Posted on: 02 Jul 2018
Shri Hrushikesh asked:
I) Mr. Nan Herson after reading your discourse on Women suppression in Hinduism. On the group Tantra on 27 June has requested you to give the right interpretation of the following quotes from Manu smruti. Here are some of the ‘celebrated’ derogatory comments about women in the Manusmruti:
[1. “Swabhav ev narinam …..” – 2/213. It is the nature of women to seduce men in this world; for that reason the wise are never unguarded in the company of females.
2. “Avidvam samlam………..” – 2/214. Women, true to their class character, are capable of leading astray men in this world, not only a fool but even a learned and wise man. Both become slaves of desire.
3. “Matra swastra ………..” – 2/215. Wise people should avoid sitting alone with one’s mother, daughter or sister. Since carnal desire is always strong, it can lead to temptation.
4. “Naudwahay……………..” – 3/8. One should not marry women who has have reddish hair, redundant parts of the body [such as six fingers], one who is often sick, one without hair or having excessive hair and one who has red eyes.
5. “Nraksh vraksh ………..” – 3/9. One should not marry women whose names are similar to constellations, trees, rivers, those from a low caste, mountains, birds, snakes, slaves or those whose names inspires terror.
6. “Yasto na bhavet ….. …..” – 3/10. Wise men should not marry women who do not have a brother and whose parents are not socially well known.
7. “Uchayangh…………….” – 3/11. Wise men should marry only women who are free from bodily defects, with beautiful names, grace/gait like an elephant, moderate hair on the head and body, soft limbs and small teeth.
8. “Shudr-aiv bharya………” – 3/12.Brahman men can marry Brahman, Kshatriya, Vaish and even Shudra women but Shudra men can marry only Shudra women.
9. “Na Brahman kshatriya..” – 3/14. Although Brahman, Kshatriya and Vaish men have been allowed inter-caste marriages, even in distress they should not marry Shudra women.]
Swami replied:- As I am repeatedly telling that even primary scripture (Veda) shall not be accepted blindly because there is always a possibility of insertions even in the Veda, which is passed on from one generation to another, what to speak a secondary scripture like Manusmruti, which is not passed on from one generation to the other by recitation? All these points mentioned by you are related to worldly life and not to spiritual life. Whether the life of a human being is based on spiritual line or worldly line, the wrong insertions always lead to wrong path. The sages were very close to Manu himself. In such case, how excellent female Vedic scholars like Gargi, Maitreyi etc., were so highly respected? If these verses are not insertions done in the latter time, the immediate generations of sages, who followed the Manusmruti in very strict manner should have shown these wrong verses in their practice. Such insertions were done by blind egoistic male human beings only at a latter period. Manusmruti said that a female should be under the control of father in the childhood, under the control of the husband in youth, under the control of son in old age and hence, shall not be given freedom (Na Strii Swatantryamarhati). This verse is misinterpreted as that the female shall be under house arrest without freedom. This is wrong interpretation. The real interpretation is that a female shall not move independently without male escort since she is always wearing gold ornaments. If somebody attacks, she can’t fight, being physically weak and tender. Of course, exceptions are there, who can fight by themselves. This concept belongs to general majority of females. Whenever a controversial concept appears in the scripture, first we shall try to give a right interpretation for the same verse based on benefit of doubt (This mean that we approach positively in the beginning that this is a genuine verse and then try to interpret it in right direction.). If right interpretation is not possible in any angle, be sure, such verse is an insertion done by ignorant or over intelligent-egoistic-selfish people. Such statement shall be rejected, be it from the Veda or the Manusmruti. Here, we are not rejecting the real Veda and the real Manusmruti. We are only rejecting the wrong insertions in the scriptures. The verse showing foolish concepts like that a female shall not have the name of a hill etc., itself indicates the climax of ignorance in very clear way as can be understood by a small child also! The name of Goddess Parvati means that she is the child of a hill. Another name of the same Goddess is Hymavati, which is the name of Himalaya hill!
II) Mr. Rahul Sharma has responded after reading your discourse on Women suppression in Hinduism. I request you kindly enlighten us if there was a mention about female foeticide in Athrava Veda as Rahul has quoted.
[Rahul Sharma: Our Hindu Holy Books and culture endorses female Foeticide as essential rituals, Let me expose this that our pundits and gurus and right winged groups are hiding many facts and history to mask our religion from getting criticised , Here's some truth about Female Foeticide from our holy books : 1. Atharva Veda.6.2.3 : ” Let a female child be born somewhere else; here, let a male child be born.” Here we can clearly see that female fetus/child were deliberately murdered at the time of birth there are various other records that show this including our pre colonial culture involving this.]
