On religion and gender…

There is an innate need in human beings to connect to a power which is transcendental. Over millennia this power acquired a form as an icon, or as a symbol depending on the socio-cultural inputs which went into formulating a particular religion. The form bridged the gap between what human mind perceived as ethereal and material, masculine and feminine, inert and dynamic. It presented an ‘ideal type’ of what a human being wanted to be or wished to see in another human being. Hence he looked upto these forms in an act of aspiration, desire, and devotion. This relationship between the divine and the mortal grew over centuries into a social system which we now call a religion. Soon this system started churning out rules and roles for everyone. But what surfaces as the most paradoxical nature of this system is how feminine energy is projected as a divine entity and how a woman is treated in day-to day life. The article discusses the gulf between the divine nad mortal with respect to Hinduism and briefly touches on the issue o gender with respect to Islam and Christianity.

Concept of Prakriti and Purusha

Hinduism, especially Sankhya philosophy regards the universe as consisting of two realities: Purusha (consciousness) and Prakriti (phenomenal realm of matter). Purusha, the cosmic consciousness, is the basis of Prakriti, its material nature. They are the experiencer and the experienced. The play between prakriti and purusha at the philosophical level is the one between dynamics and statics, inert and covert. Cosmogony begins when Brahman the Universal Being separates the feminine principle from himself. When divided from Brahman the feminine principle becomes Prakirti, which is also often equated with maya( meaning illusion). Males contain, females are contained; males are active creative agents, females are submissive ones; male seed is the source of new life, the female womb is merely an incubator; males are allied with spiritual processes, females are allied with material—especially sexual—processes.


In Puranas the narration of creation at a cosmic level and its manifestation at the social level have many congruencies. Madeleine Biardeau, traces these patterns in her understating of the Puranas. And enumerates how starting from the abstract level of purusha and prakriti, representations of these energies turn into mythological icons which represent a social concept. The dichotomy arises when the society worships these icons with all pomp and glory but cannot place man and woman at the same level

Hindu Iconography

Lakshmi : Goddess Lakshmi is a symbol of purity, chastity and generosity. She is depicted as sitting on the Sahasrar Kamal , the thousand pettalled lotus which signifies the realisation of supreme truth. Bedecked in golden finery and dressed in auspicious red, she has four hands that symbolize her power to grant the four goals of human life- dharma, (righteousness), artha( wealth), kama(progeny) and moksha(liberation). Lkshmi holds Amrita Kalash(pot of ambrosia)and with the fourth hand gives boon of plenitude.

In India even today parents feel happy to name their girl child Lakshmi but the hard-hitting fact is that majority of girl children in rural areas are only reduces to learn house-hold chores and trained to become good mothers or wives and not pursue any profession which can give them a strong financial base. They do not have any monetary security and have to depend on the male members of the family for everything- thereby living a life of subservience. In urban India although the situation is slightly different majority of women are not empowered financially. At most of the places female workers are paid less than their male counter parts. Even at higher posts the woman has to constantly prove er merit and competence in the male dominated work place. Money also does not empower her in a complete sense because she has to face the onslaught of a dominant ideology.

Saraswati : The saara (essence) of swa( you own self). She who gives this is called Saraswati. Her four hands represent the mind, the intellect, the conditioned consciousness and the ego. The palm leaf manuscripts in the lower left hand point to the foundational role of knowledge. The rosary in the upper right hand signifies the power of focused thinking. With the other two hands the goddess holds Veena ( string instrument) thus symbolizing the need to harmonize the mind with the intellect to create the music of contentment. The instrument also establishes her as the presiding deity of all creative and performing arts.
In pre-Vedic era women were allowed to pursue knowledge. But in the Vedic times women were barred from studies of any kind. Natya Veda- the fifth Veda was composed by Bharata only because the other four Vedas- Rig, Yajur, Sama and Athrva were beyond the reach of women. Their minds were trained and nurtured only for the purpose of sustaining the basic needs of the society- food and progeny. In traditional Indian society girls were kept away from pursuing any forms of art -Music and painting to some extent but dance was a taboo for a woman who formed a part of general socity. This lacunae between what society wanted and what it practiced led to the system of Devadasis where girls were dedicated to the temple. They were at power with the priest in executing the ritual ceremonies but were not given a legitimate place in the society like other women. A devadasi was always treated as the ‘other’ as she was not allowed to marry a man in the brahminical tradition. Instead she was consecrated to the temple and married to the image of God and henceforth called ‘Nityasumangali’- eternally married. She had complete access to arts and literature but only by staying outside the boundaries of a regular society. She was treated as the bridge between the transcendental religious world and the social world , a connection between Man and God. This reduced her to an intermediate zone as far as the society was concerned. which is why the Devadasi system faced the onslaught of the Brahminical movement in late 18th and early 19th century championed by the British colonizers which finally led to the abolition of the Devadasi system. Woman has always had to choose between the two – the knowledge or the society and those who chose both have always had to tread a very difficult path in their lives.

