The Awakening of Universal Motherhood (part 2)

In ancient India, the Sanskrit words that a husband used when addressing his wife were Pathni - the one who leads the husband through life; Dharmapathni - the one who guides her husband on the path of dharma (righteousness and responsibility); and Sahadharmacharini - the one who moves together with her husband on the path of dharma. These terms imply that women enjoyed the same status as men, or perhaps an even higher one.

In India, the Supreme Being has never been worshipped exclusively in a masculine form. The Supreme Being is also worshipped as the Goddess in Her many aspects. She is, for example, worshipped as Saraswati, the Goddess of wisdom and learning; She is worshipped as Lakshmi, the Goddess of prosperity; and Santana Lakshmi, the Goddess who gives new life within a woman. She is also worshipped as Durga, the Goddess of strength and power. There was a time when men revered woman as the embodiment of these very qualities.

She was considered an extension of the Goddess, a manifestation of Her attributes on earth. And then, at some point, because of the selfishness of certain men of influence and their desire for power and dominion over all, this deep truth was distorted and severed from our culture. And thus it was that people forgot or ignored the profound connection between woman and the Divine Mother.

It is commonly believed that the religion that gives least status to women is Islam. But the Koran speaks of qualities such as compassion and wisdom, and of God's essential nature, as motherly.

In Christianity, the Supreme Being is worshipped exclusively as the Father in Heaven, the Son, and the Holy Ghost. The feminine aspect of God is not so widely recognized. Christ considered men and women equal. The Bible says that Mary immaculately conceived Jesus. For Jesus, Krishna, and Buddha to be born, a woman was needed. In order to incarnate, God needed a woman, who went through all the pain and hardship of pregnancy and giving birth. Yet no one considers the injustice of women being ruled by men.

No authentic religion belittles or denigrates women. For those who have realized God, there is no difference between male and female. The realized ones have equal vision. If anywhere in the world there exist rules that prevent women from enjoying their rightful freedom, rules that obstruct their progress in society, then those are not God's commandments, but are born out of the selfishness of men.

Which eye is more important, the left or the right? Both are equally important. It is the same with the status of men and women in society. Both should be aware of their unique responsibilities, or dharma. Men and women have to support one another. Only in this way can we maintain the harmony of the world. When men and women become powers that complement each other, and move together with co-operation and mutual respect, they will attain perfection.

In reality, all men are a part of women. Every child first lies in the mother's womb, as a part of the woman's very being. As far as a birth is concerned, a man's only role is to offer his seed. For him it is only a moment of pleasure; for a woman it is nine months of austerities. It is the woman who receives, conceives, and makes that life a part of her being. She creates the most conducive atmosphere for that life to grow within her and then gives birth to that life. Women are essentially mothers, the creators of life.

No one can question motherhood. Yet those who refuse to come out of the cocoon of their narrow minds will never be able to understand. You cannot explain light to those who know only darkness. Is God a man or a woman? The answer to that question is that God is neither male nor female - God is "That." But if you insist on God having a gender, then God is more female than male, because the masculine is contained within the feminine.

Anyone - woman or man - who has the courage to overcome the limitations of the mind can attain the state of universal motherhood. The principle of motherhood is as vast and powerful as the universe. With the power of motherhood within her, a woman can influence the entire world. The love of awakened motherhood is a love and compassion felt not only towards one's own children, but towards all people, animals and plants, rocks and rivers - a love extended to all of nature, all beings. Indeed, to a woman in whom the state of true motherhood has awakened, all creatures are her children. This love, this motherhood, is Divine Love - and that is God.

More than half of the world's population are women. It is a great loss when women are denied the freedom to come forward, and when they are denied the high status that should be theirs in society. When women are denied this, society loses their potential contribution.

Women can perform all tasks just as well as men - perhaps even better. Women have the willpower and creative energy to do any type of work. Whatever the form of action, women can attain extraordinary heights, and this is true especially on the spiritual path. Women have the purity of mind and intellectual capacity to achieve this. But, whatever they undertake, the beginning should be positive. If the beginning is good, the middle and the end will automatically be good, provided one has patience, faith, and love. A wrong beginning set on a faulty foundation is one of the reasons why women lose out so much in life. It isn't only that women should share equal status with men in society; the problem is that women are given a bad start in life, due to wrong understanding and lack of proper awareness. So, women are trying to reach the end without the benefit of having the beginning.

