Peace on Earth: Shanti Alone Can Help Save Shakti

By Seema Burman

The world over, women continue to suffer community-sponsored injustice, whether they live in a secular or non-secular country. We can know how progressive a community is, by the way it treats its women.

Shocked at the condition of Indian women, Swami Vivekananda said that there was no reason to view women as being inferior to men or as obstacles to salvation - contrary to popular misconception, there is no scriptural sanction for oppressing women.

Vedantic tradition promotes the 'Self"that is present in every person, whether male or female. Vivekananda held the priestly class responsible for wrongly interpreting the scriptures, thereby depriving women of the right to study the Vedas. He warned of dire consequences for the nation if women were denied equal opportunities in education.

Vivekananda said, "In the Vedic or Upanishadic age women like Maitreyi and Gargi were skilled debators - they had as much knowledge of the Brahman as did the rishis ". He also said, "...countries which do not respect women...can never hope to advance. Women are living images of Shakti..."

Women appear to have enjoyed a great deal of freedom and equality in the time of the Rig Veda . During the Vedic period there were many women rishis or seers; they also composed hymns. Girls, like the boys, went through the Upanayana or sacred initiation ceremony at the age of around eight years, before commencing on a formal course of study of the Vedas.

Women have been discriminated against since ages. Even the great thinker and philosopher Socrates had declared women to be the source of all evil. Christian monks gathered at the synod of Macon in 585 AD to discuss whether women were human beings at all.

Closer home, Swami Vivekananda repeatedly appealed to the people to respect the rights of women as they were living images of the supreme power, Shakti . He opposed according religious sanction to suppression of women'srights. Western mythology however, has traditionally portrayed woman as man'sbetter half, probably because Eve is believed to have been created from Adam'srib.

Swami Ranganathananda points out that the following words in the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad (1.4.3) assigns equal status to men and women: "The Divine person parted one'svery body into two; from that came husband and wife. Therefore, this body of husband or wife is one half of oneself, like one of the two halves of a split pea."

A modern approach to the whole issue is essential. But what does modernism mean? Swami Ranganathananda explains: "One may look traditional but the mind should be modern. The more educated a person, the more concerned he should be about the welfare of others - that is to be modern in the true sense".

"Hindu philosophy treats men and women as essentially the ever-pure, ever-free, ever-illumined Atman, the sexless Self. Associated with mind and body this Atman becomes conditioned as male and female. True interdependence cannot come if man is free and woman, un-free. Interdependence alone can lead to happiness and fulfilment. Scientific revolution must be accompanied by a humanist social revolution."

In the Shanti Parva (Mahabharata 12.68.32), Bhishma talks about the state'sresponsibility: "That is a well-governed state where women, adorned with all dress and ornaments, and unaccompanied by men, can move freely and fearlessly through its roads and lanes." Unfortunately, it is women who suffer the most in a violent society. To create a climate of peace and harmony, spirituality can help a great deal. Vedanta, for instance, teaches us that divinity is innate in every human being. It'sup to us to delve into this divine nature, spreading peace, love and friendship - and above all, mutual respect.

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See also: Peace of Mind, Peace on Earth, Life and Beyond, Love and Happiness, Body Mind and Soul)