Why Women Need To Be Heard More

Why Women Need To Be Heard More

Pope Francis recently asked men to be less macho and listen more to women. Was he underlining the truth of basic man-woman equality , and hinting that the world needs to “listen more to women“ to balance itself, with more feminine energy?

Indic scriptures state that feminine energy is distinctive, because it is powerful, yet tempered with virtue. The feminine is the embodiment of Shakti and the primal source of all manifestation. She is also full of wisdom, compassion and sacrifice. As `mother', the feminine principle supremely embodies nurturing and caring instincts.

Once, at the main gate to Vrindavan, Krishna said to the guard, “See that no woman enters Vrindavan.“ When Radha came she was refused entry by the guard. When she told him Vrindavan belongs to all, he replied that women were not permitted entry . She asked him what he was, and he replied that he was a man. Radha challenged him by saying that there is no man; all are women only. All created ones are Prakriti or children of the earth. In the drama of life, the world is a stage, where some don male costumes and others female.

Sathya Sai Baba says, “Men use their discriminative ability only to do their jobs, but women can discriminate and deal with any work according to the situation. People call women weak. Do not believe it. Women are not just homemakers; they make the nation and the world. They have a crucial role in individual and social uplift. There is nothing in this world that women cannot achieve.“ However, women do need to protect themselves from abuse and exploitation. With access to education and good opportunities, women can get equipped for greater responsibilities and create a safer environment for all.

The Bhagwad Gita states that women are equipped with seven strengths, whereas men are equipped with only three. However, these qualities are rarely known because most women are homemakers and they labour without any material compensation that they would have received if they had put in the same effort and time in a job outside the home as an employee. If men and women are equal in essence and equal to all modern day challenges, in society and home, what is the edge that women have, in today's context? The edge that women have is their basic qualities of compassion, of mutual cooperation, tolerance and sacrifice. These virtues are abundant in the feminine psyche and not so evident in the male. This is where `macho' comes in ­ the male machismo ­which is mistakenly believed to be synonymous with manhood. Battles and wars in history have been waged on grounds of ego, dressed up in another garb. What the world needs to survive is not more male machismo, but feminine energy , that is intelligent and balanced and therefore has greater chances of restoring order and harmony in a fractured world.

Another area of women's strength is in their spirituality. Their spiritual aspect makes women more reverent, humble, serene and accommodating. Their innate wisdom comes from evolving over time in terms of handling and balancing multiple relationships, as daughter, daughter-in-law, wife and mother. Their impulse is towards making, not breaking since they are geared to nurture and not to destroy. Their natural tendency is towards rapprochement, not conflict.

Feminine energy that inclines toward preservation, restoration and healing, is the very basis of creation. It is high time society understood the importance of allowing for expansion of the base of this energy for a better, more peaceful and balanced world for the benefit of all beings.

Om Namah Shivay