Question on Advaita (Women in Advaita Vedanta)

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Question on Advaita (Women in Advaita Vedanta)

Vishal Agarwal vishalagarwal at HOTMAIL.COM Mon Jul 24 20:05:27 CDT 2000 Previous message: CTMU Next message: Question on Advaita (Women in Advaita Vedanta) Messages sorted by: [ date ] [ thread ] [ subject ] [ author ]
Dear Dennis, I apologize in advance for this hurried unstructured response. The best way to get scholarly answers to your question is to join the Advaita Mailing list. I will foward your questions to the list members but you could also joint the list by going to the following URL http://lists.advaita-vedanta.org/archives/advaita-l.html Advaita Vedanta is primarily a philosophical tradition and therefore does not have an extensive discourse on men-women relationships. Some writings of Shri Shankaracharya however betray his negative views towards women (see below). For instance, he held that women are debarred from the study of Vedas, although he granted them the possibility of Moksha via the Itihasa-Purana literature. Note however that the texts on which his commentaries make these observations themselves do not have anything to say in this regard. Rather they say the opposite. The authoritative Upanishads, the Geeta and the Sutras do not contain any disparaging remarks against women although the commentaries on them by Shamkaracharya etc. do. An exception to this might be the following statement in the Brahadaranyaka Upanishad- "If she does not grant him his desire (for coitus), he should buy her (with presents). If she still does not grant him his desire, he should beat her with a stick or with his hand and overcome her with power and glory." Br. Up. 6.4.7. This passage is a part of the Khila Kanda (supplementary portion) of the Upanishad and does not form the text proper, being a later addition. This opinion is held unanimously by Hindu scholars (refer to Shankaracharyas commentary). Such passages are Angirasa Vidhi and are considered obnoxious by Hindus. On views of Shri Shankaracharya, we have the following examples-1. On Bhagvad Gita 9.32, Sri Samkaracharya comments that women and Sudras are not entitled to the study of Vedas. There is not even a trace of this thought in the orignal verse of the Gita.

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2. Brihadaranyaka Upanishad 6.4.17 reads: "Now if one wishes to beget a daughter who is a scholar (Pandita), and that she should live her full life, then they should eat rice cooked with Sesame along with some Ghee. Thereby, they will beget her." On this, Sri Samkaracharya adds" The scholarship of the daughter is restricted to proficiency in household affairs only, because she is debarred from the study of Vedas." Again, we see that this is the Acharya's personal view, colored by the prevalent notions of his times. However, we must also note that the Acharya has also written beautiful hymns to female deities. The 4 Vedas (Mantra Samhitas-Rig, Yajur, Sama, Atharva) indeed do not have any degrading references of a general nature towards women. Infact, the Rigveda counts 21 ladies amongst its Sages. However, the old commentaries on them, called the Brahmana texts, contain some uncharitable remarks against women (which, being opposed to the Vedas are not authoritative for Hindus). A few examples1. "Women, shudras, black crows and dogs are indeed false (evil)." Shatapatha Brahmana 14.1.1.31. This statement occurs in the context of the Pravargya ritual which requires the performer to remain celibate, meditate for perfection and shun all falsehood. Therefore, the statement is made (in the typical literary style of the Brahmana texts) to dissuade the performer of the ritual to cohabit with his wife or interact with ignorant men (Shudras) by comparing them to dogs and black crows). 2. "Three are indeed evil-....., women and ...." Maitrayani Samhita 3.6.3 This statement again occurs in the Brahmana portion of the text, not the Mantra portion. 3. "Women cherish meaningless conversations and go after singers and dancers." Shatapatha Brahmana 3.2.4.6 4. "Therefore, women desire singers." Taittiriya Samhita 6.1.6.44 (again, this is in the Brahmana portion, not in the Mantra portion) 5. "The husband alone is a wifes honour." Shatapatha Brahmana 2.6.2.14 6. "A wife should seek to reside in her household alone." Shatapatha Brahmana 3.3.1.10. The last two statements are to be understood in the light of the reply that Sukanya gave to the handsome twins Ashwin Kumaras, who teased her for having an old and blind husband and asked her to marry one of them- "My father betrothed me to my Husband and I will not leave him as long as he lives." Shatapatha Brahmana 4.1.5.9 7. "The Brahmana texts say- Do not eat food cooked by a woman in her menses." Vasishtha Dharma sutra 5.8 The Brahmana texts however, also contain statements praising women. For instance: 1. " He who does not have a wife is not entitled to sacrifice to the Devas." Taittiriya Brahmana 2.2.2.6

