India is a feminine
country. …A country whose very identity is in womanliness! The word “India”
alone may not always strike a chord in every heart. But, every Indian’s heart
swells with pride and love and gratitude and devotion by the very mention of
the words “Mother India”. Her motherliness makes her so dear to all of us!
India, as a country and a culture, is a great, grand celebration of womanhood,
and so are the lives of the women of this great land.
Many a historian will tell
us the glory of the highly commendable contribution of women towards the
civilization and the people.
She is not just the hand
that has rocked the cradle of phenomenal men like Rama, Krishna, Vivekananda,
Shivaji, Gandhi and Kalam, but also the catalytic force behind many significant
spiritual and cultural leaps in the life of this country.
The Rig Veda, the earliest
literature in the world, contains as many as twenty-seven hymn composed by
women-seers found in Sarvaanukramanikaa.
The knowledge and
understanding of these women have very often been so empowering that
contemplation on their experiences alone has proved to be a highly uplifting
experience for many seekers.
In fact, in the later age,
teaching by woman scholars became very common and many sages and seekers of
those times are known to have great women-Gurus.
In fact, in the Vedic age,
we have evidence that women shared in the intellectual interests of the day, as
is exemplified by Yajnavalkya’s two wives, one of whom was deeply interested in
his philosophical discussions.
Women in the Vedic times
had exactly the same privileges about Vedic initiation and Vedic studies as
men. Women in Vedic India, as those in Homeric Greece, were actively
cooperating men in their work by manufacturing bows, arrows and cloth and
participating in agriculture. Women in the Vedic age were useful and
wealth-producing members of the society; their cooperation was valuable in
securing prosperity in peace and victory in war. Dance, music, poetry and the
arts were developed extensively by the women of this age, and they excelled in many performing and
literary art forms. Except actual warfare and political administration, which
in those days required physical strength, women were equal contributors in all
fields of work. Since women were following all outdoor professions as well,
there was naturally no purdah in the society. Women were given utmost
freedom to the extent that some of the hymns contributed by them, which have
even found place in the Vedic canons, have been frank and honest expressions of
womanly passion and desire. Women also had the rights of inheritance, financial
rights and all legal rights in their favour.
We are told in the Atharva
Samhita that “by Vedic studentship a girl wins a young husband.” This shows that high education was regarded
as a necessary accomplishment for being well placed in life. Even in the later Vedic age we hear of two
classes of educated women: 1. Sadyodwaahaas, who pursued their studies till
their marriage and 2. Brahmavaadiniis, who did not marry and pursued their
studies throughout life.
Women were also keen to
make their contribution to the literary and religious life. They did not lag
behind men in anything. Women performed Vedic sacrifices and participated in
philosophical discussions. In fact many women were regarded as rishis or seers,
i.e., composers of hymns, and some of the hymns in the Rig Samhita are also
attributed to women. It is interesting to note in this connection that the list
of great Vedic teachers to whom tribute of respect had to be paid at the time
of Brahmayajna, includes the names of some ladies viz. Gaargii, Vaachaknavii,
Vadavaa Praathitheyii, Sulabhaa Maitreyi.
The Devi Sukta which
forms the basis of the devotion of the devotees of the Mother Goddess is said to
have been composed by the woman seer Vach in a highly exalted state, whose
lofty inspiration has, thus, given it a high place in the history of Indian
thought.
Lopamudra, Apala,
Vishwavara, Sikata, Nivavari and Ghosha are some of the other famous women whose
names have been preserved in Vedic literature.
These women stand as equal
partners with men in gifting to the world the great Vedic revelations, which
form the very basis of the philosophical and cultural thought of the country.
These facts indeed have
great value by way of showing how far the Indian culture had marched forward in
its progressive career since the primitive days. It may be stated without any hesitation that
the general position and status of Indian women in the Vedic age was much higher
than in any other ancient society that we know of, those Greece and Rome not
excluded.
If the women in the Vedas
and Upanishads studied complex metaphysical principles, contemplated on the
Highest Truth and revealed supreme theories of life to the world, women in the
great epics of India personified the ideal and practical implications of these
revelations.
As Sita, she exemplified
devotion and chastity. As Radha, she epitomized love and determination. As
Shabari, she became the goddess of patience and surrender. As Yashoda, she
showed the largeness of a Mother’s heart. As Draupadi, she became the
embodiment of courage and sensibility.
The Ramayana, the
Mahabharata and the Bhagvadam are resplendent with a galaxy of great women of
strength, substance and sense. Whether it was Tara and Mandodari or the simple
Gopis of Brindavan…volumes and volumes can be learnt from the mere depth of
maturity and wisdom out of which these great women of India lived and thought.
Here, we are not even
elaborating the immense contribution of that these women have towards the lives
of the great men of their age as their mothers, wives, sisters and even as
friends. That immeasurable contribution set apart, on their own rights alone,
these women have practiced a graceful balance of emotions and practicality,
pleasure and spirituality, love and knowledge.
These are no insignificant
contributions. Even today, the stories of these people are narrated as part of
the cultural education of our children in many homes of India. The entire
social fabric of India is intact only because of the values and principles
lived and taught by the men and women of these times.
From 600 AD to 1800 AD the
Pauranika religion prescribing a number of vratas(religious rites) and
shanties(palliative rites) rose in ascendancy during this period. It is
pleasing to note that women were regarded as fully qualified for it. As a matter of fact, the new vratas that
became popular at this time were more common among women who were its real
custodians. Classical Sanskrit in which
Puranas and Smritis were written, ceased to be intelligible by 1000 AD.
Vernaculars gradually rose into prominence and the epics and puranas,
translated into them used to be expounded every morning in the village temples
from 1500AD. The audience was overwhelmingly that of women. Women thus became the real custodians of the
religion which had pronounced them to be outcastes as far as Vedic privileges
were concerned. The Bhakti(Devotion)
school became very popular by 1500 AD and women became its ardent admirers and
followers. Owing to the absence of
higher intellectual training, women became remarkably credulous by
temperament. Among the saints of the new
Bhakti Marga several women occupy a high position: Mirabai of Rajputana and
Janabai of Maharashtra will long continue to cast a charm on us by their songs
of intense devotion.
In Modern times, to
streamline the flow of this knowledge in the right direction, our great land
has been blessed with women saints and scholars like Anusuya, Lilavati,
Kshanavati, Tilakavati, Andal, Hemalata, Sharada Devi, Maa Amritanandamayee and
many more. These women saints and scholars have from time to time contributed
immensely in bringing a fresh feel to the entire culture and reviving it to a
new glory altogether. Such great work has been initiated and taken forward by
these women-saints, who are today regarded as some of the significant cultural
leaders of their regions and the country as whole.
Had it not been for their
contribution, their love and compassion, perhaps we would be witnesses to a
different face of our culture today.
Vedanta is the great
science, which talks about the Oneness of all beings irrespective of all gender
and sex differences. This supreme science of life clearly states that both the
man and the women are essentially the same life-force, which may be called God.
They may appear different at physical and emotional levels, but spiritually
there is no difference at all.
From the stand point of
Vedanta, a woman too is essentially the same God-principle as a man. Vedanta
proudly declares that SHE is God. This is supreme equality.
How rightly is it said,
“Yatra Pujyate Naari, Tatra Ramate Devata”
Where women are worshipped, there dwells God.
Indeed, if womanhood is not
given its due respect, all goodness and Godliness will be extinct.
What is the surprise then
that India is the land where women are worshipped as Goddesses?
