{"id":9186,"date":"2011-01-11T16:37:42","date_gmt":"2011-01-11T15:37:42","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.dandavats.com\/?p=9186"},"modified":"2011-01-12T13:27:33","modified_gmt":"2011-01-12T12:27:33","slug":"debunking-the-equity-myth","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.dandavats.com\/?p=9186","title":{"rendered":"Debunking the Equity Myth"},"content":{"rendered":"

By HH Bhakti Raghava Swami <\/strong><\/p>\n

In one of many typical articles to be found on the internet addressing the topic of employment and career opportunities, one will find the same propaganda supporting and promoting non-traditional occupations which is largely based on the false concept of equity between men and women. The following article entitled \u201cNon-traditional occupations expand career opportunities\u201d which was published on December 14, 2007 is one such article and begins thus:
\n\u201cWhat is a nontraditional occupation?\u00a0 The term “nontraditional” occupation refers to any career a man or woman may chose, where 75 percent or more of the workers are of the opposite gender.\u00a0 The purpose of identifying these careers is to help educators, parents and students promote interest in and access to these occupations for both genders.\u00a0 Today, many of the barriers that prevented workers from entering nontraditional occupations in the past are slowly disappearing even though the equity battle has not been won.\u201d (Source:http:\/\/iwin.iwd.state.ia.us\/iowa\/ArticleReader?itemid=00002666)
\nThe subject matter of employment for men and women in modern day society immediately becomes a blurred and controversial one when confronted with basic traditional and fundamental Vedic concepts which affect gender identity, gender equality, and hence gender employment.
\nBefore sounding the alarm on what may be regarded as radical and chauvinistic thinking, let us consider the reasons why this strong position \u201cagainst\u201d gender equity is taken within the Vedic culture and why such a position is meant to be upheld, defended and promoted.
\nGender Identity
\nMany of the social anomalies of modern day society are directly linked to the misunderstanding and abuse of basic traditional values and concepts. The first premise, which will immediately be challenged and brushed aside by most modern educators and scientists, is the concept of the very purpose of life. The proverbial \u201cwho am I\u201d simply cannot be neglected. If we choose not to address this fundamental question, we are applying what is called the \u201crabbit philosophy\u201d. As soon as a rabbit senses danger, it closes its eyes thinking that the danger has disappeared. When we neglect this elementary basic concept of gender identify, all the other valued principles of life affecting individuals and society are directly and immediately put into jeopardy.
\nWhat is gender identity? Put very simply, all human beings are first and foremost eternal spirit souls and should be first and foremost striving for self-realization, the ultimate realization being that we are all eternal servants of God, Lord Krishna. This is the basic knowledge given in all sacred writings of the world and the essence of Vedic knowledge. To a large extent, due to not giving proper value to this first principle, i.e. that life is meant for spiritual emancipation, the other related concepts of gender equality and gender employment are not accepted due to not being understood.
\nBasics of Human Psychology
\nThere is a need to have a scientific division of labour called varnas based on the scientific nature of human beings, namely their inherent qualities (gunas). The most elaborate book on psychology, known to all Vedic followers as the Bhagavad-gita, the Song of the Lord, clearly outlines what is the constitutional make-up of all living entities based on what is called gunas or qualities.
\ncatur varnyam maya sristam guna karma vibhagasah [Bhagavad-gita, 4.13]\n\u201cAccording to the three modes of material nature and the work associated with them, the four divisions of human society are created by Me.\u201d
\nThere are basically three gunas or qualities which interact and interface with one another which in turn determine one\u2019s varna (social divisions) within which one\u2019s particular work or profession (karma) is taken up. The first quality is that of goodness (sattva guna), the second of passion (raja guna) and the third of ignorance (tama guna). According to one\u2019s natural quality which becomes manifest generally around the age of 7 or 8, one is meant to take up some particular education and training which will lead one to some particular natural occupation or employment.
\nThere are four basic divisions of social occupations which are moulded according to a particular mixture of the three above qualities. This forms the beginning of basic psychological facts of life. The first social occupation meant for the more intellectual class of men (brahmanas) is predominated by the mode of goodness, the second social occupation meant for the leadership class of men (ksatriyas) is predominated by the mode of passion, the third social occupation for the productive class of men (vaisyas) is predominated by a mixture of the modes of passion and the mode of ignorance and the fourth social occupation for the labourer class of men (sudras) is predominated by the mode of ignorance.
\nWe should not equate the term \u201cignorance\u201d to \u201cstupidity\u201d but understand the term in relation to what is the goal of life. One dominated largely by the lower modes of passion and ignorance cannot, on his own, have a clear understanding of life and thus needs to serve and work under those with a more clear vision, the brahmanas.
\nGender Equality
