Indian society and woman life
Indian woman society is, from 2500 years ago to until now- concerning with Buddhism, remarkable for people who have interesting a life of woman in India and outside of India. A condition of Indian woman life was clearly mentioned in Indian literature and Buddhist literature too.
Nowadays, in all over the world most of women have been struggling for their woman rights, education of woman and the chances that participated in political activities- concerning with the welfares of woman in the country.
Indian woman life has a long background history in Vedic period for their rights.
Women have no sacrifices of their own to perform
Nor religious rites or observances to follow
To the husband alone would exalt the women in heaven.
The status of woman is vague in the early in India. But later it changed into developed society.
Especially, around 6th century B.C which is connected with the time of the Buddha, the women life was obviously vivid for their rights. Here I would like to quote some paragraph Altekar’s descriptions`` the prohibition of upanaya amounted to spiritual disenfranchisement of women and produced a disastrous effect upon their general position in society. It reduced to them to the status of Sudra..What, however, did definite harm to women was the theory that they were ineligible for them (Vedic sacrifices) because they were of the status of the Sudras`’.
Organized women society in Buddhist Order
The Buddha evaluated the life of women in his teaching as equal to men. The event that was given by the Buddha is the great and the first event in Indian for women to participate in religious rites and ritual as equal to men. We can clearly find the equality between men and women of human societies as taught by the Buddha.
There are the four societies in Buddhist Order: they are as follow-
There are the four societies in Buddhist Order: they are as follow-
1. The bhikkhus or male monk society.
2. Thebhikkhunis or female monk society
3. The lay male person society
4. And the lay female person society.
In examining above four society, women society, of them, is vital important to maintain and promote the Buddha’s teachings. Buddhism, it was also Indian society, very basically emphasizes on the fiction of women. Here we noted that “the situations of women life” in Buddhism is, according to historical point, very highly developed in 6th century B.C. on the contrary, in the Vedic culture a life of woman is not so much values whereas Buddhism deeply worked on the activities of women life.
There, for example, is the king of Maghada had a daughter who was born to him by his queen mallika. This event is so important for Buddhism and for a Buddhist to closely examine, without bias, a life of woman in accordance with the early Buddhist literature in which the power of women, a chance that is equal to men, the status of their life in a high like men expounded by the Buddha and the final liberation from around birth and death unlikely the Vedic culture as I mentioned in this paper earlier.
That event goes like that:
Being the king had a daughter; he was not as much as a cause of joy as that of a son.
For that the Buddha pointed out clearly a having a daughter for the king of Maghada, saying that woman child is dignified and important part to play in the society. The Buddha continuously defined the woman life with great insight, fitting her harmoniously into the social fabric.
A woman child, O lord of men, may prove even a better offspring than a male.
For she may grow up wise and virtuous, her husband’s mother is reverencing, true life.
The boy that she may bear may do great deeds. And ruled great realems, such a son of noble wife becomes his country’s guide.
Today world, third world indeed has that “ women right challenge” needs to discuss about a condition of a life of woman comparing with a life of woman in African, a life of Islam woman, a life of a Chinese woman..e.t.c…
Let it be them as they are because those are truly not concerns with my points or my paper as a Buddhist monk. But I have to mention a life and capability of a woman in my filed that linked Buddhist literature. In the Buddhist literature or description, a pali word that means the mother- society it comes from Matugama pali literature. Buddhist and Buddhists do not condemn a life of woman as a low position and as inferior condition.
Being four societies established in the Buddhism, of them, the female monks or women society have a high position for contribute to liberated ways, which mainly contains in human beings- that not concern with a woman and man position. Here we can get one point religious activities were given for women is Buddhism because lord Buddha gave this chance to participate in religious rites and rituals two thousand five hundred years ago in this very country India.
Today “Buddhism and women right” radiated to all corners the world and has deeply impact on traditional ways to their life in daily activities and in fields and engaging with the equality with men. In the Buddhist countries, the duties of women are very high position that they were the same maintaining of country’s services.
