Women on the path of freedom

Simply because a woman is physically weaker than a man, he has done everything to make her psychologically weaker, spiritually lost and financially nowhere. Till man learns to respect women, he will never know himself – because half of him is just that. Indian spirituality has always been a rich mixture of men and women reaching the heights of their consciousness. A woman is as capable as a man when it comes to inner nature. It is only the peel, the body, which you call as a man or a woman. The self is the same. The peel is not going to decide what one’s spiritual capabilities are. Right from Vedic times, there have been many women who have reached the very heights of their consciousness. In ancient times, women also wore the sacred thread, because without it, they could not read the scriptures. Like a man, she could live within the marriage for 10 to 20 years, and when she had the urge to become spiritual, she could renounce the family. However, when barbarian hordes invaded India, women slowly lost their freedom. The rules started changing. Maybe it was necessary for a certain period of time, because the physical situation was such that some restriction had to be placed on women for their own safety. But unfortunately it became the law. In the Vedas, the first let down for a woman was when they declared that she cannot wear the sacred thread. It was also said that the only way she can attain Mukthi, or her Ultimate Nature, is by serving her husband. It was fixed that only a man could renounce. Unfortunately, this continues even today. A woman is told that she has been born only to serve her father or her husband. People who talk about advaitha, non-duality of existence, have taught this, ‘Everything is one, but women are less.’ Though he knows that his existence depends upon her, if he cannot even accept her, his accepting all the dualities in the existence is simply out of question. The question of inferiority or superiority comes only in a prejudiced mind. It is just a question of two qualities. If a woman, out of whom a man is born, is inferior, how can man be superior? The possibility just does not arise. This problem is universal. It is not just about one gross man thinking like this. It has become a man’s way of life, a part of his very culture and religion. Once, a certain social reformer went to Vivekananda and asked, “It is great that you also support women, what shall I do? I want to reform them. I want to support this.” Then Vivekananda said, “Hands off. You do not have to do anything about them; just leave them alone. They will do what they have to do.” This is all that is needed. It is not that a man has to reform a woman. If he just gives room, she will do what is necessary. Generally, a woman’s feminity will not allow her to be an effective Master. But she is very good at pursuing the path. A man can do many things here and there, but his receptivity is lesser. He can prepare himself, but a woman comes with that natural quality. So wherever there is a Master, more women will gather, simply because they are more suited for receiving. There have been some very wonderful Masters who were women, but they are of a different kind. They cannot operate the way a man does. They have to find a certain kind of situation, a certain kind of support system in the society. Society never supported a woman as a Master. Especially in the West, whenever a woman started expressing her wisdom, wherever a woman started having access to something beyond what normal people had, she was labeled a witch and burnt at the stake. However, there have been a few women who have more masculine fire in them than most men do. Such women can become very wonderful Masters, if the social support is there. There have been such people, but in all these many centuries of human history, they never had that kind of support. Probably in the future, it should be possible. There may be many women as spiritual Masters. Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev is a realized Master, yogi and profound Mystic of our times. Sadhguru developed Isha Yoga - Yoga of the Divine programs, as the vehicle to transmit a deep experience of the Self, which rooted three lifetimes ago and flourishes today as a spiritual science for hundreds of thousands of initiates around the world under the aegis of his international public service organization, Isha Foundation which is functional in over 75 centres in various parts of the world. Isha Foundation embraces the human effort to transcend physical reality in order to reach an inner reality, or enlightenment. This is the purpose of life itself. – Sadhguru