goddess of prosperity of the home. When herhusband faces difficulties, the wife readily shares the burdenand is prepared to do anything, to undergo any suffering or

even sacrifice her life for the welfare of her husband and thefamily. It is the woman of the home who is behind the goodreputation of the home. The woman is the embodiment of sacrifice.

Though the male counterpart may also do sacrifice, itwill be with a selfish tinge, while the woman's sacrifice is absolutelyselfless. Therefore, we should be proud of our women.

 

High status of women in ancient India

If Bharatiya culture and morality have survived despitelong periods of foreign rule, it is to no small measure due tothe courage and fortitude of the nation's women. As the earlierspeaker, Dr. Geetha Reddy, has pointed out, women shine as

soldiers with the weapons of sathya and dharma. They will notnormally tell lies. There may be occasions when a few of themmay do so unknowingly. But, by and large, they as a class upholdtruth and righteous conduct. They follow the Vedic injunction,

Sathyam vada, dharmam chara (speak the truth andpractice righteousness).

Once, King Janaka conducted a discussion regarding themost suitable person who should confer honour on him as ascholar. Even though there were great sages and highly learnedscholars like Yajnavalkya in the assembly, he decided that

Gargi was the fittest person from whom he should receive it.This is an example to prove how women have been held inhigh esteem from ancient times by ordinary citizens and kingstoo. While women were held in high esteem in ancient times,

in later years there was a decline in their status, and even asceticsdenied proper recognition to them.

 

For instance, when sage Mathanga wanted to admit the

great woman devotee Sabari into his ashram, many of his disciples who were renunciants raised objection. But the noble

Mathanga recognized the extraordinary merit of Sabari's chastity,

sincere devotion, and dedication toward pursuit of liberation

and admitted her to his ashram. She finally proved to the world how devoted she was to Rama and how she got liberated

after worshipping Him true to the teachings of sage Mathanga.

 

Women's role in home and society

 

Because of the evil influence of modern education, people

consider women as toys and tend to treat them as puppets. The

women have very auspicious and noble qualities. But men consider

them as cooks to be confined to the kitchen and the four

walls of the house. What they forget is that women not only

manage the affairs of the family but also look after the health

and well-being of all the members of the household.

 

The Government has now started conferring the honorific

titles of Padmashri, Padmabhushan, etc,. on its chosen citizens.

But women have had more respectable and valuable titles of

Grihalakshmi (the goddess of prosperity of the home), Dharmapathni (devoted wife), Ardhangi (the better half), etc. They

had these titles because of their good qualities and spirit of sacrifice.

Questions are raised like who will look after the home if

women go to offices and who will teach her children if the

mother goes to school to teach other children, and so on. Some

say that though the woman goes to work to solve the financial

problem, bigger problems may have to be confronted by her

going to work. But, in the modern world, it is necessary for the

women to share the burden of maintaining the family with their

husbands, so the women should also pursue studies as much as

possible and take up suitable jobs to share the burden of the

family. It would smack of selfishness if the males prevent them

from going to work for which they have acquired the requisite

qualifications.

 

Women can control the whole world by themselves by

virtue of their inherent qualities of love and spirit of sacrifice

(prema bhava and thyaga bhava). Anger is alien to women,

and it is more rampant in men. Though there may be instances

when a woman may give vent to anger, such occasions are few

and far between while in men the reverse in the case.

Savitri fought with the God of Death (Yama) and succeeded

in getting her husband back to life. Can you find any

instance in the scriptures or history where a husband was prepared

to do sacrifice for his wife? If the wife is dead, he is

ready to have a second marriage. Such unfair things are happening

in the world in respect of women. That is why it was

decided to celebrate not only 19 November but the 19th of

every month as Mahila Day.

 

Women are the heirs of our ancient culture. Culture meansrefinement. Women are the torch-bearers of refinement andthey are toiling for the emancipation of the nation.exploits of great women in the battlefield like Rani of Jhansi,

who fought a terrific battle and gave up her life rather than surrendering to the foe whenshe was overpowered. She lived up to the teachings of the Ve

das that only through sacrifice can one attain liberation. Evenin this Kali Age, there may be some exceptional cases wherewomen may not be following sathya and dharma. But mostlythey live up to these ideals.

 

 

However, they are not encouraged to show their ability.Even in the family, they have to face obstacles and confrontations.If women are given due recognition and encouragement,they will shine with brilliance in all fields and will serve

the house, country, and the entire world gloriously, contributingto the welfare of the entire humanity.

