Saturday, February 10, 2007

Melting in harmony


In the recent times, I have been fortunate enough to read some beautiful posts from my Blogzone, and to my surprise most were about liberation of women or subjugation of women, women’s right or in one way or the other connected to establishing women as equal to men. I am also baffled when I see articles or posts that exaggerates any accomplishments by women as if, she is incapable of what she has just achieved. People have forgotten that, we are living in the same world where the great warriors like, Joan of Arc, Rani of Jhansi, Rani Padmini, Rani Velu Nachiar had tread, great saints like Mira, Mary Magdalene, Florence Nightingale, Sarada Devi, Madame Blavatsky, Mother of Pondicherry and Mother Teresa had illuminated, great thinkers and scientists like Marie Curie, Ayn Rand, Jane Austen, Arundhati Roy had traversed. It is obvious that for centuries, women have been deprived of their freedom and that is one reason why last year I called Women’s day - A Joke.

I continue this post with the hope of illustrating the attributes of the two inevitable aspects of life, which are irrefutably significant in their own way and the one without the other is non-existential. Life exists only in duality and non-duality is beyond life. Having been a part of life that thrives in duality, where light and darkness, good and bad, moral and immoral, sin and sainthood, east and west, head and heart, Yin and Yang, Yoni and Phallus, female and male are just projections of same energy in dual forms in harmony, negation of one over the other is just ignorance at its peak.

For the sake of those who can accept the facts as facts, only if it is logical and rational, let us dissect the male and female aspects of life, through the attributes that makes them a one.

The primary reason why women were being kept in captivation is because, men were afraid of the mysteries of womanhood, ignoring the fact that manhood is also equally mysterious from women’s perspective. Moreover, the conviction that, how harder men try they cannot create life, while women are capable of creating life. Even in this conviction men ignored the fact that, without him she will not be a source of life, with the exception of the recent advancements of medical sciences. The urge to dominate the fear made men to start creating anything and everything he could create with his capability, making him more productive and physically stronger than women. This advantage in terms of production and strength made women dependent on him, precipitating a whole decoction of illusions that, men are superior, women are meant to serve men, satisfy his desires and needs, a means of procreation (the life creating aspect was renamed as procreation) and more.

In essence, male and female aspects doesn’t exist as two distinct entities, but as a blend with varied proportion. In India we have a deity called Ardhanarishwar. The god is half man and half woman. It is Shiva and Shakthi, the Hindu God, and half of the body is of the woman and the other half of the body is of the man. Up to the time of Carl Gustav Jung it was thought that, it is only a mythology, metaphor, poetry – but this cannot be true. Jung identified the anima as being the unconscious feminine component of men and the animus as the unconscious masculine component in women. Every person has both an anima and an animus. Jung stated that the anima and animus act as guides to the unconscious unified Self, and that forming an awareness and a connection with the anima or animus is one of the most difficult and rewarding steps in psychological growth.

Every man and every woman are both, because every child is born of a father and a mother. So, something of the mother and something of the father is present in every child, whether the child is a girl or a boy. The only difference can be that the man is a little more male, perhaps fifty-one percent male and forty-nine percent female, and the woman is fifty-one percent female and forty-nine percent ma.”

But the difference is not much.

If we really want to understand the mystery of women or men, we will have to understand the art of melting our head into our heart and our heart into our head. It will not only help us understand the mystery of women and men, but the whole existence.

Let us live like a pair of skaters. Skating in pair is a harmony. It's like two skaters coming together and becoming one.

18 comments:

Priya said...

Shiva,

Life exists only in duality and non-duality is beyond life. - Ther can be only male and female with different soul. But with existence, both man and women have to join together and that is the purpose of life. Today we see single men and women, but theys till continue to have a hold with family by adopting someone and to show what life is. Ther is no way you can call non-duality. For every birth you depend a man and a women.

Priya said...