Shakti : In her various forms, Shakti, the dynamic manifesting power of Shiva epitomizes the worship of the concept of universal mother. She is believed to incarnate on earth in different forms to relieve it from clutches of evil. As Devi Durga she is the ten-armed, lion-riding, goddess who vanquished Mahishasura the buffalo-demon. A warrior, protector, mother, wife and a daughter, Durga is the manifestation of the female godhead in its supreme form.
Contrasting images of violence against women are seen, heard and experienced everyday. Female infanticide is rampant, child marriage is still in practice, women are still tortured for dowry, prostitution levels are high and multi-layered, physical aggression, such as blows of varying intensity, burns, attempted hanging, sexual abuse and rape, psychological violence through insults, humiliation, coercion, blackmail, economic or emotional threats, and control over speech and actions. In extreme, but notunknown cases, death is the result. These expressions of violence take place in a man-woman relationship within the family, state and society. A woman is not powerful enough to fight the myriad forms of Mahishasura which confront her at various turns of life.
The seeds of violence against women are sown at a very young age in the minds of children by their own family members which metamorphose into different expression at various stages of a person’s life. Sheela Saravanan in her report on Violence Against Women in India says that

‘ the family socialises its members to accept hierarchical relations expressed in unequal
division of labour between the sexes and power over the allocation of resources. The
family and its operational unit is where the child is exposed to gender differences since
birth, and in recent times even before birth, in the form of sex-determination tests leading
to foeticide and female infanticide. The home, which is supposed to be the most secure
place, is where women are most exposed to violence. ’

Radha : The eternal love of Radha and Krishna has been the subject of great religious and philosophical imagery. It is interpreted as the relationship between the jeevatma(embodied soul) and the paramatma( universal souls) which forms the foundational basis of the Hindu Dharma. The love of Radha and Krishna is rooted in allegory. Radha is the personification of the devorted minds of the devotee, of the souls searching for the embrace of the universal spirit. Radha is the individual and Krishna is the essence of life.
Here again the imagery is crafted within a male dominated framework. There is not a single goddess in Hindu pantheon who is treated as the universal lover and man is see as the yearning spirit. Thereby the popular ideology propagates the yearning of spiritual union only as that of a female and not male.
Society worships the union of Radha and Krishna - Radha who is a married woman and even elder to Krishna -only because they are Gods. The same prototype when applied in society faces all kinds of oppositions as this kind of a relationship is termed as adultery.

Caste and Gender

There is also a deep connection between caste and gender. Caste is a ubiquitous aspect of Hindu religion. And gender is an issue within the framework of caste which faces a considerable amount of discrimination . Tracy Pintchman says

‘ there is no empirically verifiable biological basis for caste differentiation, whereas the biological realities of gender difference are obvious to all. But caste and gender tend to function socially in similar ways. Like caste, gender plays an important role in structuring social hierarchy in contemporary Indian culture, and both caste and gender have been invoked to legitimate inequitable distributions of wealth and power, differences in status, discrepancies in rights, divisions of labor, and hierarchical notions of inherent worth. ’

Perhaps one can even say that Gender is more fundamental than caste as a principle of hierarchy. And religion imposes certain measures on women to behave in a particular manner with respect to her role in a social set up. With each stage of her life she is expected to follow a set of rules which also have a significant connection with her sexuality.



