TeachingRE Issue 4.pdf - the Second Level Support Service

The Hindu Religionand WomenBy Sudhansh Verma – Hindu Cultural Centre IrelandThank you very much toSudhansh Verma for thisinformative article on thestatus of women inHinduism. Sudhansh isthe Director and GeneralSecretary of the HinduCultural Centre Ireland(HCCI). His articlehighlights the significantrespect accorded towomen in the Hindureligion, and theimportance ofmotherhood and thefeminine in relation toHindu deities.SYLLABUS LINKLEAVING CERTIFICATESECTION EReligion and GenderTOPIC 1.2 and 2.4JUNIOR CERTIFICATESECTION CPART 3Foundations of Religion - MajorWorld ReligionsAccording to the Hindu religion, a woman is a form ofenergy or an aspect of Shakti (Power). She is mata, theMother Goddess, or devi the auspicious one.As a youngchild she is kanya, the Goddess Durga. As a wife she issaha dharma charini, a partner in her husband’s religiousduties. As a mother she is worthy of worship(matrudevobhava).The Hindu religion has been occasionally criticised asencouraging inequality between men and women, tothe detriment of Hindu women. This presumption isinaccurate.In religious matters, Hindus have elevated women tothe level of divinity. One of the things mostmisconstrued about India and Hinduism is that it’s amale dominated society and religion - and the truth isthat this is not so.It is a religion that has attributed the words for strengthand power to the feminine. ‘Sakthi’ means ‘power’ and‘strength’.All male power comes from the feminine.TheTrimurti (Brahma,Vishnu, Shiva) are all-powerless withouttheir female counterparts.Devi is the Great Goddess. This echoes theDevi-Mahatmiyam prayer: Devis refers to women.By you this universe is borne, by you this world iscreated;By you it is protected,By you it is consumed at the end,O Devi!You are the Supreme Knowledge, as well asintellect and contemplation...Women were held in higher respect in India than inother ancient countries, and the Epics and old literatureof India assign a higher position to them than the epicsand literature of other religions.Hindu women enjoyed rights of property from theVedic Age, took a share in social and religious rites, andwere sometimes distinguished by their learning. Therewas no seclusion of women in India in ancient times.Professor H. H. Wilson says: ‘And it may be confidentlyasserted that in no nation of antiquity were women held inso much esteem as amongst the Hindus.’ (source:Wilson’sWorks)In Ancient India, however, Hindu women not onlypossessed equality of opportunities with men, butenjoyed certain rights and privileges not claimed by themale sex.The chivalrous treatment of women by Hindusis well known to all who know anything of Hindu society.Knowledge, intelligence, rhythm and harmony are allessential ingredients for any creative activity. It is theHindu tradition which provides, even at the conceptuallevel, the picture of the male and female principlesworking together, hand in hand, as equal partners in theuniverse. This concept is carried further to its logicalclimax in the form of Ardhanareeswara, formed by thefusion of Siva and Sakthi in one body, each occupyingone half of the body, denoting that one is incompletewithout the other.It is significant to note that only Hindus worship God inthe form of Divine Mother. In Hinduism the deities forknowledge, learning and material wealth are female andnot male. The historical and social inconsistencies andinjustices did not arise from Hindu scriptures, but fromhumans who failed to correctly incorporate theteachings of the scriptures, such as the Upanishads andthe Bhagavad Gita, into their social philosophy.This concept of the spiritual equality of souls naturallyinfluenced the status of women on an individual andsocial level.“Where women are honoured, there the gods arepleased; but where they are not honoured no sacredrite yields rewards,” declares Manu Smriti (III.56), a texton social conduct.“Women must be honoured and adorned by theirfathers, brothers, husbands and brothers-in-law, whodesire their own welfare.” (Manu Smriti III, 55).“Where the female relations live in grief, the family soonwholly perishes; but that family where they are notunhappy ever prospers.” (Manu Smriti III, 57).“The houses, on which female relations, not being dulyhonoured, pronounce a curse, perish completely as ifdestroyed by magic.” (Manu Smriti III, 58).“Hence men, who seek their own welfare, should alwayshonour women on holidays and festivals with gifts ofornaments, clothes, and dainty food.” (Manu Smriti III,59).In an old Shakti hymn it is said - Striyah devah, Striyahpranah – ‘Women are Devas, women are life itself.’“A woman’s body,” says Manu the lawgiver,“must not bestruck hard, even with a flower, because it is sacred.” Itis for this reason that the Hindus do not allow capitalpunishment for women.The idea of equality was most forcibly expressed in theRig Veda (Book 5, hymn 61. verse 8).The commentatorTEACHING RELIGIOUS EDUCATION ISSUE FOUR SEPTEMBER 200915