If we want to learn to read the Roman alphabet, we have to begin with ABC, not with XYZ. If the beginning of an endeavour is good, the middle and end will also be good, provided we have patience and alertness. It is because women are functioning from the wrong substratum that they lose many things in life. It is only just if women claim equal status with men in society. But Amma would say that because the beginning went wrong, women could not develop proper understanding. Women are trying to gain the end, but are skipping the beginning; that is like skipping ABC and trying to learn XYZ.

What is the ABC of women? What is the very fibre of a woman's being, her existence? It is her inborn qualities, the essential principles of motherhood. Whatever area of work a woman chooses, she shouldn't forget these virtues that God or Nature has graciously bestowed on her. A woman should perform all her actions being firmly rooted in the very ground of these qualities. Just as ABC is the beginning of the alphabet, the quality of motherhood is the foundation of a woman. She shouldn't leave out that crucial part of herself before she moves on to other levels.

There are many powers in women that are generally not found in men. A woman has the ability to divide herself into many; she can do several things at the same time. Even when she has to do many different things simultaneously, a woman is gifted with the capacity to carry out all actions with great beauty and perfection. Even in her role as a mother, a woman is able to bring forth many different facets of her being - she has to be warm and tender, strong and protective, and a strict disciplinarian. Rarely do we see this kind of confluence of qualities in men. So, in fact, women have a greater responsibility than men. Women hold the reins of integrity and unity in the family and in society.

Because of this, women must not forget their inner nature. If they forget this, heaven will disappear and hell will appear on earth. The mind and the physical world will be like battlefields.

A man's mind easily becomes obsessed with his thoughts and actions. Male energy can be compared to stagnant water; it doesn't flow. The mind and intellect of a man usually get stuck in the work that he does. It is difficult for men to shift their minds from one focus to another. Because of this, the professional life and family life of many men become mixed up. Most men cannot separate the two. Women, on the other hand, have an inborn capacity to do this. It is a deep-rooted tendency of a man to bring his professional persona home and behave accordingly in his relationship with his wife and children. Most women know how to keep their family life and professional life separate.

Feminine energy, or a woman's energy, is fluid like a river. This makes it easy for a woman to be a mother, a wife, and a good friend who provides her husband with confidence. She has the special gift to be the guide and advisor of the entire family. Women who have jobs are more than capable of succeeding in that as well.

A woman's mind has the capacity to reflect and react at the same time, whereas a man tends to reflect less and react more. A woman can listen to the sorrows of other people and respond with compassion; but, still, when faced with a challenge, she can rise to the situation and react as strongly as any man.

It is the power of motherhood that enables women to reflect and react. The more a woman identifies with her inner motherhood, the more she awakens to that shakti, or pure power. The awakening of women begins when they develop this power within themselves; then the world will begin to listen to their voices more and more.

In today's world, everything is being contaminated and made unnatural. In this environment, woman should take extra care that her qualities of motherhood - her essential nature as a woman - don't become contaminated and distorted. Whether you are a woman or a man, your real humanity will dawn and come to light only when the feminine and masculine qualities within are balanced.

Only love, compassion, and patience - the fundamental qualities of women - can lessen the intrinsically aggressive, overactive tendencies of men. Similarly, there are women who need the qualities of men, so that their good and gentle nature doesn't immobilize them.

Women are the power and the very foundation of our existence in the world. When women lose touch with their real selves, the harmony of the world ceases to exist, and destruction sets in. It is therefore crucial that women everywhere make every effort to rediscover their fundamental nature, for only then can we save this world.

Men have also suffered greatly as a result of the exile of the feminine principle from the world. Because of the oppression of women and the suppression of the feminine aspect within men, men's lives have become fragmented, often painful. Men, too, have to awaken to their feminine qualities. They have to develop empathy and understanding in their attitude towards women, and in the way they relate to the world.

Statistics show that men - not women - commit by far most of the crime and murder in this world. There is also a deep connection between the way men destroy Mother Nature and their attitude towards women. Nature should be accorded the same importance in our hearts as our own biological mothers.