The Feminine Presence: Part II

Last week, we saw what Sadhguru had to say about housewives being paid a salary by their husbands. Today, in the concluding part of The Feminine Presence, we take a deeper look at the role of the feminine in the home as well as society, through Sadhguru’s words.

Sadhguru: Let’s look at this fundamentally. During the time of the caveman, men took care of food and shelter, the basic survival process. Women took care of cooking, nurturing and creating a better ambience for life. So the man fuelled the survival process and the woman fuelled that which makes living worthwhile. Without the woman’s contribution, when a caveman got up in the morning he would wonder, “Should I go out hunting today?” Because he had a wife and a child, there was a reason for him to go out and do something.

These are the two aspects fulfilled by masculine and feminine. From here on, when I say masculine and feminine, I want you to disengage these from being male and female. The natural tendency of the masculine is outgoing, it wants to take care of the survival process, it wants to take care of somebody. It doesn’t feel fulfilled unless it takes care of something. The natural tendency of the feminine is not like that; the feminine is absorbing, it creates an ambience of a certain beauty, love and gentleness.

There is a shift in today’s society. A woman may seek a career, but it is not just about that anymore. In today’s society, masculine ideals are becoming the most important. The tendencies of the masculine have become universal. Only masculine is power, or the right way to be, is a wrong perception that has seeped into society. Even women have started to understand it this way. So should a woman not be the caretaker? Yes, she can. But if the feminine was absent from the world, everybody would wonder, “Why are we here?” We would all be very successful, we would have a lot of food, a lot of money, but we would wonder, “Why are we here?” I’m not talking about male or female, I’m talking about masculine and feminine qualities.

A systematic obliteration of the feminine has happened in recent times. One of the reasons is that the world is driven by the economic engine. When economy becomes the only important thing on the planet, the survival process is automatically being put into a divine position. The masculine is bound to be dominant and in this system, women will suffer. Women will be mauled, not by a stranger. You may make laws for their protection, but the very system will maul them.

I think a lot of women are going through this and some of them are trying to find a balance between the two. The conflict is not happening because they are pursuing a career, but because the survival process has become the ideal. This is fundamentally a wrong way to structure a society. If aesthetics, love, music, dance, art and craft were as important as money, business and the stock market, you would see that the feminine would naturally play a significant role in the world.

Unfortunately, today there is very little role for the feminine. Even if a woman comes out of the house, she has to act like a man and only then she is successful. If she acts like a woman, she is considered weak. We need to see that feminine is not weak; it is just fulfilling a different aspect of life. Without that aspect, life is not complete. The day feminine is completely banished from this planet, life will not seem worth living anymore in spite of every convenience. Without the ambience of the feminine, masculine will feel meaningless.

Right now, a woman is trying to fit into the man’s world; this is not a good thing. She should not fit into a man’s world. Half the world should anyway be hers. Rather than trying to create a man’s world and fit a woman into it, which would twist her out of shape, it is best that we understand what is needed – a society where both masculine and feminine have equal roles to play. For that, our values of what is important in life have to change and our minds need to grow beyond the survival process. If spirituality became the most significant part of society, you would see that the feminine would be more dominant than the masculine.

Editor's Note: Sadhguru further explores the feminine, and answers many questions pertaining to women and spirituality, in the video "Women in Spirituality".