Swami Vivekananda’s Vision for Women

Dr. R. J. Kalpana Ph.D

Prabuddha Bharata March 2013

I grew up reading Swami Vivekananda’s speeches and writings. For a young child just beginning the teenage journey I was deliciously thrilled to read his works. It felt like he was in the very same room with me talking to me, telling me to be impossibly good, generous, and kind. I was inspired to seek the divine light within and thought in my naivety that if I wish long and hard enough with my eyes tightly shut in a meditative pose, I just might achieve it one day. Ever since I read that the “Master appears when one is ready,” I tried to ready myself by praying really hard. Swamiji gave Indians a proper understanding of India’s great spiritual heritage and thus gave them pride in their past. He restored my sense of pride in being a woman and in being born in this hallowed country where it is said that Gods themselves come down to walk amongst men. I was stirred as much by his oratory as by his vision of life and living, by his conviction in the innate goodness of all human beings, and most important of all, by the power behind his words. Little did I know back then that I was gently guided by this soul beyond what a mere mortal eye can perceive towards that very destiny which he charted for every man, woman, and child.

Torn asunder by the vagaries of this earthly life, I quietly crept to the feet of one Late Shri CS Ramakrishnan, former editor of Vedanta Kesari seeking peace. Peace is a word that says so very much and yet says nothing at all; for those who understand, will understand and for those who don’t, peace has its own meaning. CS Ramakrishnan welcomed me into his home, into his life, and into his heart. For those on the path of the spiritual pursuit, will understand what it means to enter the heart of an enlightened soul. I can only say that it was perhaps out of the kindness that he saw potential in me. Or if I am slightly more ambitious, I would like to think perhaps Swami Vivekananda nudged us together. Our time together though short was an out-of-this world experience. Everything I read about in spiritual books, everything that I read happened to rishis of yore, I experienced. Perhaps not in full, but in small glimmerings here and there of this vast magnificence we call spiritual bliss. I have been blessed to partake of this exciting adventure into spirituality. There are days when I can barely wait to wake-up in order to meditate, for who knows what mysteries this meditation might bring. Readers will pardon this short introduction since I cannot do justice to an article on the writings of Swamiji without acknowledging with humility, love, and devotion, both Swamiji and the people He sent to guide me, protect me, cherish me, and shower me with divine love that only saints of calibre are capable of channelling.

Now, onto approaching the topic with due reverence, Swamiji wanted women to be “living embodiment of Divine Mother.”¹ In these four words and one very small sentence, I would say, half a sentence lays Truth in its entirety; truth that encompasses the physical, mental, and spiritual dimension. “Living” presupposes that one is not dead and by dead it doesn’t just suggest a mere physical death but also mental, intellectual death. It is an ability that we have to think for ourselves, to discern the kernel of truth by sifting it through the sands of gross thoughts and accepting it and this living is possible only when women are allowed to gain an education. In the scriptures, you will find the Upanishadic Gargi boldly challenging Yagnavalkya in a discussion about Brahman. “I should very much like our women to have your intellectuality,” said Swamiji to the West.² Education for women was given high priority because that would enable them to solve their own problems with logical acumen. And if such education, as to enable free thinking, was imparted to women, then Swamiji was of the view that the welfare of the world would be much improved.

“There is no chance of the welfare of the world unless the condition of women is improved. It is not possible for a bird to fly on one wing.”

Women today face more challenges. Education that was considered a rarity during Swamiji’s time is now mandatory. But along with education comes great responsibilities. Women occupy some of the top positions in society these days be it the political arena, corporate, law, arts, or business. With market employment comes economic freedom and the thrill of new money underlay the personal qualities of most women and the decisions that end up making. Clearly, money talks. It helps give a young woman a voice to speak with. The ring of a young woman’s voice is impressive when she is sure of herself. Elite education, freshly learned skills, supportive parents, and lots of her own earned money have given her a place to stand, and she doesn’t plan on backing down, now or later.

