West can learn about women empowerment from Hindu philosophy

Purnima Nath

Women’s rights, women’s equality and women empowerment are hot topics. Western corporate sector, government, NGOs and business schools, promote massive agendas, courses, policies, and curriculums around these subjects. Practically speaking, every company tries to appoint a woman CXO or division head, disguised as promotion of “equity”, “diversity”, “inclusion”, “empowerment” for DEI (Diversity, Equity, Inclusion) initiative.

Once then-nominee American Supreme Court associate justice Ketanji Brown Jackson uttered that “she” or “he” did not know what a woman is [as she was not a biologist], with a straight face, I became explicitly interested in this particular topic more than ever.

Honestly, I still do not know what the American Supreme Court associate justice KBJ is? However, irony is, at times though, the political left attempts to promote this “creation” as a “woman” (sarcasm). Frankly, in my observation, America is going through a massive identity crisis. Political left is hell bent on pushing their peculiar policies under the garb of so-called “progressiveness” while creating a mentally ill unstable destructive society, deliberately.

Impact of Eastern Spirituality and Philosophy of Women

India, the ancient land of spirituality, religion, divinity, more specifically the divine feminine, elected a female Prime Minister, Indira Gandhi, 58 years ago. Sri Lanka was the first country in the world to have elected a female Prime minister in 1960.

A billion people never squinted their eyes for a bit when a woman leader was chosen because of her gender to rule the nation when many western countries could not elect a woman president, purely based on merit and capability over gender and identity politics.

I am of the opinion that Indic eastern civilizational values have a vast array of subjects, which the west could learn. On that note, I wish one-day America would “elect” (not select) a female President based on merit and capability rather than mere gender, sex, skin color and shallow identity politics.

In the Islamic states of Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Bangladesh, women, children, and minorities are subject to inhuman brutality. Current illegal immigration with open borders and unabated infiltration are endangering countries across the western and European hemisphere that resulted in immediate dramatic increase of rape, physical abuse, human trafficking, and sexual assault in recent years.

Is it a coincidence? However, western politicians and entities are deeply engaged in a particular kind of religious appeasement, which will only topple the society. #DejaVu. This is proving to be detrimental to the safety of our girls, women, and ultimately our society. Media outlets remain silent on the root cause.

Academia and NGOs are equally complicit. Western countries must spend time understanding and taking action on the root causes of these massive issues affecting our communities, before it is too late. Our children, girls, and women will pay a heavy price for this massive silence.

How Did We Arrive Here If Women Did Not Exist Nor Had a Key Role In The Society?

In a world that is 4.543 billion years old, which has seen 6 millions of years of human ancestry, where modern form of human evolved 200,000 years ago, west told us our civilization only occurred 6000 years ago, biblically, and modernity and advancement only came with industrialization of around 1800 CE – essentially just 200 years ago?

In today’s socio-political landscape we are at a point where we have advanced so much that we must define what a woman is? Woman is “an adult female human being” according to the Oxford English Dictionary or Cambridge dictionary. Some go to the point to say, a “person” that “identifies” as a female, as by birth, residence, membership, or occupation. The meaning of Female is of, relating to, or being the sex that typically has the capacity to bear young or produce eggs, as per the Oxford dictionary.

Essentially, Female is the one who has the ability to receive the seed, who can bear a child, and recreate the next generation. Females/women are the ones who kept the civilization alive! Females are the instruments of continuity.

My honest question is: If we did not have females or women how did we (humans) recreate for the last 200,000 years? How did we arrive here today without “women”? No single four-legged animals, two-legged birds, insects, serpents, have ever worried about defining male/female sex or gender. They exist and recreate naturally.

Only “modern”, “advanced”, “accomplished”, “western”, “educated”, “intellectuals” humans seem to have this massive confusion and dilemma (power of “modernity”). Sometimes I wonder if intellectual bankruptcy is fashionable and award-worthy these days? Have we lost all common sense? I wonder what the top universities and ivy leagues are really doing? Instead of solving problems and making lives advanced they seem to be creating more primitive problems for society.

New-Age International Women’s Day

A fairly new-age western phenomenon that started a trend over a 100 years ago when Socialist Party of America pushed the March 8th 1909 movement as the celebration of International Women’s Day. Mind you, women did not have voting rights in America until 1920. And I am sure you have witnessed a tremendous amount of award ceremonies and celebrations during this time around. 100 years of western agenda, we are still looking for solution for women empowerment. Women empowerment concept is a western concept. It never was an issue in the eastern culture.

Why are we still talking about #WomenEmpowerment?

Historicity of Hindu Civilization & Divine Femininity

Oldest scripture of the world is Rig Veda (survived). Oldest religion of the world Hindutva(ism). Oldest language is Sanskrit. In fact, people in few villages of India still speak #Sanskrit.

Out of four oldest civilizations,

(1) Mesopotamia civilization, current day Iraq and northeast Syria, has been WIPED OUT, the region has been converted to complete Islamic countries,

(2) Egyptian civilization became completely Islamic

(3) Chinese civilization became a strange combination of authoritarian, totalitarian, atheist, communist and capitalistic society and

(4) whereas Indus Valley Civilization (IVC)’s ancient Hindu religion, culture, heritage and history survived as the continuous Hindu civilization despite the barbaric invasion and cruel infiltration. The civilization that was formed by “Sindhu” river became known as “Hindu” by foreigners who could not pronounce the word “Sindhu”. Over time “Hindu” became “Indu”…”Indo”…”Indus”…”Indic”…thus, “Indus Valley Civilization” [IVC]…hence the name “India”.

