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THE WAY OF LIFE
the endeavour to attain salvation. According to them, there is neither Dharma nor Moksha. They think only of the fulfilment of their mundane desires.
Whatever I am saying now, I am saying only from the point of view of spiritual endeavours and the endeavour to attain salvation. If a woman has to keep up her nobility, she must not be given such freedom. The wife's dependence on her husband is neither dependence nor slavery but the loftiest kind of dedication that conduces to spiritual elevation. There is no sorrow or pain in dedication. There is only pure and unsullied delight in dedication. There is felicity in dedication.
"The Indian culture has made woman a slave”. This is a false accusation. I assert that the high honour and regard that are accorded to women in the Indian culture are not given to women in any other culture or civilization. The Indian way of life has given woman the fullest freedom to pursue her spiritual aspirations and to achieve spiritual elevation. If a woman proceeds on the path of Moksha and carries out spiritual endeavours and austerities, she is revered and worshipped by society. Therefore, you should never believe the words of those who speak of women's freedom. It is those people who speak of women's freedom that have destroyed the noble relations that existed among the members of families. It is those people that have destroyed the mutual amity and felicity that once abounded in family life. They are showing women the way to mix with other women in social life and this has undermined the domestic life of women.
If a woman is a dependent of her husband or the senior members of the family; it is surely beneficial to her. Of course, women should not be oppressed and they should not be subjected to inhuman treatment. Some ignorant, foolish and arrogant men behave like animals with their wives and children. In fact, by behaving thus, they are harming themselves. Your dealings with any person must be amiable, friendly, compassionate and courteous.
Just as some men conduct themselves in an ignoble manner towards the members of their family; some women also treat
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