Women of India are seen as the embodiment of everything that is good and pious. Man might have the power of the physical but women have the power of suffering. And it is in suffering that tremendous blessings are hidden. Every saint worth his salt knows this. “Give me the miseries of this world,” cries the saint out in bliss knowing full well that it is through the experience of miseries that God’s presence is felt and the goal is that much closer. The soul has no transformation, needs no transformation and will eventually return to God. But since we are embodied, we are imprisoned only to be let out by death. We are not just embodied as men and women put on earth to satisfy our baser needs, but we are human beings meant to cherish and love each other. Indian women are embodiments of austerity, purity and chastity. Any attempt to modernise women, to take away that ideal of purity from them is immediately a failure as can be at times evidenced around us by the advent of western education.

With the westernisation of the education and the increased pressure at workplace, with all the challenges and opportunities that it offers, Indian women are increasing stressed. Unfortunately, society hasn’t kept pace with social expectations at homes, thus changing little. It is this contrast, this conflict that is causing stress. There is the missing social support and the lack of proper infrastructure in the forms of crèches, day care, reliable househelp that care contributing factors. Men have settled into familiar posturing and women suddenly have to conquer the work environment and at the same time conquer their own roles of wife, mother, career woman. So, while their sense of self-esteem and confidence has increased it has also added a lot of extra work with very little subtracted from it. This has led to fractured relationships and questionable value systems.

Cultural ambiguity resulting from changing gender roles is found at four different levels – in the mythology with the ideal images of male and female, in the documented and scientific understanding of the social and physical world, in the institutional structures of communication that expresses either equality or hierarchy and in the psychology of the individual who selectively combines male and female traits. Now, history and cross-cultural research reveals a gradual transformation of consciousness, whereby human beings now have a greater opportunity not to have their lives limited by cultural elements that no longer hold place in society. Societal structures have headed for a massive reconstructionist policy due to rapid scientific and technological advances.

Women are thus determined to move from being victims to being in control of their lives and their dreams. The move from oppressive consciousness to self-realised consciousness is a very important journey for women thus freeing them essentially from patterns that cast them and their male counterparts in unproductive roles. Women have boldly redefined their boundaries with rare wit and sensitive acumen, refusing to be trapped within two poles of attitude – the wicked negative like bitch and the super positive like mother. They have found the courage of their convictions and have dared to dream dreams and see visions. Women recognise that they are closer to nature and seek a comprehensive cooperative approach rather than a confrontationist approach.

That is the reason why Swamiji sought to make Sita the highest ideal for a woman to emulate. At every step of the way Sita sacrificed her affluence when she walked with Rama into the forests, her pride when she walked into the fire, her ego when she walked out of the palace. And every step of every way, she constantly reminded Rama of his duty and kept him most firmly on the path of righteousness. She taught him to make a home out of nothing in the forests, she reminded him of the freshness and joy of living when she sent him chasing a deer, she even sent him a reminder that she will not sneak out like a thief out of Lanka but that Rama must come to take her home, it was his duty. It was also she who reminded him when she opened Mother Earth for her departure that his time to leave had arrived.

Sita belongs to Mother Earth, her patience, her understanding, her forgiveness and her benevolence springs from that eternal source. We too belong to the same source. We are the ones who make reparations, we are the ones who hold things together, knit one, purl two. We are constantly reminded of this in dreams and in stories. We are surrounded by images and urges, where Nature wants us to see who we truly are and if we are ready to join her yet. We are meant to be permanent residents, and not just tourists in her territory, for this is our motherland and our inheritance at the same time. There is an ancient saying that if you follow a powerful person long enough, someday you too will become a power in your right.

This is our birthright. Most women are not afraid of this, they crave the reunion. Why else would you see so many women sitting humbly and patiently at every possible satsangh, bhajan in town? Searching for that mother that we once knew, seeking reunion with her once more, praying to a miraculous and loving force that exists beyond the boundaries of ego.