Hindutva (AKA Hindu’ism’), the final living ancient civilization that survived brutal attacks, plunder, loot, slaughter, and conversion agenda of the invaders for over a millennium.

With the continuous “KHOJ” [search] for answers, as excavation and explorations continues, advancement of science and technology occur, and as further discoveries are made, today we know Indic civilization’s historicity is at least 14,000 years old. Carbon dating of the submerged archaeological site of the City of Dwaraka proved it.

In the east, however, both divine masculinity and divine femininity “energy” are worshipped equally for eons. Many in the east are familiar with scriptural legends of God Shiva, Ardhanarishwara, which is an aspect of ultimate fusion of masculinity (Shiva) and femininity (Shakti) within, a perfect union for procreation.

Not to be confused with the recent western phenomenon of ‘gender dysphoria’ with a notion that somehow one is born in the wrong body or one can decide their gender in kindergarten or go through sex-changing surgeries without parental permissions or one can identify as an animal or there are millions of genders.

I bring attention to the matter that, both genders and energies are compulsory for the cycle of creation. Neither is superior, nor inferior, each has its own share of strengths and weaknesses. Source of all creation without nature and nurture is incomplete.

Women don’t have to become men in order to achieve what she wants, or be the best she can be or do not have to propagate a man-bashing agenda in order to succeed. On top of it, toxic western feminism is destroying the balance of divine feminine energy and divine masculine energy.

Political left is hell bent on erasing the men. Masculine energy is the giver and the provider and the feminine is the receiver and the protector. Balance between male and female energy is crucially important for civilizational continuity. Both energies are necessary for creation, sustenance and dissolution, not one without the other.

There is no known religion, ideology, philosophy and civilization known to me that reveres women like Hindutva(ism). Not just respect for women, but reverence for women. We worship women, the divine feminine energy.

We worship divine mother goddesses as equals, at times much more powerful. Various manifestations of mother Goddess are Maa Durga, Maa Tara, Maa Kali, Maa Laksmi and so on. Divine feminine energy, i.e., “SHAKTI” – the prime energy for creation, sustenance and dissolution. Women are the primal energy of evolution and continuity. Without women, nothing manifests.

Women Rights/Empowerment was NEVER an issue in eastern Hindu society. Even our revered God/Goddesses were referred with their mother. For instance Anjani putra Hanuman or Devaki nandan Krishna. Similarly, women rights/empowerment is not an issue in Hindu society even today. Our Hindu women are in NASA. Our women are engineers, doctors, lawyers. Our women are CEOs. Our women are in every industry and field possible including military and aviation.

Over a 1,000 years ago, our thriving and wealthy Hindu civilization was attacked by attackers of foreign ideologies that marked the downfall of our civilization. Our women had to be mercilessly abducted, ruthlessly raped, cruelly converted, brutally enslaved, and savagely sold in open bazaars, NAKED.

Hindu women had to start covering up to save themselves in the Indian subcontinent. Quiet marriages took place In the middle of the night to protect the girls from invaders. Even though we forgot our history, we lost our heritage, our wealth was stolen, our dignity was snatched, we did not lose our religion, faith and culture – this is a significant achievement of our ancestors.

Medieval Days and Changing Role of Women

In the medieval period, usually the women would nurture the family, and tend to the children and home. Cutting woods or transporting heavy rocks or warfare were naturally not an easy job for women – therefore, in the past, men were outbound, working and earning a bread, and women would stay home, nurturing children and home; hence it made women dependent on men.

However, women were NOT inferior to men, nor were they treated as inferior. Even in the 20th century I grew up watching my father worshipping his mother no less than a goddess herself. I personally was never taught that, as a girl I cannot achieve something my heart desires. It is not about wealth or property or social status – but the incomparable teaching of respect, equality, wisdom a Hindu household imparts to their next generations.

In the twenty-first century (in the age of information, science and technology) type of work changed. Women can be everything she wants to – from teachers to pilots to engineers to doctors to lawyers or even priestesses. Now, women are outspoken, well educated, independent – can follow whatever path or passion they choose to follow. Today’s unfortunate leftist politics of eradicating men and feminists’ men-bashing agenda are ruinous and poisonous for the society.

Connecting The Dots

Eastern Indian Hindu philosophy and religion has a great deal of examples of women’s rights, women’s equality and women empowerment. Women are wholesome creation of the almighty himself. Women and females are NOT inferior to men. WOMEN IN THE EAST WERE ALWAYS LIBERATED, NOT SUBJUGATED LIKE THE OTHER REGIONS OR RELIGIONS VISIBLY DEMONSTRATED. Without women, we would not have reached today’s generation. Women’s rights, women’s liberation, women’s equality, women’s empowerment have been attained before in the eastern culture. The West simply needs to be a bit open-minded and learn from Hindu history.

This topic brings back focus on our civilizational asset, that is, Hindutva(ism), and our unique religion, philosophy, history and heritage. The concept of worshipping divine feminine energy and focus on the balance of divine masculine and divine feminine energy of #ArdhaNareeshvara are the only philosophies that can bring equilibrium within our sliding society. And Hindu society has a tremendous opportunity for communicating its distinct and exclusive philosophy to the sliding western society.

(Author, Entrepreneur, Nonprofit founder Purnima Nath writes on global & local issues encompassing geopolitics, national security, foreign affairs, immigration, religion, philosophy. Strategy & management consultant, Engineer. MBA (Northwestern University, Kellogg Alumna). www.NathPurnima.com