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2. "A wife is indeed one half of ones Atman." Taittiriya Brahmana 3.3.3.5 3. "Women verily are an embodiment of splendour." ibid 2.9.4.7 4. "A woman never kills" Shatapatha Brahmana 6.3.1.39 In the Shanti Parvan of the Mahabharata, Bhishma Pitamaha clarifies that women are not naturally inclined to commit sins, but their neglect by bad husband forces them to commit evil acts in order to survive. Therefore, women never sin on their own and are always pure. Coming to the Puranas, I referred to the Vayu, Brahma, Vishnu and portions of the Srimadabhagvat Puranas but could find only the following famous verse: "Since the three Vedas cannot be learnt by women, Shudras and the twice born (by mere birth, not learning), the Sage Veda Vyasa composed the story of Mahabharata out of compassion for them." Bhagvata Mahapurana 1.4.25 Contrarily, I found several tales in the Puranas in praise of women. For instance, the Vishnu Purana records a tale in which the Sages assemble on the banks of a river, waiting for Veda Vyasa to come out of water after completing his meditation. The reverend sage comes out and utters: "In the Kali Age, women will be superior to men" and goes into water again. After a while, he emerges again and utters: "In the Kali Age, the Shudras will be superior to the twice born." and goes into water again. He finally completes his meditation and emerges from the river, whereupon the Sages ask him the meaning of his enigmatic statements. Veda Vyasaji replies that "In the Kali Yuga, men in general and the children of the first three castes in particular will abandon their Dharma out of pride and neglect whereas the Shudras and women will adhere to their Dharmas. Since it is the practice of Dharma alone which exalts one, the Shudras and women will be superior to the twice born and to men respectively." In the same Purana, an childless Brahmin prays to Lord Vishnu for progeny. The Lord, pleased with his devotion appears and asks him if he desires a girl or a boy. The pious Brahmin replies"What difference does it make my Lord. Indeed, a son will be your embodiment while a daughter will be Devi Laxmi (Lord Vishnu's wife) herself." Pleased, Bhagvan Vishnu blesses him with a daughter. The Brahmin is overjoyed. The Purana records further that the Brahmin showers all his love and affection on his daughter and educates her in all the scriptures as a result she becomes a noted scholar of her days." I also looked up a text called 'Yatidharmasamucchaya" by Yadava Prakasha. This is the oldest extant text on the duties of a mendicant. The text does not explicitly bar women from becomming

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Question on Advaita (Women in Advaita Vedanta)

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monks but the whole atmosphere of the text assumes that it is addressed to a Brahmin male

At the commencement of a particular portion of the Aitreya Upanishad, pregnant women are asked to leave. Orthodox Vedic scholars hold that the sound vibrations of this part of the Upanishad (it is still recited with the authentic Vedic accents by the Nambudiri Brahmins of Kerala) are harmful for the foetus although I surmise that the point of discussion is detrimental to the cheerfulness of of the listener (and pregnant women have been asked to be cheerful and happy always so that the foetus also grows healthy). In the Vedic ritual texts like the Ashvalayana Grhya sutras, wives are asked to recite Vedic verses along with their husbands, which is not possible if they were debarred from the study of the Vedas. Some hold that women cannot be Yogins because Yoga leads to a stage of Urdhvareta (he whose semen does not fall out but rather ascends in the body). This is refuted by others who state that although women do not have Ratas, they have Rajovirya. In any case, Mimamsa Sutras (Chapter 6, Pada 1) declare that "women are entitled to the performance of Vedic Rituals even independently of men, and to the best of their ability, because they also have a desire to attain salvation and because they are also owners of wealth, just like men". This is then the settled conclusion. Coming to Samnyasa texts, the ancient manuals on Samnyasa viz. the Vaikahansa sutras and the Parasharya Sutras, are lost. The Smriti texts like Manusmriti, Baudhayana Dharmasutra etc. apparently based on these do not explicitly forbid women from taking Samnyasa, although they keep only the man in mind while describing Ascetics. In fact, some ancient Smriti texts openly prescribe Samnyasa for women. For instance, the Harita Dharma Sutra (available only in manuscripts and referred to by P. V. Kane in his History of Dharmashastra"), states that women are of two types- "Sadhyavadhu and Brhamavadhu" -- they who marry early and they who marry Brahman (i.e. become Samnyasinis). The Atharva Veda also seems to divide women into 3 types-"Bhima jaya brahmasyopanita" i.e. The ferocious (women warriors --these are described in the 4 Vedas in several mantras), the mothers (i.e. ordinary married women), and women pruified by the Vedas and Brahman (which might be taken to roughly mean female ascetics). I do not remember the exact location of the mantra but can locate it for you if you are in urgent need. I have not read the medieval manuals of Samnyasa (like the Yatidharmasamucchaya or the Yatidharmaprakasha) but I surmise that they do have some

