INDIAN WOMANHOOD In the perception of Swami Vivekananda

INDIAN WOMANHOOD : In the perception of Swami Vivekananda

WOMEN AND INDIA • “India is mother of us all”: Will Durant • Two prevailing views regarding India’s past. • The different Indian scenario a. Culturally diverse • • b. Relationship based • Tradition-a casualty with recent slogans of women empowerment, feminism, gender equality. • Modernity vs. Tradition. • Important entity caught in this conflict- ‘Woman’

Why Swamiji ? • Swami Vivekananda provided the seed thought for Indian nationalism. • Perceived women as a pride of any civilization • Did not believe that “west is best” but appreciated the “best in west”. • His lectures blended the east -west dichotomy. • He traced the maladies of Indian womanhood and prescribed remedies. • Fifty years with five hundred men ; few weeks with women. • Pioneer in making strategies for modern India.

WOMEN AND EDUCATION

EDUCATION • Indian importance to education since vedic times. • Swami Ranganathananda: the object of life is not pleasure but knowledge. • Similar perception of swami Vivekananda and the feminists regarding vedic age. • Many vedic hymns are composed by women , some attributed to women. • J. K. Pillai and K. Rajeswari list out women rishis : Lopamudra, apala, sradha, yami, urvashi. • Swami Vivekananda refers to women priests. Panini: Arcarya(lady teacher), Upadhyaya(woman preceptor)

EDUCATION • Feminists condemn Manu- as against women’s education. • Swami Vivekananda differs. He quotes Manu – “Along the same lines , the daughters are to be educated exactly as the boys. ” • Insertion of fake verses in Manu smriti and problems in interpreting. • Agniveer quotation. • We neglected the advice of manu.

EDUCATION • Vivekananda : education • a. nourishes the soul, • b. induces search for truth • c. kindles national spirit • It is not an intellectual exercise, but an internal penance. • His vision of a math for women. • Education is innate • No gender difference in ‘search for truth’

EDUCATION • Swami Vivekananda’s strategy blends spirituality, education, culture and women. • Feminists detach women and education from the rest. • Women’s education is for the family, society and nation. • The Mahakavi and Madonna models. • Feminist s’education strategy is confined to employment and luxuries

EMPOWERMENT: THE INDIAN VS THE WESTERN

INDIAN VS WESTERN �Swami Vivekananda prefers purity to intellect. �“ Our women are not so learned, but they are more pure. ” �Woman is a wife in the west, In India a woman is a mother. �Women as replicas of men, in the west. �Early marriage is not found in the west. �Theological differences �-God ‘the mother’ �-next incarnation.

INDIAN VS WESTERN �The danger in the west --- from no rights to excess rights. �Broken families , uncared for elders, undercared children. �Claiming rights(feminist view) is not suitable for Indian context. �Consequence of western model of empowerment without emphasis on values. �Example of Sweden �-Most empowered �-45% of Member of parliament �-All freedom

INDIAN VS WESTERN �But, they have no respect in the society. �Empowerment is not liberation from tradition and culture. �Empowered woman is a liberated women. Liberated from what? �Dismantling of society, values, morals is a threat to women. �Empowerment vs. ‘parasparam Bhavayantah. ’ �Exploitation by the transnational corporations. �India cannot adopt the western model.

INDIAN VS WESTERN • All is not well with the west: Swami Vivekananda • Women going astray shall lead to destruction. • An ideal Indian woman is to be modeled after Sita and Savitri. • Theologically , politically, culturally different western formula is irrelevant to India-a relationship based society.

INDIAN VS WESTERN –The bottom line • Swami Vivekananda advocates reverence, respect for the country, dharma. • The insufficiencies in the system are to be met with by the Indians • They should not replace it with the western system that shall be irrelevant to India. • India has to improve in women’s education. • But all these should not be at the cost of purity.

Let us glorify women and solemnize womanhood