Educate a woman and thereby educate a nation is a popular saying. Bharata, our nation is known to have been led by several women who had deep-rooted knowledge of many subjects and could openly debate with men. The education which a woman possessed was most useful in grooming herself and moulding the children from within the family system which was itself a replica of a world-class university. Art, culture, skills, values were all part and parcel of the process and means of acquiring knowledge with the larger end of spiritual goals. Education enabled one to pursue the four goals, the purusharthas with due regard to the ashramas or stages of life. Women were not expected to earn a living and their knowledge reflected on their position as the backbone of every society to balance a peaceful co-existence.
Our legends often quote some occasion or the other where even the deified lord turned to his spouse for advice at crucial moments. The first acharya or teacher is believed to be the mother. She can uphold her stature when she herself is educated. When a child learns early in life about the distinct nature of being a boy or a girl and the joint co-existence of both in this world, a respect is developed towards this truth of life from the preliminary stage of being a raw spiritual being. Kindergarten lessons begin at home! Today, in the rush for admissions into modern schools, much of the rudimentary steps get lost.
The adage – ‘A woman can make or mar a man’ was built on the example that the wife is the binding force in a family. She holds an exalted esteem as the backbone of a ‘kutumbakam’. When some of the historical stories relate that the lady of the house took her share of the meal after feeding everyone, it does not mean that she was forced to do so by others. It is only because the true nature of compassion is something that came naturally to a woman. A mutual regard is to become a part and parcel of the family structure itself. Here is the vital key to a balanced society. Today, the dichotomy in the lives of millions creates our social evils and a stigma against women. Most of the poor live in such conditions that the children are witness to daily incidents of domestic rape. Most of the rich have very little time to instil family values among the children.
Amidst all the uproar, what is important to ponder is the history of violent acts against women. Is this crisis more rampant since last few centuries, decades or after our celebrated freedom? Well, people have tried to rewrite Indian history since centuries to remodel the ‘epitome of perfection-an Indian woman’. Unlike other parts of the world which had crushed a woman’s identity those years, women have always been treated as the supreme authority in Hinduism, glorified as powerful in every aspect. Being essentially spiritual, it is far easier for a woman to achieve the highest goals than a man who has to strive much more. In recent times, we hear that women have started visiting temples during menstruation just to prove that the cycle is not ‘impure’ or to rise against ‘superstitious’ tradition that prevents one from doing so. Alas! If only they could understand that the reason for this as given in our shastras is just the opposite ie – a woman is much more ‘pure’ during menses – cleansed and vibrant with creative energy that is pulled by the magnetic earth’s forces to be released with potent life. She will attract an idol that has been infused with life energies (through prana pratishtha) and can even render the deity less powerful. She will have the potential to attract spirits and other forces too that have been kept at bay due to the temple’s rituals. These entities are keen to attach to earthly souls by sensing the presence of blood.
Keeping women safely in seclusion and giving them ample rest was a sort of therapy to the active women and their surroundings. The body-mind-spirit in the Indian esoteric science system, propounded by the intuitive sages, always looks within and beyond just the gross being to analyse at metaphysical levels. Experimentation or documentation proof is the far healthier lives of our ancestors alone. On the other hand, symptomatic treatment without going deep to offer remedy endlessly makes futile attempts to go against nature and inviting trouble. Our grandmothers had certainly had less pregnancy or menopausal problems.
Man is the element of water and woman is the element of fire in Yogic philosophy. She is the flame and fire – she is energy, nature, movement, aesthetic beauty and he is considered as ‘nothing’ without her just as Shiva is a corpse (Shava) without the potent strength, Shakti. Stree Shakti is the energy that enables every movement, action and knowledge and this principle is portrayed as ‘the Devi who rides a tiger’. Devi, called by various names, is the combined power of generative, operative and destructive forces. Today, in our education system, thanks to the invaders and our own traitors, much of our ancient traditions have been hurled out of schools which used to be open to the natural environment and cherished a great relationship between preceptors and taught. Gurukulams have now become heartless institutes, taking pride in stoned architecture and producing data-filled operating systems out of human beings. These are consistently focused on creating economic power at the cost of holistic living. Education is concept accumulation and Google-y namaha has replaced Guruve-y namaha. Should we build the nation with inspired youth working with passion as sensitive and bold leaders or merely create self-centred individuals, bereft of any humanitarian qualities? What could be true wealth for the years to come?
In this context, let us see how enabling education in the Indian arts can empower our girls. Our classical arts are known to have emerged from philosophical and spiritual roots and always emphasized righteousness. Universal good, love, brotherhood and unity in diversity are the core values within the beautiful framework of a discipline. It has to be remembered that it is the inherent resilience and strength in these arts that faced all invasions to remain Indian in intrinsic spirit ie – pathways to transcend and elevate ourselves. These art forms can be a panacea for social evils if imbued by our children. Hence, arts education has to become embedded in the main curriculum and not just categorized as extra-curricular. If employability gets well organized, women can take advantage of this learning in incorporating a better balance between their home and career.
Women cannot depend on men financially anymore and at the same time, they cannot just delegate certain duties. There is a wave of thought that is getting needlessly promoted as the so-called ‘fight’ for women’s rights. Ambition gets sacrificed at the altar of a marriage – so thinking, women are incessantly fighting their own selves at the end of the day. We see plenty of split families in our country these days. We have to understand that rights go in hand with responsibility and very often, rights also become a subset of respect. Any right which is demanded and enforced by law cannot match that right which is spontaneously bestowed with earned, mutual and lasting respect.
Another cause for concern is the apathy towards considering the sublime image of a woman as sensual with increasing depiction of her as an ‘object of pleasure’. Women themselves can stop this trend which is demeaning her dignity in society. If women join hands, they can improve their own lot and take protective action. She can use the powerful tool of education and spread awareness. Women need to stop comparing themselves to men or trying to emulate men. It is not competitive, it is complementary. The increasing number of old age homes, child care centres, junk food joints, health hazards and innovative home care systems that have emerged in the recent past speak volumes of the diminishing time that one can spare for the family. We seem to need reminders for every relationship like Father’s Day, Daughter’s Day and so on. The need of the hour better values in our children from a tender age at a time when they have highly impressionable minds. It is only a woman who can prepare the child not only to face the university but the entire Universe. It is only a woman who can bring about change from within. Every woman has to take pride in her motherly instinct and every little girl should feel that it is NOT an insult to cry of compassion – it is her nature, her strength!
Says the seer of Kanchi, Mahaperiyavaa Sri Chandrasekharendra Saraswati Swamigal, “Women libbers who argue why is it that a woman cannot perform Hindu ritualistic sacrifices on her own, must also recognize that the husband loses the right for the same without the wife, according to the Vedas. Lamented a great man at the time of his wife’s death – ‘Patneevatasya Agnihotram Bhavati. You have taken away all my sacrifice and rituals’! Our shastras have given a high place to women indeed and not otherwise. A woman exalted by inner purity occupies a position far higher than another who merely earns a promotion. A woman in the history of this land won powers far greater than those earned by even sages. It is the reformists who prevent her from rising to the heights of glory. Even now there are people who at heart long for a life of peace lived according to old tradition but do not have to courage to give up the trammels of modern life’.
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