Popular social codes with respect to Gender

Hinduism also lays down the dress code for a woman depending on her relationship with the man. When a girl attains puberty, indirectly meaning that she is now ready biologically to bear a child, she is required to dress as an elderly woman. Once she is married she needs to carry marks of her marital status. These symbols vary from region to region. For example in south she is expected to wear a thali (sacred thread), metti(toe rings); in Bengal she is required to wear bangles of ivory and lac, in parts of Himachal Pradesh she should wear a nose ring … there are no such rules for men in any religion. He is not ‘marked’ by society as the married one.

For widows each society again has a different code according to which the woman should detach herself from any ornamentation which adds to her physical beauty. She is divested of any ‘need’ to dress beautifully because it is believed that a woman should dress only for a man.
And these regulations for women are so much imbued n the psyche of a woman that she starts justifying them. In case any woman chooses to behave differently, she is marked as a deviant not only by men but by women as well.

Concept of Heaven and Hell

The Hindu society has been perpetuating these gender specific roles time and again. And this cycle of continuance has a deep connection with the concept of heaven and hell. It is believed in Hinduism that a son only is expected to perform the rites for the deceased so that the diceased can attain moksha(liberation). A girl is not even allowed to visit the burial ground of the dead person. This importance given to a mail child not only has connection to the death but also to birth . A son is the one who actually carries the lineage forward, not the daughter because in Hindu society it is indoctrinated in the mind of everyone that the girl does not belong to the father’s family but to the future family of her husband . Hence the seeds of separation are sown at the very beginning. Due to this belief it becomes imperative for a woman to bear a mail child and if she fails to do so she is ostracized by the society physically, and mentally.

Islam and Christianity

Similar dichotomies between deification of women and the status of women is society can be seen in Islam and Christianity as well. Many of the resurgent pre-Islamic cultural practices that have tragically come to be associated with Islam, such as forced marriages, female genital mutilation, bridal (as opposed to groom-paid) dowries, honor killings and the criminalization of rape victims, only resurfaced following the disruption caused by colonialism and the resulting disconnect between the common Muslims and their sources of knowledge. But even today majority of Muslim women are expected to wear burqa. There are no such dress codes for men. But surprisingly writers like Ben Adam validate this practice by saying that

‘ The Muslim woman who wears her hijab (meaning "to veil, to cover , to screen, to shelter"), declares her faith in humility and servitude before God. Only those given divine sanction - her immediate family and other believing women - may view her bodily beauty. In effect, she is saying: ‘Judge me for my faith, not my body - I give you no other choice.’ When faithfully implemented, as it was by its earliest adherents, Islam offers women the freedom, dignity, justice and protection that have long remained out of their reach . As for the veiled Muslim celebrating her womanhood, she is but a reflection of chastity, humility and dignity, a mirror of her devotion to and belief in God - factors which liberate, not subjugate - and for this she can expect a great reward. ’

But there are no such veils for men. Does that mean they are no devout ? does it mean that they lack in humility, dignity or devotion ?

In Christianity Mother Mary is worshipped as Virgin Mary. Why Virgin.. because female sexuality is seen as some kind of a taboo, a disgrace.. . The very process of creation is seen as an offence or wrongdoing and this basic need of the human being is always to be kept under control.
The account of the creation of Eve from Adam's rib in Genesis 2:18-25, for example, has often been invoked as evidence that women are inferior to men by nature and by divine decree. Different writers have pointed out that creation of woman from Adam's rib has been interpreted in the most literal sense for thousands of years to denote the God-given inferiority of woman. The creation of Eve from Adam's rib in Genesis echoes the male-as-container, female-as-contained imagery that is similar to the one in the Puranas. Aristotle proclaimed a similar understanding of procreation portraying the female womb as "merely the passive incubators of the male seed" that is the real source of life .

Conclusion
Hence, gender associations at play in Puranic cosmogonies and more generally in Hindu culture are not unique but exemplify much more widespread biases. Religion is a path to the divine but in society it is treated as a medium of power play which gets predominantly expressed through gender definitions.
Unless woman is treated as an equal to man no ritual, no custom, no rite can emancipate the human being to the level of spiritual being.


BIBLIOGRAPHY

1. Adam, Ben 2006 . The Veil Unveiled: The True Status of Women in Islam available at www.Quran.nu
2. Banerji , Shyam. 2003. Hindu gods and temples, I.K. International Pvt Ltd. New Delhi
3. Website referred : www. Manushi.org