Men were afraid of the mysteries of womanhood - I cannot agree men being afraid of womenhood. Give me an example, may be it can be clear to my thoughts.
Women were created for life - That is wat evolution of birth talks about and how do spread a message being alone. Women by birth is like a seed and they grow up like a plant with branches, leaves, flowers/ fruits and live as long its not destructed by evil forces. For every creativity, their a meaning and life existence is also the same

Priya said...

without him she will not be a source of life - Other than depending on motherhood she is always free and independent. The society pushes her into the hands of men to form a family and thinks he rules it. No. Its only when both can go witht he flow, the water runs smooth.
Why do you say men are superior? Some ancient theory proved those days bcoz of what it was and it can be wrong for todays civilization. If women are only meant to serve, why do we see homosexuals everywhere. People can satisfy themselves before searching for something.

Priya said...

Mystery of men and women - I will say if one has more ego and attitude, the other will emerge as a supporting tool to have a better relationship. Mystery is the chemistry which goes or proves wrong. Not everyone is able to get along with others and ther is more psychology, intuition and empathy follows their path.
Men and women are both fire and water and without each other its a vaccum.

Shiva said...

Priya,

Non-duality is a state where there is oneness. You become the pure existence and there is no more of male or female. You go beyond all differntiations. A state of being in universal love.

Shiva said...

The urge to dominate or subjugate someone arises only when there is fear, which will initiate actions that would prove yourself superior to the other. This has what exactly happened.

What do you mean by " Women were created for life?"

Both men and women are just the products of the ongoing process of evolution.

I agree to the point that there is meaning for everything that exists.

Shiva said...

Priya,

As far as the mystery is concerned, you need to be man to experience it. I'm not sure if the women feel the same way as men, but I believe beyond reason that women also think there is mystery in men.

"Men and women are both fire and water and without each other its a vaccum" - Awesome

Jeeves said...

"I am also baffled when I see articles or posts that exaggerates any accomplishments by women as if, she is incapable of what she has just achieved. "

Good post and nice lines.

While I agree with you on that, but somewhere probably the exageration stems up from being supressed for generations.

Its a changed scenario now, but this development and outlook is only a phenomenan of recent times, probably the last ten years.

Even if the earlier decade saw some working women, the work and personal life balance was not so easy, with women contributing to major part of domestic work.

Duality is agreed,, but somewhere the contribution of men and women to all aspects of life should be equal.

Shiva said...

Thanks Jeevs, for the comment.

Though I stressed on the suppression which turned into an exaggeration, I failed to emphasis the fact that it prevailed only in the middle age. The older period was a golden age where men and women were considered equals and the current age also offers due equality. Atleast in India,this is applicable only to the a few sections of the society and there still exists a section that is a victim of this malady.

Jeevan said...

The dual of male and female gives life (male or female), like that the consensus and equality of male and female brings a good society.

Priya said...

Thanks shiva for explaining in detail.

Shirsha said...

Shiva, theres this other factor also... despite the fact that men and women are equals, despite the fact that thr is woman in a man and a man in every woman, women will have to depend on men forever, since man will forever have greater physical strength than women.
Despite how developed we are or rather how civilised we are, this inequality will continue to hold men in a different light than women. And it is this inequality which will lend awe to any achievement of a woman. It is this inequality which was understood clearly in the very beginning of life and has led to roles being assigned as they have been.
I can't help but find women who reach grt heights in their career while having a complete family life awe-inspiring. But somehow a man in a similar position doesnot hold out anything of that sort in my mind.

Shiva said...

Jeevan - You are right. The harmony will result in bliss

Shiva said...

Shirsha - I disagree to your point that women will be dependent on men for he is always physically stronger. May be it's true a decade ago, like Jeeves said. But, more than physical stength, mental strength dominates, and women are equally strong.

Again, my emphasis was not in establishing the equality of men and women, but in finding harmony in them, that would let men and women live in the synergy of mutual love and respect.

Thanks for your wonderful comment.

Love said...

they compliment each other, men are physically stronger but women are psycologically stronger -i think-, etc, etc... yes, i think the key word is harmony

Shiva said...

Willy, like you said, harmony is the key.

Deepa said...

well written, indeed harmony is the key , however,
////Let us live like a pair of skaters. Skating in pair is a harmony////
this is a two way street, each one has to make consious effor towards establishing harmony.
I have witnessed men taking a harmonious stand only under rare cases, Its mostly the women who compromise on a situation when it involves "someone otherthan herself""..

I am sorry, if i sound like a feminist, But harmony is a two way street.

Shiva said...

Thanks Deepa!

I agree with you. Obviously, it takes both of them to complement and harmonize..