Women's Spirituality in Practice

11/27/94

     You know, the spiritual path for males and for females is not entirely the same though spiritual practice may be the same. Still, there are differences in approach, different srengths of the individuals involved. Those differences may be individual from one person to another and they may also be between males and females.

     Now, I have said, that for women, the devotional approach is most beneficial. It is the best spiritual approach for most women. Of course there are always exceptions, but this devotional approach often times is much more appealing to the feminine personality because it utilizes the emotions, it brings the emotions in line with subtle feelings and subtle thoughts.

     Now, it can be said that the female is often times more emotional than the male and is very prone to attachment to interpersonal relationships, but this is not a spiritual disadvantage. It may be an advantage. You see, there is no superior or inferior in this.  If the tendency of the male and the tendency of the female are different it does not mean that one is better or one is worse. During the age of matriarchy, it was said that the male is less capable of spiritual evolvement, in fact, the male is without full capacity, because he cannot bear a baby. It was thought like this, that he does not have the capacity for fertility. So, in the age of matriarchy, the males were looked on as spiritually inadequate. They were seen as lacking certain basic abilities.

     Now, in the age of patriarchy, likewise, the males became leaders, and began to feel that females were spiritually lacking because they were seen as not having a sufficiently rational approach. I would propose that both of these statements are fallacious. There is no superiority or inferiority between these two approaches. They are equal in capacity. Only, the general approach for the male and the female will be somewhat different due to physiological differences and psychological differences. Though it can be said that one cannot generalize. For a particular person, it may be true, it may not be true. There are those females that have very inadequate emotional development and who are more rational and there are those males who are highly emotional and very oriented to relationships and who are most emotive. So one cannot generalize for all individuals. One may simply say, in the main, it is like this.

     Now, for women on the spiritual path, there are often difficulties with attachment to family, to husband, to children. These attachments become so dominant that the feeling for Parama Purus'a and the feeling for long meditation becomes less. The female becomes so involved in the day to day relationships, that very little time, very little energy is left for spiritual practice and the attraction to spiritual life wanes. This is true for many women. But I would say that the same characteristic attachments and mental approaches can become the strength of a woman rather than a distraction. For the average woman, they are a distraction but with proper guidance and proper direction, these tendencies can be transmuted. It is the scientific approach of tantra to take the tendencies of the mind and to transmute those tendencies to something more subtle, more sweet, more Divine. All of the practices of tantra are scientifically developed to enhance this type of development.

     Now, for that lady who finds that attachments, attachments to husband, attachment to relationships, are consuming her life and that her interest in spirituality, in Parama Purus'a, in the Divine Entity is waning, but she desires, none the less, to be spiritually active, there is something she may do. She may divininize all of these relationships through ascribing divinity to each and every person with whom she comes in contact. By ascribing divinity to all of the people whom she is serving, by recognizing that Divinity in herself also, and by realizing that the service that is given is the work of the Divine Entity, she may realize the nature of this manifest existence. Ascribing Godhood to those she is attached to on a daily basis, each day, regularly, throughout the day, will yield very good results, very good. So it cannot be said that for the lady, the spiritual life is out of reach because there is great strength in this social service. The ascribing of divinity to each and every person and in addition, a small amount of time taken each day just to read the scripture, to read spiritual discourse, to do some small puja, some sweet offering of love, just the simple practices, may do very much for a persons' development. Though they are simple, though they are basic, when they are done with sincere emotion, they become very powerful. They can pierce the veil of illusion. And then, once the heart is somewhat inspired, then the time for sadhana can again be cultivated. So, those ladies who find their lives very busy with family matters, may cultivate these basic practices, these basic remembrances while continuing to function in the family and they will find a very sweet feeling coming in all that they do.

     You know, sadhana does not have to be an unrelated activity to daily life. In fact, a time must come for all sadhakas when sadhana is not only done in the place of meditation, in the quietude of one's quarters, but is 24 hours with you. In all the activities that you do, remembrance is continuous. This is necessary for all sadhakas and a time must come for all when this practice is done.

     So, for the lady who is very inclined to family matters and family relationships and so the inclination to sadhana is less, this ideation will be very helpful because there is nowhere you may go where Parama Purus'a does not exist. All that you love, all that you have found attachment to is in actuality, the form of that Divine Entity in the physical world. All those people expressing sweetness and tenderness are in fact expressing, they are reflecting, the qualities and characteristics of that Divine Entity from whom they have sprung. They are His small reflections in the world of form. So, you asscribe divinity to what they are and in this way devotion to their essence, to their essential being will grow and grow and knowledge of the Infinite will become more and more prevalent in ones' life. I think this is sufficient for today. 

      You all be blessed, you all be happy. There is no place you may go I am not with you. There is nothing you may do that I will not be there with you. I have not gone to any special abode, far away and distant in some high heaven where I am unreachable, no, no, no, it is not like this. I am ever here, with you, in your daily functions, in your meditation, I am ever with all of you. So you should take the time to remember me and surely, as I am there and you have taken the time to remember, then when two face each other, face to face, they are bound to come in very close contact. So you be blessed my children.