Everyone knows Navratri celebrations start from tomorrow. For nine days whole of the north India is immersed in praying to Goddess Durga. For Benglai's the celebrations start with Mahalaya, which is today. Gujratis celebrate in a big way with Garbas and Dandiyas. These celebrations shows our rich culture where a woman is seen as the symbol of energy. It is this energy that sustains the universe. I always use to think why GOD/GODDESS are seen as immortal, my explanation is that they symbolise energy and since energy can neither be created nor destroyed therefore, they are considered immortal. Of all the sources of energy, the ultimate source is considered to be Goddess Durga. She is the one who is approached when the trinity feels threatened and helpless. She is approached by all GOD/ GODDESSes when they are in trouble. Our Hindu philosophy(I will not call it religion,as it is a philosophy, which if interpreted properly, gives an insight into meaningful life) has placed the woman on the highest pedestal. In earlier days it had given her the right to property, right to choose her husband and even recognition by the way her kids were addressed Kontey(for Kunti's putra and so on). Just see the irony, we celebrate Navratras but don't treat our womenfolk with dignity. We celebrate Navratras but don't understand the meaning of it. Women folk in North is to be equally blamed for not treating their daughters at par with their son(I am not talking about the educated lot, the % is very less, still, many woman might be illiterate but can't be called educated ). The states where Durga Ma is revered goddess, the domestic violence and female foeticide is most rampant. These rich traditions of ours were meant to create sensitivity towards woman folk, but, do we really understand the meaning of celebrating them? Your inputs would be highly appreciated Looking forward to hear from all of you Regards Ansh
Hi ansh, I agree with you, although women are treated beeter than we were before, Sensitivity is the question though. Everyone takes tto these nine days with happiness forgetting why and what is the real essence of the celebrations. I am waiting to listen to the others!
IMHO, Traditions and reality never go hand-in-hand. They are oxymorons. I have kind of stopped believing in these traditions. My parents are very austere and especially my mother who is very devote to the religious activities. I often ask this question, if there's any bad deed in the form of thoughts, actions, and speech and if we are promptly punished, when will we reap for our good deeds? We cannot keep saying Karma for everything. Every other Indian mythology talks about destroying the evil for the sake of dharma. If that is true, we need to question what is dharma for our life. This is very subjective. If dharma has to be reinstated for me, it has to be in the form of a good career and a life partner. But dharma failed me in my marriage and perhaps has given me the wisdom. But what I wanted and what I got are different. I never got what I wanted, I got what was thrust on me in the most painful way. Now, if dharma is supposed to be taught to us in the most painful way, is this the right approach? Now we blame the Karma for the painful process. This is cyclic. When we reap the fruits of our good deeds, we might feel dharma has been established. But when? It is like a crying baby in need of food. The baby cries when it is hungry, and once the food is given the baby is appeased. Now if the baby is tantalized, in the name of Karma, what justification can the eternal offer? Having asked all these questions to myself and for not having got any appropriate and convincing answers, I just say the Indian mythology is a bunch folk tales that were told to people when there weren't any other means of entertainment!
Well, so much for hypocrisy in our culture. We do not need references from our epics (I would not call them Mythology, because I do not believe those are myths) to show that it is not our culture to discriminate based on gender. We are one of very few countries that had/has women in leading positions. We had women prime minister almost 30 years ago, while countries like US are yet to see one. Hypocrisy is equally part of our culture and so is the attitude that as long as it is not my backyard I will support!. I do believe that some of the changes in our traditions reflect all the invasions our country had, especially Muslim invasion had a strong impact on it. Hopefully, one day we will learn to appreciate what we have and stand on our two feet instead of aping others. drjp P.S., this post might get better response in general discussion.
I wonder whether we will stop aping others and become self-relaint. The moment a person is self relaint that means there is a great sense of justice that prevails, people become rational, they think laterally, but if these qualities seep in, the world will be a perfect place to live and there won't be anything to really worry about. The creator must destroy this perfect picture and recreate something where he has more work. It is simply like a project. If the project is successful we celebrate and move to other projects, contrarily, if the project is a catastrophe we blame each other and the weakest links is axed and still we move on.
Dear Ansh, Congrats on making it to the FP forum with this thread. Before I proceed, I loved your Id picture. Beautiful eyes! Made me feel like they are looking deep into me and questioning! Alas, have no satisfactory answers to your probing eyes and questions. Not because I am unaware of the problems or that I am ignorant of the injustice that happens all the time in our country. It is also my question...How can a woman perpetrate such injustices to her own ilk! More often than not, she is herself responsible for the sorry state her sisters and daughters are in. High time that every woman of India comes down and strikes out dowry/ dahej or other types of gifts that Only the bride's parents have to give the bridegroom and all of his family members both in cash and kind. This is simply in bad taste and hurtful. I can go on and on, but see no solution to this deplorable practice anywhere in the near horizon. If women do not act upon it, I think no one else will. In the meantime, I wish you a happy Navarathri! L, Kamla
My thanks are due to Srividhya for nominating this thread. I am humbled by this nomination, as i know that I am not a great writer. My thanks are due to drjp, who suggested me to move this post for general discussion. THANKYOU BUDDY. You have always been very nice to me and enriched my thoughts by your healthy discussions Canwait, thanks a lot for your two cents and critical analysis. You write with a lot of passion for any discussion. Thanks Jayantikristhan for being the first one to reply Regards Ansh
Thanks Kamalaji The photo is that of my daughter. She is a very naughty teenager always questioning some of the traditions and double standards that are prevalent. I always feel how hypocrat our society is, when I see newly married going to vaishno devi to seek MA's blessing and praying for a baby boy. We worship goddess DURGA but fail to understand that she symbolises the latent energy present in every women. The energy to take on any enemy who poses a threat to her family, the energy to fight adversities, energy to multitask(the ten hands of DURGA symbolises this) and many other qualities that every woman embodies. It is hightime that every woman realizes that she can be a KALI as well as SHEETALA. I thankyou once again for your valuable comments Regards Ansh
Ansh You raised a very apt thread and it deserved the nomination..... I didnt know how to answer or what to answer for the question of the thread so kept silent...because sometimes I feel so depressed and low when I come to IL and read various threads on how women feel and how they are being treated..there is no hard fast solution for anything or any problem ...sometimes I dont even know the reason why a husband can be sooo insensitive to his own wife ..with whom he is going to spend the rest of his life with...commitment to relationships is lacking clearly in our present generation.. We all used to think in olden days women had gone through worst etc..but lately i started wondering...as we are progressing through centuries...with latest technology and innovations, these marital issues are also becoming worser....complexity in relationships has increased.. Kamala madam had put it well...I would also say the same words...we all can go on and on about why and how things are happening..but we cant change the perceptions or mentality ... Wishing you and your daughter a very happy dussehra....
