________________
One of nature's greatest creations is woman. She is like a song that has beauty, harmony, sweetness and the ability to bring bliss to the world. All the gentler virtues of creation - generosity, nobility, love and compassion come to life in woman. But this mirror image of nature's harmony has now been tarnished. It seems as if the melody of this great song is out of synch'.
-
It is the arrogance of human beings that has done this. They have a special capacity for splitting things up, they delight in making divisions and ultimately they have succeeded in breaking up humanity into two separate species, man and woman. Every good thing has been reserved for the man, whilst woman has become oppressed and afflicted. The human race, which is only a small part of creation, lives by a system that is based not on genuine virtues, but on imaginary differences. There are no disputes when distinctions are made according to real virtue, but conflict is inevitable when artificial lines are drawn up.
Mankind's twisted intellect has always
Jain Education International
The Jains through Time
distorted nature by fomenting dissension and disharmony. Life can only be happy and blissful if all the divisions are brushed aside and a sense of harmony and oneness is restored to the world. Man and woman have both been equally important in the development of human culture. In fact the contribution of the woman sometimes exceeds that of the man.
I would like to use the atom as a metaphor to illustrate the role of men and women in society. At the centre of the atom is the nucleus, and a mist of various other subatomic particles surrounds it. It is the nucleus that holds the atom together. The nucleus is the source of energy. The atom has an infinite capacity and the source of that power lies in the nucleus. Humanity is just like an atom. Woman is the nucleus and man the surrounding shell containing the haze of sub-atomic particles. The innate capacity for reproduction lies with the woman. Growth, increase, nurture, everything comes from her. Although the construct of a human being comprises both man and woman, woman plays the larger
For Private & Personal Use Only
252
www.jainelibrary.org