\nOnce we understand and accept the basic workings of human psychology in humans, although these same modes of material nature also apply in all species of life, we can then begin to analyze the concept of gender equality. In the same way that we all accept a marked difference between the bodily constitution of men and women, we should similarly accept basic psychological differences between the two. Men procreate children while women bear children in their wombs to become mothers. We cannot change this basic nature of men and women.
\nWomen are generally (not always, but mostly) less inclined to deep intellectual pursuits. The research conducted by one prominent women scientist supports this claim. Professor Richard Lynn had the following words to say in her concluding article entitled \u201cSorry, men ARE more brainy than women (and more stupid too!)\u201d published in May, 2010. The findings are those of Baroness Susan Greenfield, one of Britain’s best-known female scientists; she’s a professor of neurophysiology at the University of Oxford, a former director of the Royal Institution and an accomplished writer and broadcaster on scientific matters and these are her concluding words:
\n\u201cMy argument isn’t based on crude chauvinist doctrine (although I’m quite sure my opponents will disagree) but on decades of research, relatively simple statistics and an understanding of the law of averages. Of course, just because men, on average, are more intelligent than women, doesn’t mean there are no individually brilliant women around. If I’m right, it doesn’t mean there will be no female professors of physics; it just means we should accept that there will be fewer of them. Nor does it mean that a woman will never win the Fields Medal for mathematics; it just means that we live in a world where such an event is very, very unlikely. I realize my views are unfashionable, just as I realize the juggernaut of sexual equality and political correctness will take an awful lot of stopping. But I say to the social engineers who dream up ever-more-ingenious ways of getting more women into top positions; don’t be surprised if you find your nobly motivated ambitions foundering on the immovable rock of human nature.\u201d
\nGender Employment
\nThe Vedic literatures and great seers explain in a simple and straightforward manner that all employment for women, in particular when taken up independently, away from the family and in interaction with men, fall within the category of non-traditional occupations, hence unnatural and undesirable occupations for women. According to human psychology, and in keeping with Vedic instructions, women by nature are not meant to be independent but require protection in all stages of their lives. Any social occupation where women must compete in the open market and work independently, especially in close proximity with men, goes against the nature of women and distracts them from their primary and natural roles as responsible chaste mothers and good housewives.
\nVedic Perspective on Employment
\nAccording to Vedic psychology, employment should be localized and easily performed, not labour intensive as we often find today. By localized we mean that a man should not have to travel any long distance to work. That is why the traditional occupations for men were generally within a localized area, within that of his village. According to one great moralist, Canakya Pandita, one can only be happy if he does not have to leave home for work.
\nOccupations should also be simple and based on our natural abilities. Work must also be taken up according to our natural propensity or inclination (guna) and generally will become a lifelong occupation, for the vast majority of people in relation with agriculture, land and cows. Artificial gender equality, which promotes non-traditional occupations for both men and women, simply creates havoc within society as we witness in our modern way of life. Hence, social occupations (varnas) are meant for men, not for women. The role or occupation for women is clearly spelled out in the scriptures by the great saint Narada Muni who explains the four main occupations of women:
\n\u201cTo render service to the husband, to be always favourably disposed toward the husband, to be equally well disposed toward the husband’s relatives and friends, and to follow the vows of the husband\u2014these are the four principles to be followed by women described as chaste.\u201d [SB 7.11.25]\nHH Bhakti Raghava Swami <\/p>\n

The article first appeared in THE EIGHT PETALS, a monthly e-newsletter in support of Daivi Varnasrama.
\nThe author can be contacted at: “Bhakti Raghava Swami” bhakti.raghava.swami@pamho.net<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Bhakti Raghava Swami<\/strong><\/p>\n

“To render service to the husband, to be always favourably disposed toward the husband, to be equally well disposed toward the husband’s relatives and friends, and to follow the vows of the husband\u2014these are the four principles to be followed by women described as chaste”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-9186","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-articles"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dandavats.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9186","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dandavats.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dandavats.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dandavats.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dandavats.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=9186"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.dandavats.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9186\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dandavats.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=9186"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dandavats.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=9186"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dandavats.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=9186"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}