We women are building a motherland, each with her own plot of soil and family working, spreading love in larger and larger circles, slowly. Until one day it will be a resurrected land, a spiritual land that will co-exist with other worlds. It is a world that is made out of a mother’s love, her tears, her laughter. It is a world worth making, a world worth living in, a world we have to strive for to achieve.

“It is very difficult to understand why in this country so much difference is made between men and women whereas the Vedanta declares that one and the same conscious self is present in all beings.”³

It is this presence of divinity that in all human beings – man, woman, and child that Swamiji points out. Swamiji views women exactly as he views man, as an individual with a destiny, a spiritual destiny. “The soul has neither sex, nor caste, nor imperfection.” ⁴ This is the right of every individual born on earth, this is a promise given to every individual born on earth, realization. Every other pursuit pales into insignificance. No amount of material success, wealth can compare to one a single moment of spiritual bliss.

“God has hidden himself inside your hearts and exposed you. Hide yourself and expose God,”

Said one very enlightened soul, Lalaji Maharaj. This pursuit of the divine within, this realisation of the divine within is the whole idea of spirituality. Every individual has to realise their journey on earth is but a short journey, a transit point really between dimensions and the quicker they realise it, the faster they can proceed. And making every individual turn towards divinity is only right, always right, and eternally right.

“Come up, O lions, and shake off the delusion that you are sheep; you are souls immortal, spirits free, blest and eternal; ye are not matter, ye are not bodies; matter is your servant, not you the servant of matter.”⁵

In India, women are considered as mothers, who then become our highest ideal. She who is the mother of the universe becomes both our inspiration and our destiny. The ideal in India is the mother and to become a mother every woman fasts and prays for days, perhaps years so that they can experience motherhood. Every child born through prayer is legitimate and every child that is not born through prayer is illegitimate. Mother went through harsh penances to keep herself pure through prayers and vows to bring forth a child, another soul fraught with tremendous powers for good or evil. All women are mothers’ first, wives, sisters, aunts, daughters; every form of human relationship stands secondary to this one primary role. It was a female sage who first found the unity of God, and laid down this doctrine in one of the first hymns of the Vedas. Our God is both personal and absolute; the absolute is male, the personal, female. And thus it comes that we now say,

“The first manifestation of God is the hand that rocks the cradle.” ⁶

In closing, I would like to leave the readers with a story from the Vishnu Purana. Twilight at Vaikuntam, sage Narada arrived to question Vishnu about maya. He requested Vishnu to help him understand this whole concept of maya and how to remain untrapped in its coils and thus, escape eternal bondage.

Vishnu smiled and asked Sage Narada to get him a glass of water. Sage Narada stepped out to get a glass of water and found himself shipwrecked on earth. A local merchant’s daughter fell in love with him and married him. She gave him children and grandchildren and they lived prosperously until one day, she too left the mortal coil.

Sage Narada found himself living his twilight years in a hut when one evening a knock sounded on his door. When he opened it, he found Vishnu standing at his threshold, smiling.

“Why Narada,” Vishnu asked. “What are you doing here? I asked you to get me a glass of water. I have been waiting for over an hour for you.”

In that instant, Sage Narada had a blinding realization of who he was and what he was, of what he was doing on earth and this whole concept of maya that he wanted to understand.

“We are not human beings going through a temporary spiritual experience. We are Spiritual Beings going through a temporary human experience.”

We all carry the spark of Divinity within us but we spoil our Divine condition by negative thoughts and acts.

God is waiting for us to join Him. One day, we too will be asked the same question by God.

“What took you so long? I have been waiting for you. What kept you?

Will we have our answers ready? How many of us realise this and try to live a Life Divine?

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V7.p,214-15
V5.p,412-13
V7.p,214-15
V7.p,214-15
V1.p, Speech at Chicago, Parliament of Religions
V4. P,170