 

Women show dedication and sincereity in workNo doubt, there may be a few who may not be having goodqualities characteristic of a woman. But in any class of society,this is inescapable. Take, for example, the orange fruit. In order

to enjoy the juice you have to peel out the bitter portions ofthe outer skin and seeds. Even so, the fruit of human life hasmuch bitter portions as outer skin. You have to remove thisand weed out the seeds of bad qualities, so that you can taste

the sweet juice inside.

If man follows the example of the woman to imbibe sacredand sacrificial qualities, the world will definitely improve.They say "Udhyogam purusha lakshanam (a man is known byhis job)", as though only males can do jobs. It is a misnomer.

Women are also doing all types of jobs equal to men. In fact,women work more sincerely and with dedication.

 

Nowhere in any sacred text is it stated that women shouldonly cook and not do work like men.

As a matter of fact, even man has to learn cooking andhouse-keeping to help his wife in times of need. Awareness islife. Awareness means total knowledge and not partial knowledge.This enthusiasm is full in women. Even men should

make effort to learn everything.

 

Women have hidden power immanent in them. You haveto encourage them to exhibit their talents. An army commander,who makes all sepoys in the army shiver before him,shivers before his wife when she confronts him after he

reaches home. Similarly, the principal of an institution, beforewhom the students may shiver with fear, may himself feelshiver going down his spine when confronted by his wife foran explanation why he came late.

 

God makes no distinctions

 

Generally, the term Purusha is taken to mean only males,basing on physical form. It is not true. Purusha represents theAtma or Chaitanya in all, which is in the body from top to toe.Purusharthas (prime goals of life) are four, namely, dharma,

artha, kama, and moksha (right conduct, wealth, desire, andliberation). This does not apply only to males. It is common toboth males and females.

Actually, women follow the fundamental Dharma truly,while men act selfishly. One who realizes divinity is Purusha.Swadharma means Atmadharma, not the dharma pertaining tothe body. This is explained in the Bhagavad Gita. This was the

ideal followed by the ancients.

Artha does not merely mean wealth or money. It meanswealth of wisdom. Both men and women have the right to experiencenon-duality, which is real wisdom.

Kama is the desire not for worldly objects but for God.

 

Moksha (liberation) is the fourth objective of life. Desire for moksha is common to all, whether men or women. Moksha

is moha kshaya or shedding of bodily attachment. Without following the senses or mind, if you follow conscience, you

can progress toward moksha.

Women should be encouraged to play their roles

In order to teach the subtleties of the scriptural texts, and

encourage women to play their role in society, 19th is fixed as

Mahila Day. Dharma can be made to occupy its position in society and restored to its pristine glory only by women. But

men also have equal right and they should participate in this

mighty and sacred effort so that the country will prosper. Even

if men don't actively participate, they should at least let the

women do the work without interference.

 

Krishna said in the Gita, "Ananyaschinthayantho maam ye janah paryupasathe (whoever worships me: to the exclusion of all others),thesham: nithyabhiyukthanam yogakshemam vahamyaham (I look after the welfare of such unwavering devotees)."

This is an assurance to one and all with no distinctions

of any kind. Everyone should cultivate a similar sense of universality.

 

The Divine is omnipresent. Differences based on caste,

creed, sex, or nationality have to be given up. God has no distinctions.

 

You should also practice this principle of equality.

 

God is everywhere. You cannot restrict Him to your narrow

limits as though He is confined only to the form contained

in your small picture frame. It is a folly to think so. He has

thousands of forms and names. When you are doing Sahasranama archana (worshipping the thousand names of the Lord) you mention each of the thousand names and offer a

flower. All are offered to only that one picture and not to thousands

of pictures. All may refer to one God only. You may say

Allah, Jesus, Rama or Krishna and so on. But all refer to only

one God. If you say the form you worship is the only God, youare limiting the Infinite to a narrow finite entity.

Give up all religious differences. There is only one religion,that of love, There is only one caste, that of humanity.There is only one language, that of the heart. I spoke earlier ofthe four parts of Gayathri and five elements. All are divine.

They have no caste or creed or any such difference.

If you realize the unity, you get purity and divinity. Youare forgetting this and breed feelings of enmity and community.God has no such distinction of community, nationality orsex. In ancient times, they did not have such differences. Do

not give room for any such feelings. God is one and everyonein this world has equal right to enjoy His Grace.

 

 

 

 

 

 

dotcompals: www.dotcompals.in .Org domain Names for just 2.5 USDKrishna PrasadDare to give up the comfort of the 'known' and venture into the 'unknown' The more we know, the more we will come to realize what we do not know.If we want to achieve our true potential and live life to the fullest. As Poojya Gurudev said it, "Open your eyes. Burst your shell. Spread your wings and fly!"Swami ChinmayanandaHate not the sinner - hate the sin; and always hate the sin even with an excess of hatred. "