A Concise Encyclopedia of Hinduism Klaus K Klostermaie

equality of women 66
result of debates between different
schools, major works on epistemology
were written by several authors who
attempted to refute other opinions and
to establish their own conclusions on
rational grounds.
equality of women
Women and men were considered equal
during early Vedic times: women
appear as composers of Vedic HYMNS
(ø•is), as vedic teachers (ÄCÄRYÄS) and as
companions in rituals. With the
increased specialization of brahmanic
ritual and the rise of urban culture the
status of women has diminished. The
influential MANU-SMØTI (sixth century
BCE?), while giving lavish praise to the
mother in the home, advises that a
woman should never be without male
supervision. In childhood she was to be
under the authority of her father, in
marrriage under the rule of her husband,
in widowhood under the supervision
of her son. Ritually also women
were disadvantaged: they no longer
received UPANAYANA, they could not
study the Veda, they were excluded
from most religious activities. BHAKTI
movements attempted to readmit women
to religious practices, sometimes even
placing women higher than men, as did
the GAU¥ÏYA Vai•æavas, who considered
the GOPÏS superior to male devotees. In
ŸÄKTISM women were given an exalted
position in rituals as embodiments of
the Goddess. With the Muslim conquest
of India, restrictions on the movement
of women increased: Hindus adopted
the Muslim custom of purdah and did
not allow women to leave their assigned
quarters without special permission.
Many Hindu reformers of the 19th and
early 20th centuries fought for women’s
rights and women’s education.
Mahatma GANDHI accepted women as
equal partners in the struggle for independence,
and expressed the wish to see
a Harijan woman as the first president
of independent India. Since the 1960s
Indian womens’ movements have grown
in importance and influence. The HINDU
MARRIAGE ACT of 1956 established the
equality of men and women in most
matters on a legal basis. In spite of all
these efforts old attitudes towards
women continue. Although the giving
and taking of dowries is outlawed, it is
still widely practised, and frequently
leads to criminal abuses. The so-called
‘dowry deaths’ are the result of failed
attempts to blackmail brides’ parents
into providing more dowry; the often
open-ended agreements concerning
dowries expose brides to threats and
abuse. (See also FEMALE INFANTICIDE.)
eternity
Concepts premised on eternity (nitya,
ananta, amarta) are central to Hinduism.
It was always assumed that the ultimate
principle, the supreme reality, the highest
God, was eternal, i.e. without beginning
or end. Attempts to win immortality
are described in Hindu literature
from the Vedas through the epics to the
Puräæas. With the Upani•ads the notion
arose that the soul (jïvätma) was eternal,
uncreated and indestructible. As
long as it was not emancipated from its
bodily desires, it had to transmigrate
from one corporeal existence to the
next. The ultimate destiny was immortality
and eternity.
ethics (ÿïla)
The definition of Hinduism as DHARMA
clearly indicates the primacy of ethics:
while beliefs and doctrinal formulations
were largely left to individual choice,
conformity with the rules of behaviour,
including ritual, was mandatory and the
single most important criterion of membership
in Hindu society.
evil
The conflict between good and evil is
represented in Hindu tradition in a