________________
Harmony in Marriage
(Goddess of wealth and prosperity) and on the other hand, she is called deceitful and filled with moha (attachment to worldly things).
106
Dadashri: She can be called Laxmi. Women are no ordinary beings. If her husband is called Narayan (The Lord), then what is she called? Therefore, that pair is called Laxminarayan! Then is she someone worthless? She is the mother of a Tirthankar. All those who have become Tirthankars, all twenty-four of them, who gave them birth?
Questioner: A woman.
Dadashri: So then, how can you call them worthless? Moha will always be there because she is a woman. However, who gave birth to all the great Tirthankars? It is woman who gives birth to all the elevated people, so how can we disgrace them? Yet, our people disgrace them. (443) Questioner: It is always the women who are told to remain within the boundaries, not the men.
Dadashri: All this is misuse of human life. It is the misuse of the authority. Authority is used in two ways. One is right use and the other is abuse. If used properly, people will be happy, but if you still continue to misuse it, you will have miseries. When you misuse authority, you will lose that authority. If you want to maintain the authority forever, if you want to remain a man forever, then do not abuse your authority. Otherwise, you will become a woman in your next life. All you people of authority, abuse of authority will lead to loss of that authority. (446)
Whatever may happen, even if her husband is not there, if her husband has run away, she would not go to any other man. It does not matter what the other man is like, even if he
Harmony in Marriage
has come as a God, still she would say no. 'I have a husband, I am married! That is called a sati (a woman who is unconditionally devoted to her husband, so much so that she would voluntarily give up her life on her husband's funeral pyre). Are there any qualities of a sati left in these women nowadays? It is not as if there have never been such women. The times are different. There are certain periods like that of Satyug (the time cycle of golden ages), when satis exist. That is why people revere satis, don't they?
107
Questioner: Yes.
Dadashri: It is because they have the desire to become
a sati. If one ever thinks or even mentions anything about a sati, one day they could become a sati. Vishaya (sex) is sold at the price of bangles (cheap, i.e. it is 'dime a dozen'). Do you know that? Do you understand what I am saying?
Questioner: Yes, it is sold at the price of bangles.
Dadashri: In which market is sex sold? In the colleges! At what price are they sold? Sex is sold at the price of gold. Some is sold at the price of diamonds. It is not like this everywhere. Some women will not accept even gold. No matter what you give them, they will not concede. However, others are bought, these women of today. It may not be at the price of gold, but they are bought at other prices.
Therefore, it is due to this sex issue that he has become a woman. Man due to his lust for sex, has encouraged woman and corrupted her. Even if she has no meritorious qualities, she believes she is special when a man encourages and compliments her for his own desires. Why does she believe this? Because men have persistently been telling her. It is not something that she will come to believe on her own, but