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injunctions against women assuming Samnyasa. There is a collection of non-canonical Upanishad texts called the Samnyasa Upanishads". The Samskrit text has been published from Adyar, Madras, and an excellent English translation called "Samnyasa Upanishads" by Patrick Oleville. As far as I remember, none of these texts contain any injunctions against women attaining Samnyasa. (While Mr. Oleville believes that non of these Upanishads is older than the 10th century, I strongly disagree, for sound reasons. But that is besides the point here). 1st section of the 6th chapter of the Mimamsa Shastra (the Code of Vedic Ritualism) discusses at length the right of women to participate in and conduct Vedic Rituals. If you wish, I can post a translation cum commentary in due course of time here. Some other relevant quotations from Hindu texts: "Just like the son, the daughter also extends one's family lineage" Bruhaspati Smriti "As a son is born of one's own self, so is a duaghter. Indeed, there is no difference between the two. Therefore, if a man were to die without a son, the daughter verily will inherit all his wealth, for who else can inherit it while she is present?" Swayambhuva Manu quoted by Maharshi Yaska in Nirukta Regarding Manusmrti, I must mention that it is a composite, disorganized text, replete with interpolations and dislocations of verses and in fact, some verses in the original text have evidently been dropped. I cite the following example (Manusmrti 2.66-67): "All the purificatory ceremonies (Samskaras) of women should be performed in due order and in due time without the application of Vedic Mantras. For women, the marriage ceremony is the only Vedic ritual permissible, serving her husband is staying and studying under a Guru, and performance of household chores alone is her Agnihotra (a Vedic ritual)." i.e. a woman is not eligible for Yajnopavita, performance of Agnithotra and other Vedic rights or to Vedic Samskaras (except the marraige ceremony, where her husband is also present). Now, Kulluka Bhatta, a medieval commentator of Manusmriti records that some manuscripts available in his time had an additional verse following these two verses: Agnihotrasya shushrusha sayamudvasameva cha | Karya patnya pratidinamiti karma cha vaidikam || "Attending to the Agnihotra daily and assisting her husband in his duties at dawn and in the evening everyday in the performance of ceremonies are the Vaidika Karma of women." Now,

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I am sure this was the original verse and the former two (which contradict this one) are interpolations, because the Ramayana clearly record that Kaushalya Rani, Devi Sita etc. used to attend to the performance of Agnihotra everyday, and the Atharvaveda too prescribes that the primary responsibility of performance of daily household rituals lies with the wife (I do not remember the exact location right now but could look it up for you). There is no reason why somebody should have interpolated this 3rd verse, but it is highly probable that the first two verses were added to Manusmrti at a very early date, since they occur in all the manuscripts. Strictly speaking, the first verse even violates the context. The Atharvaveda clearly refers to the practice of Brahmacharya by women ("Brahmacharryena kanyaa yuvanam vindate patim" Kanda X). Some Vedic scholars have even written a tract called "Kanyopnayan vidhi" wherein they have demonstrated that the Vedic texts prescribe the thread ceremony for women also. Sincerely, Vishal

----Original Message Follows---From: "Dennis Koenig" <DennisKoenig at msn.com> Reply-To: <DennisKoenig at msn.com> To: <vishalagarwal at hotmail.com> Subject: Question on Advaita Date: Mon, 24 Jul 2000 17:39:00 -0400

Hello, In a search for an answer to the question I wish to ask, I have just visited your web page at http://www.hinduweb.org/home/dharma_and_philosophy/vvh/ , and have bookmarked it for future reading. Thank you for this useful resource! If you or an Advaita teacher you know is available to answer a question about Advaita Vedanta, please consider a reply to this: I am an early student with the School of Philosophy (Foundation for Philosophic Studies, see www.practical-philosophy.org). The senior students and tutors claim that the school's teaching draws heavily --- primarily --from the Advaita tradition. In some commentaries about the school found on the Internet, I learned that in advanced classes they separate men and women and teach a rather patriarchic view of the roles of men and women, that women are to be subservient to men, that they must dress conservatively, that they must obey certain rules regarding sexuality, etc. I have inquired about this at my local branch of the school and they say that there is no emphasis on this gender-bias in our local branch of the school (Rochester, NY, USA), but my tutor specifically explained the basis for the teaching and argued that the patriarchy taught is based on "the natural order" with respect to the genders. I suspect that his explanation of "the natural

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Question on Advaita (Women in Advaita Vedanta)

order" may not be rooted in Advaita.

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I am looking for references to Advaita texts that support the patriarchic/anti-feminist notions in this school's doctrine on gender. I don't see how or why this has anything to do with realization of Self or the Absolute, or non-duality, or anything based in Advaita Vedanta. I don't know why the school holds to this teaching about the male-female relationship. I suspect that it is a cultural preference not necessarily taught in the Advaita tradition. Is that so, from your perspective? Can you help with this question? Thank you, Dennis Koenig denniskoenig at msn.com

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