She controls life and plays a special role in creation. Reason enough for standing tall and loving herself. Suma Varughese believes every woman must release the dormant goddess within and be true to her real self

Although we in India are quick to worship goddesses and there is some awareness of the Vedic truth that we are divine, the idea has to still percolate down the line that the woman we see in the train or in front of us at the shopping centre is a potential goddess. We don't even believe it of ourselves, let alone of the colleague who fritters her time in idle gossip or of our mother-in-law. But that's who we really are and it's time we reclaimed our heritage.

Standing tall: So what's it like to be a goddess and how does it differ from being a mere woman? In the first place, of course, it gives us divine standing. This is very good reason for standing tall and loving ourselves. The best thing about this self-esteem boost is that it does not come at the cost of others. Everyone's divine. So we simply can't toss our heads and put our noses up in the air when we pass our next-door neighbour on the staircase. She's divine too!

And what about men, you ask? Oh, they're also divine, potential gods. But there's a difference between being a god and a goddess. In the Indian cosmology, the goddess is shakti, energy. It is through her that the life force infuses existence and animates it. Even Shiva, they say, is shava (corpse), without the animating influence of his better half, shakti.

Holding firm: There is of course, no right or wrong about this division of guardianship. Both are equally important for the sustenance of life. It is death that causes new life to be. But nevertheless, by virtue of the fact that we are in touch with the forces of life, a woman plays a special role in creation. So we need to endorse and appreciate that quality in ourselves. Women combat entropy, the dread death impulse, by their very presence.

They sweep the cobwebs off the ceiling, sew on buttons, mend frayed clothing, nurse an invalid carefully through an illness, safeguard the house through the vicissitudes of weather, polish floors and maintain relationships. When crisis strikes, they hold firm, sustaining their families through their own inner strength and commitment. All this is the mark of the goddess.

[Suma Varughese, a regular Verve contributor, is the managing editor of Life Positive magazine. Readers, with a spiritual bent, may write in to soul@verveonline.com]

ARTICLE TOOLS Email This Article Print This Article