Swami replied:- Killing the child, which may be male or female is said to be very serious sin by both the Veda and other secondary scriptures (Bhruunahatyaam vaa… Veda). This authority is quoted in a very important topic of the Veda, called as Trisuparnam. If somebody says that he wishes to get a son and further wishes that the birth of a female shall take place in other place, why are you taking the possibility of killing a female child in the womb? You can take this context to a special case in which a person may be having only female children and is aspiring for a male child. He is also wishing the birth of a female in another place where the individual is having only male issues without a female issue. Why don’t you take the interpretations in good sense? Even if you quote a Vedic statement clearly telling to kill a female child, we will reject such Vedic statement as insertion by some atheists to create hatred on the holy Veda. The Veda is said by God through sages and hence, can’t contain such unjust and illogical concept. God is omniscient and will never say any illogical or unjust statement. He is certainly beyond the logic, which doesn’t mean that He is on the side of wrong logic.
III) Ms. Devani Seth asked a question on the face book group Sanathana Dharma each one teach one after reading on of your discourses on Karma and Karma Yoga. 22June 2018
[Devani Seth: 1. But question is how many of us remembered our past life???
2. Body has brain, DNA RNA stuff which is responsible for our memories n information?
3. How soul can store it??
4. Then come to birth process m all from a tiny sperm how can we qualify soul here further I was developed in my mother's womb that too alive so again how can soul be qualified??
5. I don't understand the process of soul??
6. Why can't we see soul anywhere??
I request you to enlighten us with your words. I prostrate to your feet for all the love you show to us, all the hard work that you put in our spiritual progress. No words can show the gratitude to your concern for us.]
Swami replied:- In ‘The Hindu’ English newspaper, long back, I have read one full page showing the information of certain human beings in their childhood, revealing their past births in detail, which were found exactly correct. This concept has full perception-evidence regarding these certain human beings revealing their past births. The evidence shows that the concept is true and we may not be able to explain to you perfectly regarding the mechanism of this concept because some unimaginable technology due to will of God may be involved in this. Every human being is not showing this event so that it becomes possible to discover the technology based on imaginable lines of science. The science tells us that when the ovum of the female is fertilized by a sperm, the human being is developed, which is delivered as a child after some stipulated time. If you confine to this process only, memory of rebirth can’t be understood. This process is joined with another unimaginable mechanism in which the individual soul from the upper worlds reaches a specific food grain through rain, enters a specific destined sperm (when this grain is taken in the food by the husband) and enters the ovum of his wife. The fertilized ovum results after the union of sperm with the released ovum. The entry of individual soul along with its bundle of informations or thoughts is beyond the scientific-imaginable mechanism. If you confine to only scientific mechanism and say that the fertilized ovum develops body along with brain and nervous system, the memory of previous birth is impossible. In the scientific mechanism, the brain and nervous system developed in the body of the child gets memories only after the delivery. Whatever is grasped by the senses of the child after delivery only becomes the memory. In the above miraculous event, the child speaks about its past birth in a very far place with full details. These details were found to be exactly correct on verification. As per the scripture, the individual soul enters the sperm even before the fertilization of the ovum. This entry of the individual soul in the sperm is unimaginable-miraculous event. Hence this process of fertilization is partly imaginable and partly unimaginable process. This entry of individual soul in to sperm is well explained in the Brahma Sutras. The rebirth of the individual soul is told in the Gita also (Mriyate janmane punaha). We can’t say that something doesn’t exist because it is not understood by us. We understand the imaginable side from the biological science. This imaginable event has another side of unimaginable mechanism by which a specific sperm is charged by the individual soul. It (sperm) unites with the ovum released and fertilizes it. You can’t reject this unimaginable side since the unimaginable event (memory of past birth) clearly exists. Immediately after death, the reduction in the weight of the dead body indicating the weight of the individual soul that escaped from the body is exactly noted by the scientists. Therefore, there is no other way than to accept the mechanism given by the scripture regarding the unimaginable side of this biological process unless you disprove the memory of the past birth. Till you disprove this mechanism, you have to accept the hypothesis even though the process of verification is absent since the memory of the past birth is clearly existing in some cases. Once the memory of past birth is established based on such miraculous event, you can accept the entry of individual soul in all the cases. You can’t say that individual souls entered the specific sperms of these exceptional souls only. Such logic is not valid when a better logic exists. The individual souls entered all the sperms in all the cases. The memory of the past birth doesn’t exist in every soul because God disconnected the link in all as said by the Veda (Paraanchi Khaani vyatrunat…). This disconnected link is restored in certain special cases by God so that the proof of the memory of past birth can be restored. If you insist that certain cases only exist in which only the entry of individual souls exists, there is no use for you since you are accepting the concept in few cases at least. The existence and non-existence of the concept is the present context and not the total or partial existence of the concept.