One of the basic
tenets of metaphysics holds that the soul does not differentiate between man
and woman and so both are essentially the same. The Rigveda visualizes society as a Virat Purusha and out of his
limb came out man and woman in whom there is no difference. (The Rigaveda, 10.90). In the Brihadaranyak Upanishad, it is said that
God wished to appear in two forms as Man and Woman, as the two forms were
conjoint in him. Accordingly, he separated the two and they turned into husband
and wife (Brihadaranyak Upanishad1.4.3).
Similarly it has been propounded in Subalopnishad
that in the beginning of the creation, Prajapati created from half of his
own form, the Man, and from the other self, the woman. (Section 2). In Shatapath Brahaman, woman has been
designated as ardhangini (5.2.1.10.) .She
has been considered to be born from the left side (not part) of the atmatattva (soul). That is why, she has
been called vamananga.
But
before them, there is a challenge also, the challenge of Home, the home of
harmony. There is no ready made solution for them. However, a reference point
can be taken from Wordsworth’s “To a Skylark” whose “heart and eye’ remain with
her ‘nest upon the dewy ground’, while her ‘wings aspire’. But this is not a
final prescription for women as the women have to face multi-layer challenges. Nobody
shall come for their liberation. It is through self analysis and self- understanding
and through vigilance and courage, they need to watch if their home is
suffering from maladjustment; if their home is missing them; if they need
identity in a highly technological sense; if they need identity in the context
of family matrix; if there are chances of betterment; if there is a need to have
a complete overhauling. How smoothly these
hard issues can be liquefied if the society reverses its thinking !
This
Metaphysical view prevailed in the remote past when woman was looked upon with
reverence. But with the passage of time woman’s location in society was
reversed. Now woman’s location in, and experience of, most situations is
different from that of man; woman’s location in most situations is not only
different but is less privileged than or unequal to that of man; woman is
oppressed, restrained, subordinated, moulded, used and abused by man.
The simple reason is the traditional role of a man who has
been unjustly considered the only earning member for running the family. Yesterday
I was having a conversation with one of my “intellectual” friends or you can
say I thought him to be intellectual. As when discussing women, his words were
“ Oh! Women are just so dependent on men for everything”. And then it made me
think Why Women are considered as a “lack”.
How can one forget the role of a woman how, in spite of all
prejudices, she used to shoulder the responsibilities as grandmother, mother,
daughter, sister and wife. And she still does. All the women around me or at
least the women I look up to have a lot in common – they have successful
careers, they are married, they are mothers, and they are involved in their
communities. Looking back, I don’t know how they did it and how they do. Some days I come home and honestly am
grateful that the only person I really have to cater to is myself. It sounds
selfish but it’s true. Yesterday, I started my day at 8:45 AM, after 3.5 hours
of sleep, and after just managing to get in a workout at 3 PM, I didn’t get
home till 11 PM. Most days aren’t like this but then I think of my mother who
while married and working, obtained all her education to the PhD level, and
raised two kids, managed her family and still managing, I feel a little put to
shame. HOW DID YOU DO IT MOTHER? I WANT TO KNOW THE
SECRET! So now the question lies: How are women and men not equal? Where is
woman a lack when she holds all the responsibilities?
Being conscious
of this role of woman, Vivekananda says that nowhere in the world are women
like those of India. How pure, independent, self-relying, and kind hearted! It
is the woman who is the life and soul of this country. All learning and culture
are centred in them. It is the Goddess of Fortune herself. But these women are
denied liberty.
They need
liberty; they need to be educated; they need to work outside family matrix to
develop society. In fact Vivekananda wanted to transform housewives into
working women to develop society world. This change is conspicuously visible in
society. Women have started working in a highly commercialized technological
sense and are contributing to
the expenses of running their homes as well. The numbers of women with multiple role responsibilities,
such as wife, mother and paid worker, is on the rise. They find the outside world
challenging and attractive. They like the freedom it brings to them. They are educated and often have their careers well before they
get married and it is their right to enter this profession world.
