Feminine Nature Is Misunderstood As Weakness
“Shakti” means energy. The energy which makes the atom work is the same energy which makes the cosmos work. And this energy is always identified as feminine. The Indian culture has always represented the feminine as the most powerful dimension of life. You will see it even in calendar art where Kali is standing on the chest of Shiva who is lying dead. The purpose is to show you that the masculine is lifeless unless it is invigorated by the feminine.
Feminine worship is the most ancient form of worship on the planet. India, Europe, Arabia, as well as large parts of Africa engaged in goddess worship. But today, because of too much emphasis on the masculine worldwide, the only culture which still practices feminine worship is India.
When men and women were equal
At one time, India was a culture where men and women lived in total equality in all respects. A woman is as capable as a man when it comes to inner nature, and right from Vedic times, there have been many women who reached the very heights of their consciousness. Women also wore the sacred thread, and like a man, a woman could live in marriage for 10-20 years, and when she felt the urge to become spiritual, she could renounce the family. However, women slowly lost their freedom when barbarian hordes invaded, because the feminine can flower only in a certain situation of relaxation.
Feminine does mean “female.” The “feminine” and “masculine” are certain qualities. Only when these two qualities exist in balance within can a human being live a life of fulfillment.
Feminine is not weakness
Today, women have also misunderstood feminine nature as weakness. They are trying to be like men. If you compare physically, definitely a man is stronger. Because your perception of life has been totally limited to the physical, you consider masculine as strength and feminine as weakness. That is a foolish way of looking at strength. We have chosen the power of gross conquest over the subtleties of love, compassion and embracing life. If you just have masculine strength, then you will see you will have everything, but you will have nothing.
For a long time, as survival was the dominant factor, humanity has given too much significance to the masculine. The feminine can get its proper place only when societies have handled their survival well and reached a certain level of stabilised culture and civilisation. Today, because economics has become the main force in the world, once again everything is back to the law of the jungle – survival of the fittest. Once you do that, again the masculine will dominate.
Consciously nurturing and celebrating the feminine in a society is very essential. This needs to happen right from the school level. Children should go for music, art, philosophy, and literature as much as they go for science and technology. If this does not happen, there will be no room for the feminine in the world. Female you may be, but masculine you will become.
Ranked amongst the fifty most influential people in India, Sadhguru is a yogi, mystic, visionary and a New York Times bestselling author Sadhguru has been conferred the Padma Vibhushan by the Government of India in 2017, the highest annual civilian award, accorded for exceptional and distinguished service.
