Wow. This thread went from trying to constrain divinity into genetalia to using prostitution to make some bizarre conclusive point.
Wow. This thread went from trying to constrain divinity into genetalia to using prostitution to make some bizarre conclusive point.
For God's sake (or Goddess' sake!), let's all calm down, shall we?
Women are not worshiped as goddesses, no, not even in Shaktism is this the case. The feminine principle is worshiped, which has nothing to do with the female gender. People must learn to separate the two - feminine principle is gentleness, sensitivity, compassion etc. These qualities are given a great value and adored. It doesn't mean Shaktas worship the feminine gender, since the a soul in a female body may not necessarily have feminine qualities.
I hope the whole thing is clear now - it is the principle that matters, not the gender.
I just want everyone to know that I did not start this thread with the thought that the divine should be this or that. I started this thread because there are many places in the world that, no matter how much they previously respected men and women and therefore themselves, have fallen and now view men as the most worthy.
If men and women were viewed equally we would not have infanticide of baby girls in so many parts of the world. If women were viewed equally there would not (I hope) be genital mutilation to stop them from 'straying'. If women were viewed as an equal of man, intellectually and - most importantly - spiritually we would not have so many injustices in the world.
Look at the scriptures, there are many which rate women as barely better than animals and those scriptures are not just Abrahamic but also in Sanatana Dharma. I have trouble reading the Gita because my very first encounter with it was the Hare Krishna 'As it Is' version and Prabhupada said some very not nice things about women in it and every time I go to read a different version I am reminded of what he said.
As for prostitution, Kumar Das, women resort to it because it is often a means of survival. Do you honestly thing prostitutes have any power? Many are ruled over by violent men who sell their bodies against their will, who beat them if they do not cooperate and in the worst cases even kill them.
When prostitution is entered into willingly it can be liberating for a woman but the vast majority of women selling their bodies do it out of desperation. They are mothers, sisters, daughters and wives who have been forced to do this thing because they have no other options. There is no power in it - not for the woman forced to sell her body and hurt her soul.
I'm still sticking with that.
The rest of this post is pretty disturbing. Be forewarned.
Edit - I almost forgot a great way to lead this. Did you know that a staple of Roman culture was to rape the young boys? Did you know it was "normal" to eunich (that is, remove their testicles with some pretty ancient and crude tools) the prettier ones in order to prevent them from developing into a "manly" shape? These disfigured and improperly matured males were constantly made to serve as objects of sexual gratification and lust. In the mean time, the women were given quite generous amounts of cash for their sexual favors.
Did you know there are parts of the world where men prostitute?.... for a bag of chips or a pack of smokes? Did you know they are also sometimes raped to the point that their intestines are literally falling out of their rectum? In particular, quite close to home, that would be your nearest penitentiary. Hi, I was a Corrections Officer, and I had to take an inmate to the hospital in that condition after wrapping his intestines in a wash cloth.
Do you know what I think about that atrocity?
I'm so sad a person had to have that happen to them.
From my own experience, did I walk away with the misconception that a male being raped is worse than a female being raped (at least her intestines aren't hanging out, right?) ?
Did I somehow decide that men are somehow less than women because they prostitute for the fair price of about $2.99USD? I bet that's far less, on average, than any female prostitute ever makes. Must make men expendable, right? Perhaps we should justify the experience by blaming it on survival, eh?
Of course not. That would all be ludicrous.
An atrocity is an atrocity regardless of the gender it happens against.
Perhaps you should be more concerned with the fair and equal treatment of people.
Perhaps you should be developing yourself spiritually to embrace and respect every aspect of God reflected in every being great and small.
"From the corruption of women proceeds the confusion of races."
That's all I can say now.Unfortunately our children are raised to believe that men,women of all races,religions etc..are equal and have the right to purse anything they desire-because we all have RED blood.
So screw everything our culture taught us about women being divine or whatever.Hail Feminism!!!!In fact lets promote it by making dating on Valentine's Day mandatory for all teenage girls to make sure they aren't suppressed/repressed and have their bloody freedom.
Oh yes and at the same time they can stop referring to themselves as Hindu.
Wow. Your sarcasm was so subtle, I almost missed it! (Not. ) Nitinsharma, you're a new member here and with barely four posts you've already rubbed a few people up the wrong way here. Kindly tone down the aggression in your extremist views on race, caste and sex, because it is not welcome by anyone here.
Om namah Shivaya
"Watch your thoughts, they become words.
Watch your words, they become actions.
Watch your actions, they become habits.
Watch your habits, they become your character.
Watch your character, it becomes your destiny."
ॐ गं गणपतये नमः
Om Gam Ganapataye namah
लोकाः समस्ताः सुखिनो भवन्तु ।
Lokaah SamastaaH Sukhino Bhavantu
There is no "inherent feminism" in any of Hinduism just as there is no "inherent masculinism". Genders are different and they have specific roles and responsibilities based upon their nature.
And if we want to be objective about the state of women in Hinduism. The fact of the matter is that women in Hinduism are certainly better of than in Christianity and Islam.
"Battle of the sexes"?Has this thread become nothing but a battle of the sexes to you?
There was never -and still not- any "battle" between the sexes, to begin with.
Is stating that equating women with the Goddess as being wrong and unacceptable to mean that women are inferior or being antagonistic towards women?
Prostitution can take any form and include anyone going anyway. So long as there are customers and suppliers along with demands and willingness - there will be prostitution.Are you actually telling me that prostitution wouldn't exist were it not for the mercernary ways of women willing to trade their bodies for money?
In humanity prostitution is largely a phenomenon involving females who perform sex with males in exchange for rewards.
I see it as an insult to equate the Goddess with (human)women. The Goddess can give any(material)thing to anyone. My example was to point out the irony, how can then women be compared to the Goddess?! When they turn to and depend on men for wealth?
Telling people off to stop denigrating my Mother makes me a bad person? So be it!
Is this how you are going to treat a Hindu forum? You are going to post a meme picture? Is the presence of mlecchas on this forum corrupting you as well?
Please observe certain standards. You posted verses from the Puranas. And you posted them to counter what I had said. Which means it was upon me to deal with what you had cited and continue maintaining my stance. If you disagree with my points of view, then you like me are welcome to differ. However simply inserting memes... this is not some Christian/Muslim forum.
Also you must be aware of the topic about human sexuality with relation to Vishnu-Lakshmi in Vaishnava Agamas. So what is there for you to take objection to about?
Btw Bryon. You are right heresy is quite a strong word. But I'm from Madhva background and its a common habit of us to declare certain practices/beliefs of other Hindus as being heretical and staunchly denounce them.
You are free to disagree with and hold the beliefs that you do already and I have no right to demand of you anything.
There are currently 1 users browsing this thread. (0 members and 1 guests)
Bookmarks