Women Empowerment in Sanatana Dharma

Sometimes, I am surprised how far our intellectual levels have fallen. When we adopted the western culture, we became primitives again.

Now we are reinventing equality for women – now we are legislating gender equality.

We belong to a culture which says: oh Ramayana – Sita’s story. And now we have fallen into a pit and are fighting for gender equality.

Mere understanding of the meaning of two words from one of the two lines of a single shloka of Ramayana which contains 24000 shlokas is enough to establish gender equality, gender equality within the minds of men.

You won’t need new laws anymore. You won’t need morchas anymore. You won’t need supreme court full bench rulings anymore. These two words are enough to establish or re-establish gender equality – as it stands now.

See where we were and where we are now. Look at every woman as your own mother, look at every woman as your own sister. See how weak these concepts are.

You are talking power of thousands of nuclear missiles inside every woman and you want to empower them. What empowerment, what more power can you give, who has got power to give.

We should stop naming our missiles – Agni, Prithvi, Dhanush. We should name them – Kaali, Bhairavi, Taara, Durga, Trijata, Kala Ratri.

Just understand that the feminine power was just taking rest for some time, sleeping, after killing Mahishasura, Chanda, Munda, Darika and all the other evil powers. Taking rest for some time.

Don’t go to her with soothsaying that we will empower you, don’t worry, we will pass laws to protect you, men should not stare at you, men should not come within one meter of you. My goodness, isn’t this too much.

You are talking about feminine power which alone runs the universe moment to moment, which rides tigers and lions, which pierces the hearts of the evil demons mercilessly.

And that power doesn’t sit there in photo frames riding lions and tigers. That power is inside every single woman on the face of this earth. That power is every single woman on the face of this earth.

And you are showing pity on them as if they are weaklings. Isn’t this too much.

We have had a lady prime minister. We have had lady president, vice president. We have had lady speaker of parliament. We have had lady chief ministers of states. We have had ladies as heads of political parties. We have ladies heading huge corporates, banks. Today we have a lady as our defence minister.

It's a very diplomatic term – defence ministry. The ministry should be actually called power ministry. That is where the power of the whole nation is – its military power. And today we have a lady sitting at the helm of that ministry.

What more proof do you want – that she has woken up after a good sleep and is back in action again. I am not talking about politics – which party, how, why – these things are immaterial. We have a lady running our most powerful ministry.

This didn’t come out of any legislation. It was bound to happen, it is absolutely natural.

When the entire power is with the feminine aspect of the universe, what can men give, what can men give which they don’t have. And what can men take away?

शिवोऽपि शवतां याति, शक्तेरयोगात्

Shiva is just a dead body when this Shakti is not there.

We celebrate, a woman climbed Everest, a woman went to space, a woman flew a fighter jet. My goodness. Living in the middle of a goldmine and begging for livelihood.

See how much we have fallen by mimicking the western culture. There is this law in this country, so let us also have one. Even if one person understands this, that is good enough.

• If equality is spiritual, why do we still need laws?
  Laws are guardrails when minds are untrained. Inner reform is the goal; law is a stopgap until character catches up.

• What does shakti mean in daily life?
  The power that makes knowledge, courage, care, and initiative effective. Honor it by enabling agency, not by patronizing.

• Is empowerment about giving power to women?
  No. Power already exists. Empowerment means removing blocks, control, and fear so that power can act.

• Does reverence for goddesses automatically improve women’s lives?
  No. Worship without conduct is hypocrisy. Dharma demands safety, fairness, consent, and dignity in action.

• Is equality the same as sameness?
  Equality is equal moral worth and agency. Roles can differ by choice and aptitude, not by imposed ceilings.

• What does ‘shiva without shakti is shava’ teach?
  Capability without energizing force is inert. Families, teams, and states fail when women’s leadership is sidelined.

• Are ‘mother’ and ‘sister’ frames enough to ensure respect?
  They are sentimental aids but too narrow. Respect every woman as a full person with rights and choices.

• How should men participate, concretely?
  Audit bias, share decision power, stop demeaning talk, back accountability, and amplify women’s voices in rooms you control.

• Where do scripture and ritual fit?
  They train vision of mutual dependence and respect. The test is lived practice at home, work, and in public spaces.

• Is naming weapons or projects after goddesses meaningful?
  Symbolism can inspire, but it is empty without just policies and everyday decency. Embody qualities, do not just label.

• What counts as real empowerment?
  Safety, bodily autonomy, education, property rights, financial control, voice in family and public life, freedom from fear.

• Are quotas and anti-harassment rules dharmic?
  They are corrective tools when society is skewed. Use them while building a culture that makes them less necessary.

• How to handle the fear of moral policing?
  Replace policing with principles: consent, boundaries, due process, and proportionate accountability for harm.

• How should parents raise sons and daughters?
  Teach both service and leadership, self-defence, financial literacy, household skills, and equal say in family decisions.

• How do we measure progress honestly?
  Fewer crimes, equal pay for equal work, shared unpaid care, fair promotions, and everyday civility in streets and offices.

• Is celebrating ‘first woman to…’ useful or patronizing?
  Celebrate to reset norms, then normalize. After the firsts, aim for many, not one.

• What mindset shift is non-negotiable?
  Replace ownership with partnership. No one owns another’s body, time, or choices.

• What can one person do today?
  Intervene in small moments: stop the sexist joke, invite the interrupted speaker back in, report unsafe spaces, mentor actively.

• What is the role of spiritual practice here?
  It trains the mind to see one consciousness in all. From that vision, injustice becomes intolerable and courage becomes natural.

• What does a dharmic society look like in practice?
  Power shared, dignity assured, merit recognized, protection guaranteed by cultivated character and backed by just law.

Ramaswamy Sastry and Vighnesh Ghanapaathi