Wherever societies were spiritually oriented, being a man or a woman was not a problem, because being a man or a woman is essentially physical. If something beyond the physical becomes a living reality within you, you can handle your physical self with great ease.
There is still no ease in the world for a woman – even in her own body. There are very few women who can walk on the street with complete ease. Most are constantly conscious of themselves. If a woman can be comfortable in her body, so that she is not always conscious of her body parts, then she would not have to do anything to find expression for her feminine nature.
If that is her nature, it will naturally express itself. A rose does not struggle to be a rose. It may struggle for nourishment, but it does not struggle to be fragrant. In the same way, a man or a woman need not struggle to be who they are. It happens naturally. All that is needed is nourishment and the removal of barriers that block it.
To be a woman, you do not have to remove men from the scene or choose to live alone. That is not a solution. If it is your choice to be alone and you are happy by yourself, that is fine. But to be a woman, you do not have to exclude men. In fact, the presence of the masculine can help the feminine find expression.
If you live alone, you have to take care of your own survival. In the process of managing day-to-day survival, you may gradually forget what it means to be a woman, because unless you toughen yourself and push your way through, what is traditionally a man’s challenge may become yours. Over time, you may completely lose touch with what it means to be a woman.
To be a woman essentially means not being entirely driven by survival. It means having the ability to relax and enjoy what is around you. Men need this too. Whatever a man earns or whatever his survival process is, he needs to come home and relax. Without the feminine, he may find it difficult to do so. If he is constantly surrounded by the masculine, he may remain driven all the time. However, some degree of drive is necessary; otherwise, nothing will get done.
So, there needs to be a balance between drive and relaxation. This is where the masculine and the feminine play important roles. Whether individuals choose to include another person in their lives is a personal decision, but at a societal level, it is important that the feminine finds as much expression as the masculine.
Just as we have produced many scientists and engineers, we must also produce as many artists and musicians. If we focus too much on one aspect, we may create progress, but it could come at the cost of destruction.
Today, the world is being sustained partly because a significant portion of people are not constantly driven. In a way, it is this lack of relentless drive that is preserving the planet. With the technology we have today, if all seven billion people were intensely driven all the time, the planet might not sustain itself for long. It is a sobering thought that human inaction, rather than intelligence, love, or compassion, is helping maintain balance.
If the feminine found equal expression alongside the masculine, human wisdom would play a much stronger role in preserving the planet.
(Ranked amongst the fifty most influential people in India, Sadhguru is a yogi, mystic, visionary and a New York Times bestselling author. Sadhguru has been conferred the Padma Vibhushan by the Government of India in 2017, the highest annual civilian award, accorded for exceptional and distinguished service. He is also the founder of the world’s largest people’s movement, Conscious Planet– Save Soil, which has touched over 4 billion people.)
(Views expressed in this opinion piece are those of the author)
