Guest guest Posted October 30, 1999 Report Share Posted October 30, 1999 ~~~~~~om shanthi om ~~~~~~ Excerpted from the Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna p.125 Sunday 1/11/99 The Master Said: " When you plunge in the water of the ocean, you may be attacked by alligators. But they won't touch you if your body is smeared with Turmeric. There are no doubt six alligators - lust, anger, avarice, and so on - within you, in the 'heart's fathomless depths'. But protect yourself with the turmeric of discrimination and renunciation, and they won't touch you. " om tat sat ~~~~~~om shanthi om ~~~~~~ Re: Message: 10 Fri, 29 Oct 1999 13:15:38 -0400 Amy S Beckhusen <ab004f goddess in Hindu society I am an American woman who studies Hinduism, but I have never been to India. I am fascinated by the relationship between women and religion and I am perplexed by the structures of Indian society in this regard. I don't understand why Hinduism, a tradition which so greatly reveres the feminine force of creation, Shakti, could be so oppressive towards women?> Obviously, it is an oversimplification to assume that religion singularly and directly influences cultural ideas. However, it seems illogical to me that in the Hindu Religion, women and/or female archetypal symbols play more of a dominant role than in many other major world religions and yet at the same time there is a very serious problem with violence and oppression towards women. Do archetypes of woman as destroyer (Kali) get negatively associated with women? Are other cultural values strongly influenced by religion that would enforce the illogical nature of this dichotomy? Why do you think the reverence of Durga, Kali, Lakshmi, and Sarasvati, etc... isn't expressed towards Hindu women? Do Hindu men and women in India identify with their faith in different ways? If anyone has feedback about this, I would be really appreciative! -Amy ______________ Hi Amy, Perhaps the following article, written by a neice of Mary Baker Eddy, will help you to understand the position of women in eastern society: Ora Ray Baker, the mother of Noor-un-nisa, was born in Albuquerque, New Mexico, on May 8th, 1890. She married Noor's father, professor Inayat Khan in 1913. The following brief article was written by her, admirably illustrating her convictions, concerning the seclusion of women in south asian culture: ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ WOMEN'S SECLUSION IN THE EAST By Begum Inayat Khan ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ God is hidden in the vision, truth in the world unseen, the soul is hidden in the body, and love's tender feeling in the heart; so is woman, for all that is most precious is protected by nature from the sight of man. It sounds strange to us in the west when we hear of the Purdah women who still observe the Zenana customs in this civilized age. After giving the question further thought we find that seclusion originated amongst mystics, who not only close their lips from speech, but also seclude themsleves in grass huts, forests and caves in the mountains. The Khalifs and leaders of ancient times veiled their faces in order to preserve their magnetism and a commanding personality. Even the present day royalties of both east and west, as well as the more important personages throughout the world, expose themsleves much less than people in general. Another benefit of the Zenana is the consideration of motherhood and its responsibilities. The mother being the moulder of the child's character and form, it is most necessary for her to be away from the world, avoiding all undesirable impressions, worries and anxieties of life, in order for her thoughts to dwell upon naught else but love, harmony and beauty. She must also at all times avoid all excitements and irritabilities. This is really the most important reason for which seclusion was adopted. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Read more of Pir Inayat Khan @ URL http://www.angelfire.com/bc/Begumnoorconnection/pirinayat.html In honour of our fallen soldiers, on this upcoming REMEMBRANCE DAY, please visit the following site: Read about Princess Noor-un-nisa Inayat Khan, highly decorated heroine of WW II @ URL http://www.indiadiscovery.com/homepage/begumnoor/ om shanthi om +om Angelfire for your free web-based e-mail. http://www.angelfire.com Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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