Sadhana and Marriage - 2

[Guest guest]

Continued

 

About the second question of whether married woman have a role as an

individual in Sadhana, in my opinion the answer is yes.

 

We read about dowry deaths, bride burning and such sensational

incidents in India. It is but natural that anyone who stays outside

India starts wondering about the status of women in India. Especially

it does worry people who are doing Sadhnaa. I know boys and girls who

worry about how the marriage will affect their Upasana.

 

Again to understand the position of married women in Hinduism we have

to trace back the history.

 

The role of the wives was not just to serve the husband. The wives of

many Maharishis were Maharishis in their own right.

To quote examples

Lopamudra and Agastya.

Maitryi and Yagnavalkya

 

We had great Rishis like Maitreyi, Gargi, and Lopamudra who were

women. They became great in their individual capacity. Lopamudra was

the Guru of her husband Agastya. The Lopamudra Mantra is one of the

main mantras of Sri Vidya Upasana. Gargi has her own clan or Gothra.

Maitreyi defeated Yajnavalkya in a discussion and he had to become

her slave. But she chose to take him as her husband. Maitreyi's

discussion with Yajnavalkya is the Brhadaranyaka Upanisad.

 

Then came the Smirithis. Manu Smrithi is the law book of the middle

ages. It is the codification of the then existing laws. It is an

excellent historical document. But it had relevance only to the times

in which it was written. The time when tyrant Kings who claimed to be

descendants of the Sun god ruled the country. Slavery was practiced.

Thieves got their hands cut off.

 

All laws are created to perpetuate the rule and domination of the

then ruling class. This is true of Manu Smrithi as well as modern

laws. Manu Smrithi was written to perpetuate the male domination of

the society. It also created a rigid caste system to ensure that the

poor and the downtrodden members of the society stay so. Manu Smrithi

is a law book and not a religious text. This book had divided the

Hindu Society and keeps them divided till this day. Then we have the

Dharmasashras, which even denied the right of performing any kind of

worship to women.

 

We have thrown out the Kings and abolished slavery long time back. We

have modern laws to deal with crimes. Then why do we keep quoting

Manu Smrithi only when it comes to the duties of a wife? The

Smirithis, Dharmasasthra etc. came in much later than the Vedas and

Puranas. The role of the women was reduced to that of a slave in

these books. Hinduism is basically what is laid down in the Vedas,

Upanishads and Puranas. The decay of Hinduism started when Smirithis

and books like the Dharmasashras gained ascendancy. Instruction

manuals and Law books replaced philosophy and higher thoughts.

 

We are today in a better position to understand Hinduism. So what we

have to see is the real Hinduism where women had equal rights, wore

Yagnopaveedam and conducted yagnas. We now have qualified women

priests who conduct all religious ceremonies. You cannot turn the

clock back by talking about Pathivratha or service to the husband.

 

My advise to women who are in the path of Sadhnaa is to look up to

Maa Lopamudra, Maitreyi and Gargi. svcs has already put it

beautifully.

 

One of our friends had quoted Adi Sankara. Adi Sankara went back to

Kaladi to perform the funeral rights of his mother. Normally

Sannyasins cannot do this. He is also the author of Soundharya

Lahari.

Bagavan Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa had often warned about kamini,

kanchan.(women and gold). At the same time he said that all women are

embodiments of the Supreme power Sakthi.

These Saints gave the warnings about women to Sannyasins who are

expected to be celibate. Their other sayings and actions show the

deep respect they had for women. To understand these saints we have

to understand the audience to which these advice was given.

 

We were discussing the sayings of Maa Anusuya Devi. To really

understand what she meant we have to go through her entire sayings

and also understand under what circumstances and to which audience

she gave this advice.

 

Holy Matrimony is between two Individuals. There is absolute

equality. There is no master/servant relationship. For a lasting

marriage what is required is tolerance and acceptance. Your

husband/wife should be your best friend.

 

Sankar