By Anuradha Azeemi
I am a woman. I do not remember having put any efforts to be born as one. But thereafter ‘Being’ a woman has been quite a task I must say. A woman born in the culture, environment and time zone like I did, was often handed over a heavy invisible manual of do’s & don’ts, which was strapped tight on to our tender shoulders as children. This rulebook had guidelines, which decided how we fitted in the tapestry of the society. And this ‘Fitting in’ decided the brightness of our future in the roles of daughter, wife, mother and so forth.
So what is the biggest challenge in ‘Being’ woman? It is constantly trying to ‘Complete’ herself through others.
The first step she grows on is that, she can never be complete until she is wedded. Once wedded, she can never be complete until she procreated. Once a mother, she can never be complete until she grand mothered and the list continued. The rulebook never suggested an independent method to her completeness. Not a single defined route suggested, she on her own was Enough. Route to God was also via and never direct. One could not enter the sacred premises a man could. One could not chant the names of God that a man could. Worship had her sitting besides her man as he performed the rites, but not allowed to perform the worship herself.
In the wakes of too many “don’ts” often is born a revolutionary who has only one burning question “Why not?” Many women like me over the next decade or two, woke up asking the same burning question everyday and finally broke out of the tight cocoons and saw our colorful wings. I am glad I was part of this stepping out, breaking free era, it has definitely played a huge role in the raising of my two beautiful daughters and watching them from bud to blossom.
So what brought out this change? It was education. It was awareness. It was contemplation. It was observation. It was clarity. It was expression. It was acceptance. It was love. But foremost it was my relationship with GOD.
Proximity to my only invisible friend was my strength. Who was this friend I constantly chatted with? Who was this friend who bailed me out each time? HE was GOD. So could I chat with him openly? NO! of course not. There were set rules for this communication if it was in public. So I chose to be discreet about this relationship. I chose to speak in the darkness of the nights where it would only be HE and me, the moon, the stars, the wind and the rustling leaves of the huge jackfruit tree outside my bedroom window were the custodians of these daily secret meetings.
Over time as I grew up I realized, ‘they’ feared that a woman close to GOD would isolate her duties as daughter, wife, mother and embrace disinterest and detachment. Often in the folklore and mythological stories, a woman in love with
GOD was found roaming carefree as vagabond, singing HIS praises, completely cut off from family bonds, oblivious to her surroundings, disinterested in her daily chores. I understood the reason for panic. But I also knew a woman in love with GOD is the only woman who is complete. A woman in love with GOD, comes back more powerful as a daughter, as a wife, mother and so much more. GOD does not isolate a woman from her duty, HE inspires her to raise a whole generation of believers and lovers through her. GOD has not put rules between her and HIM. HE has granted her a direct access through her HEART and the code for access are listed below.
So how do these codes of access or widely understood as SPIRITUALITY or rather raising women as lovers of GOD help?
LOVE: A woman drenched in the fragrance of GOD only spreads the fragrance around her and through her. I have seen myself incapable of building anything, which has no foundation of love. And when love becomes base, I have seen nothing but abundance around me. Families raised on high dosages of love have only built happy Universes.
SERVICE: A woman who is educated about her beloved GOD’s innumerable ways of being in service to HIS children, cannot and will not deviate from her own duties of service towards her family, friends, community and universe. The communities that she builds around her will be actively involved in the service of humanity and all mankind.
AWARENESS: A woman in constant conversation with GOD sees HIM in everything around her, probing her to explore every atom around her. Channeling her ability to dissect into the microscopic details of everything she finds so much self explored, value based education to share with the generations she raises. An aware woman is like a SUN the center and powerhouse of life giving energy.
FAITH: The lullaby that a woman in love with GOD sings is full of revelation. The bedtime stories that she weaves and narrates, are full of Universal truth. She raises her children not on the pressure of achievement and results but on the basis of surrender and faith.
SURRENDER: A woman surrendered to GOD has no issues surrendering herself to anything and anyone, leading to the rise of ego free societies.
A woman is not one who holds a fist full of sand & worries that time slipped from her hand; A woman clutches clay to mold her life the way she wants, & lives it on her terms.
A woman is not who beholds tears in her eyes & frets over opportunities lost;
A woman is one who builds new bridges over waters, That lead to unexplored land of hearts that require love.
There are no women, created to lead obsolete lives, She is born to live and unfold lives of extra-ordinary worth Through love, for herself, for all And above all, her love for her GOD.