DIVINE INFORMATION PART 49 Respectedfriends,
While going through one of my external memorydevice, I came across some good information storedfrom websites. I thought of sharing interesting ones from them as aseries. In part 49, I am starting with 163rd item in this posting. Kindly note the series is a compilation. Sincerely, Gopala Krishnan 03-07-21 163 STATUS OFWOMEN IN HINDU SOCIETY The position of women in society isalways an index of the greatness of its religion and culture. A woman has always been given a muchhigher status and position in Hinduism than in any other religion. Women so inclined could availthemselves of the highest learning and there were many female seers andphilosophers. Inthe ancient times Sarada wife ofMandanamishra, was appointed as judge because of her superior erudition andspiritual attainments. Warriorqueens like Kaikeye helped their husbands on the battlefields. Womenwere not married till they were in their late teens, sometimes even later. Theycould choose their own husbands and inter-marriages were common. Polygamyexisted in some societies but mostly amongst princes who contracted severalmarriages with daughters of neighbouring rulers for political reasons. A woman was supposed to be themanifestation of Goddess/Shakti and the male (Shaktiman) was supposed to beincomplete without the female (Shakti) with him, whether he was a god or ahuman being. Each male deity of the Divine Trinityhas his female counterpart; Saraswati (learning), Lakshmi (wealth) and Parvati(power). Therituals especially auspicious ones, are incomplete when performed by a manwithout his wife co-participating. Dishonour to women was tantamount todishonour of the Almighty. Wife or mother commanded more honour and reverencethan husband or father. With the onslaught of the foreigninvasions and the subsequent rigidity of the caste system, Hindu women losttheir independence and became objects requiring male protection. In the process they lost theopportunities they earlier had of acquiring knowledge and learning. Starting from the early nineteenthcentury there arose a new upsurge of intellectual searching and re-evaluation of our ancient past withseveral reformers spreading the message of the need for purifying Hinduism ofits excessive rites, rituals and orthodoxy ad the heaping of inequalities onwomen. Some of the reformers of the time wereRam-mohan Roy, Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar, Swami Vivekananda and MahatmaGandhi. Womenin modern Indian society have full freedom and equality including the right ofinheritance. 164 SWASTIKA The word ‘Swasti’ means auspicious, benevolent, a good deed or goodwishes. The Swastika is considered auspicious and is painted on the doors of houses in India to ward off evilspirits. Its origin goes back to the Vedic times (4500-2500 B.C.), may be evenearlier. Seals with the Swastika symbol have been found atexcavation sites in Harappa which date back to about 2000 years. The Swastika is in the form of Greek cross withthe ends of the arms bent at right angles. The right-handed Swastika moves inthe clockwise directions and the left-handed in the counter-clockwisedirection. The latter is considered an evil omen and generally never used. TheSwastika is said to represent the Sun or Lord Vishnu. Inthe Puranas it has been described as the ‘Sudarshana Chakra’ or the wheel ofVishnu and also symbolizes the constant changes in the universe. TheSwastika has also been associated with the Sun (the arms representing the sun’srays) and also with Ganesha, the pathfinder whose image is often found at thecrossroads. In the ‘Siddhanta Saar’ the hub of the Swastikahas been described as the navel of Vishnu and the four lines as the four facesand four arms of Brahma. TheSwastika is considered as a tantric symbol and is drawn in various stylisedforms. Itis a tradition to pray to it during religious festivals and auspiciousoccasions. DuringDiwali, the festival of lights, and thefinancial year-end for the Hindu businessmen, new account books are opened anddecorated with the Swastika symbol and the words ‘Shubh-Labh’ (meaning ‘Auspicious Profit’) next toit. Prayers are also held so that the goddess of wealth, Lakshmi, will bebenevolent. 165 TANTRA Tantra is a form of yogic practiceleading to divine ecstasy through certain rites that emphasize the erotic and the forbidden. Tantra is centred upon ‘shakti’, thedivine female power worshipped by the sadhakas (male practitioners) through the‘shaktis’ named after the goddesses who are her earthly incarnation in thetantric ceremony. While traditional Hindu spiritualityemphasizes abstinence from physical, emotional and tactile pleasures, as wellas the negation of the mundane world, tantra cultivates and makes use ofthem. 166 STRUCTUREOF A HINDU TEMPLE The structure of a Hindu temple is the sameall over India but there may be certain additions to its basic form dependingon the regional influence or the wealth of the temple and sometimes thepolitical influence. Forexample the double images in the ‘garbha griha’ and the high protective wall insome South Indian temples were meant to protect against the Muslim invaders. Hindu worship is nor congregational inthe Christian sense, and is mainly personal except on certain occasions. The structure of the temple istherefore based on the principle of having a small garbha griha (A in thediagram) where the image of the deity is installed. Thereis a passage for circumambulation of the garbha griha. This is the heart of the temple and thedome or spire is normally above the garbha griha, except in South Indiantemples where the spire is generally at the entrance. Circumambulation after prayers is verynecessary and the passage around the idol is a essential part of the structureof the temple. There is a small passage called theantrala (vestibule) (B), which connects the garbha griha to the mandapa (C) orthe pillared hall where the devotees gather for worship. Thepillars normally have carvings of minor gods and goddesses, incidents from thelife of the main deity and sometimes scenes from thevarious epics. In some temples these carvings coverthe exterior walls of the temples. The entrance porch is called theardhamandapa (D). In some of the larger temples there are sometimes extra hallscalled the maha mandapa (E) and kalyana mandapa (F) used for holding largeprayer meetings. 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