In Asoka’s time in India Buddhist idea for women is clearly seen as example of Samgamittra, who was the daughter of Emperor Asoka, entered the Buddhist female monk life and went to Sri lanka for Sri lankan women who were eager to perform the duties for Buddhism. Above the history of sanghamitta is clearly seen the position of women life in India society at Asoka’s age, two thousand and nearly three hundred years ago. She did her noble selfless service for women welfare for her a whole life devoting in it, like Mahinda, who is the brother of Sanghamittara, did there for men. This great event shows the power of women for welfare of women rights. So in India society of women are deeply rooted in Buddhism.
Buddhism and modern India
India society is the cradle of Buddhism and the method of the Buddha have been living undoubtedly, moving in a great play in this very India and its societies, culture, daily life and proud of that they were being living in Buddhist land, for some scholar like Jawaharlal Nehru the first priminister of India states Buddhist impact on India culture and philosophical ways in his book “the discovery of India”.
“There can be no doubt that they produced powerful and permanent effects on many aspects of religious and national life. Buddha may not have thought of himself as the founder of a new religion probably he looked upon himself as a reformer only. But his dynamic personality and his message attacking many social and religious practices inevitably led to conflict with the entrenched priesthood. He did not claim to be an uprooter of existing social order economic system: he accepted their basic premises and only attacked the evils that had grown under them”
An accounting above ideas we have the Buddha’s method in Indian culture that rooted in much deeply in every ways life and beliefs.
Here I want to mention about a life of woman in concerning as much as with the Buddha’s teaching, which is different from other contemporary religious ways in India, as found in his teaching that the virtuous things or glorious ways of housewife in seven ways;
1. She organizes the work of the household with efficiency.
2. She treats her servants with concern.
3. She strives to please her husband.
4. She takes good care of what he earns.
5. She possesses religious devotion.
6. She is virtuous in conduct.
7. She is kind.
8. And she is liberal.
The Buddha gives the duty of housewife in full to participate in all which is very important to the society and the welfare of women and the chances equal to men.
Not only has that above chances but Buddha’s method given in the present days to women in India. Looking and examining Maharashtra state where a great Buddhist leader’s place and this land in India started the striking a movement with a will for development women’s welfare.
The activities sustained by all groups of contemporary Buddhist women in Maharashtra are based in the Buddhist conversion movement begun by Dr. B.R Ambedkar in 1956.
The women of the Buddhist movement in Maharashtra are different.
First the word Dalit means ‘ground down or oppressed’, and it is the word used by politically aware groups of untouchables in india in place of earlier terms such as Depressed classes, Gandhi’s term Harijan or ‘ people of god’. The word Dalit become current in Maharashtra in early in 1970s, and now used widely across india. It is a proud word, indicating oppression rather than personal fault.
The term “Dalit Buddhist” ‘Neo- Buddhist’ or ‘ex- untouchable Buddhist’ however are not used by the Buddhists of Maharashtra: members of this group use no other designation than the simple term ‘Buddhist’.
The Buddha and his teachings did the welfare for women in india for years ago. In present days it did for the good and the guide to women. And also it will serve for women in a great movement in future Indian societies, undoubtedly.
Conclusion;
The Buddha elevated, gave the guide for them in his teachings, the women life to a high position in his time in Indian societies. And the Buddha had established the women societies or female monks Order in regarding to their rights, religious rites and rituals, for a peace way as men did for rights.
At the same time in India, on the other hand, some gurus placed a life of woman in a lower place like this:
Women have no sacrifices of their own to perform
Nor religious rites or observances to follow
Obedience to the husband alone would exalt the women in heaven.
We can find in clear way the meaning of above is: ‘women have no rights like men have it’.
But the chances for women can find in Buddha’s method in a way in giving for rights as men have had.
In my conclusion, here I would like quote a verse which was given to Gotami, Buddha’s foster- mother, by the Buddha.
“O Gatami, perform a miracle in order to dispel the wrong views of those foolish men who are in doubt with regard to spiritual potentialities of women.
Thanks all….
Ven neyadhamma
M .A, Ph.D ( thesis)
Philosophy department Annamalai university, Tamil Nadu, India.
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This paper was presented at “STATUS OF WOMEN IN INDIA SOCIETY: ISSUES AND CHALLENGES” in Annamalai university, Tamil Nadu, India.
