WOMAN: THE MOTHER.

Woman is the mighty work of God, the wonder of nature, the marvel of marvels, the abridgement and epitome of the world, the queen of the house, the real governor, the sweet companion and helpmate of man. Woman is Chaitanya Maya. She is the energy-aspect of the Lord. She is the child of Adi Shakti. She holds the key of this world. She controls the destiny of children. She is the mother of Sankaras, Buddhas and Janakas.

Woman is a mysterious mixture of softness, gentleness and gracefulness. She is a compound of service, patience, and love. She is an emblem of beauty. She is full of sweetness. She is Maya's tempting charm and magic. She comforts and cheers up her husband, children, and guests. Even Brahma, the Creator, failed to describe her fully. She is some mysterious something that gives charm to this world. Without her, man is helpless. Without her, this world loses all charm. Without her, there is no creation.

Woman is a cheering companion for you in distress. She bears all difficulties and sorrows patiently. She wipes your tears when you are smitten with grief. How patient and enduring she is! She spends sleepless nights in nursing the children. What a lot of pain she undergoes in child bearing and care for the child, and by submission to her husband? Have you ever thought of this seriously, friends? Without woman, the beginning of your life is helpless, the middle destitute of happiness, and the end would be without consolation.

The beginning of your life was in the mother's breath. Your first small words are taught from her lips. She is your teacher and Guru. It is she who wiped your first tears. It is she who watches your last breath and last sighs, when men have shrunk from attending on you. In the West, the woman is wife. In India, the woman is the mother. The mother is worshipped. In the West, the wife governs the home, the mother rules. In the West, the mother has to be subordinate to the wife. In India, the wife has to be subordinate to the mother.
India recognises the ideal of motherhood as the highest for a woman. It is not for nothing that we worship the Motherhood of God in Kali and other Goddesses, and our own country we call as Matrubhumi. The idea that man and woman are equals is a purely Western concept. The Indian or Hindu concept is that man and woman, Purusha and Shakti, are one and indivisible. Wife is Ardhangini. She ever dwells in her husband. She occupies half the body of her Lord. Sita did not think herself a separate entity. She was in and of Rama. The Indian woman always identifies herself completely with her husband in all domestic, religious and social life. No religious ceremony can be performed by the husband without his wife. The Vedic hymns chant of her: "Be an empress to your father-in-law. Be an empress to your mother-in-law. Be an empress to your husband's brothers and sisters". She is the queen of the house. She illuminates the home through the glory of motherhood.
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