Special International Women’s Day Message

A Message

Divine Life Society Publication: - Women and The Ideal of Purity by Sri Swami Sivananda

(Talk given at the opening ceremony of the Ladies’ Section of the D.L.S. Tuticorin in 1951)

WOMAN is the mighty work of God, the wonder of nature, the marvel of marvels, the abridgement and epitome of the world, the queen of the home, the real governess, the sweet companion and helpmate of man.

Woman is the energy-aspect of the Lord. She is the child of primeval power and holds the key of this world. She controls the destiny of children. She is the mother of Sankaras and Buddhas.

Woman is a mysterious mixture of softness, gentleness and grace. She is a compound of service, patience and love. She is Maya’s tempting charm and magic. She comforts and cheers up her husband, children and guests. Even Brahma the Creator failed to describe her fully. She is a kind of mysterious something that gives charm to this world. Without her the home is a void. Without her man is helpless. Without her this world loses all charm. Without her there is no creation.

—Swami Sivananda

Salutations to Divine Mother, the Sakti of Brahman!

The society in which only one half (man) has been spiritually inspired and guided is like a bird flying on one wing! It can hardly move an inch forward. It is only when both man and woman lead the Divine Life, both of them will be able to march forward with bold and gigantic strides to the great goal—God-realization.

In India, woman has the custody of dharma. I would say that is the reason why, in spite of the many inroads into Indian culture of alien materialistic ideologies, India has been able to maintain the essential structure of her ancient civilization. This is because, the Indian cradle song has been one of spirituality; and as the old proverb goes, the cradle impressions accompany man to the very end of his life in spite of the efforts of later life to erase them! It is the mother who is responsible for indelibly printing in the baby’s mind the spiritual impressions and later for sowing in the fertile virgin soil of the child’s mind healthy seeds, of true spiritual culture. Glory to the Indian mother, the maker of saints and sages!

I, therefore, consider it most essential that the Indian mother should be awakened to the true purpose of life and that she should be educated in the principles of Divine Life; so that she may lead the Divine Life herself, lead her children into Divine Life and exercise her influence over her husband, too, and enable him to lead the Divine Life. The family whose members all lead the Divine Life is really a blessed family of devas.

Whether she adopts the grihasthasrama or whether she chooses to remain a brahmacharini throughout her life—woman has a great part to play in building up the nation. The nation needs the services of brahmacharini nurses, doctors, teachers and social workers. To these especially, a thorough knowledge of yoga sadhana, of Divine Life, is most essential. They should be as rigid in regard to adherence to principles of Divine Life as their male counter-parts, the brahmacharis and sannyasins. The brahmacharinis should keep Maitreyi, Gargi and others as their ideal. They should always aspire to realize God through selfless service, devotion, the practice of yama and niyama.

The inherent divine qualities in the woman enable her to lead the Divine Life with much less struggle than man! Ahimsa: This is woman’s very nature! Satyam: though woman shares man’s evil tendencies in this respect, she is capable of more easily following the path of truth! Brahmacharya: Indian woman’s purity is unrivalled. When one ponders over the survival of these divine virtues in the Indian woman in spite of the powerful alien base influence, one is wonder-struck; what powerful personalities, what great upholders of dharma, what embodiments of righteousness and of daivi sampatti, the women of ancient India must have been! My humble obeisance to them! The very utterance of names like Sita, Savitri, Damayanti, Anasuya is purifying.

May God bless you all and enable you to shine as jivanmuktas and bhakta-siromanis in this very birth! May you all lead the Divine Life of Truth, Love and Purity!

Excerpts from:

A Message - Women and The Ideal of Purity by Sri Swami Sivananda

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