Women and Religion

As with widow remarriage, sati eventually prompted action by 19th Century Hindu reformers. In this case it was Ram Mohan Roy (1772-1833) who campaigned for its abolition and his efforts were eventually rewarded when the British banned the practice in 1829. As with Vidyasagar, Roy argued that sati was not a genuinely Hindu practice, but rather a terrible aberration of Hindu values. Rather than quote the Vedic support for symbolic sati only, Roy turned to the Bhagavad Gita – one of the most popular texts across many Hindu schools. He argued that the Gita does not support the idea of performing actions in order to earn merit and insisted that committing sati does not bring good karma or a heavenly reward.

Ram Mohan Roy

Despite the legal prohibition nearly 200 years ago, the practice did not entirely disappear from the world of Hinduism. Some say that about 40 cases have occurred since the 1950s and many of these happened in the province Rajasthan where the sati tradition is more deeply rooted. Indeed, articles on sati often include photos of a shrine built in memory of the many wives of Jodhpur maharajas who committed sati out of religious duty – in most cases to avoid being married to their victorious political enemies.

Memorial to the Jodhpur women

who committed sati

Exercise: Look up these two recent cases:

· Roop Kanwar in 1987

· Lalmati Verma in 2008

MOTHERHOOD

1. Fertility

Having looked at some of the main issues concerning Hindu women as wives, we now turn to their role as mothers. The principal point here is the religious expectation on both husband and wife to have children. In other words, fertility is seen as a divine blessing and a result of good karma; infertility is seen as a divine curse and the result of bad karma. Such attitudes are not absent in other religious traditions – indeed we will see similar sentiments in the early books of the Hebrew bible. Moreover, the weight of expectation is usually directed more at the wife (mother) than the husband (father).

There are a number of Hindu beliefs and practices that reflect the high esteem in which fertility is held in this religion. The first example is the classical framework of the Four Stages of Life. According to the Laws of Manu and other Hindu scriptures, each person (at least each male) should pass through four phases of life, each with its own specific set of duties. These are known as the Four Ashramas:

i. Student

ii. Householder

iii. Forest-dweller

iv. Ascetic

We will return to some of the other stages in due course, but our focus here is on Stage 2, known as the Householder stage, which begins with the wedding ceremony. Basically, classical Hinduism expects everyone - men and women - to marry and have children in their young adulthood. Although celibacy is a value in Hinduism, it normally belongs to other stages of life.

A second example of the Hindu concern for fertility is reflected in the tradition of the 16 samskaras. These are essentially life-cycle rituals that are performed at key milestones between womb and tomb, ensuring blessing and good karma along the way. There are lists that have more or less than sixteen but that is the most common number cited. Moreover, not all Hindus practise all sixteen today and some schools emphasise their importance more than others. The wedding ceremony and the funeral ceremony are usually included on the lists. What is relevant for us here is that the very first samskara – called Garbhadhana - is performed by a married couple early in their relationship. As the name suggests (“seeding the womb”) its purpose is to help the mother fall pregnant. In other words, it is essentially a fertility ritual.

A third, and rather unusual example, of the Hindu concern for fertility is the tradition known as ‘niyoga’. The Laws of Manu explain:

On failure of issue by her husband a woman who has been authorised, may obtain the desired offspring by cohabitation with a brother-in-law or some other close relative of the husband. He who is appointed to cohabit with the widow shall approach her at night anointed with clarified butter and silent, and beget one son*, by no means a second..... But when the purpose of the appointment to cohabit with the widow has been attained in accordance with the law, those two shall behave towards each other like a father and a daughter-in-law. If those two, being thus appointed, deviate from the rule and act from carnal desire, they will both become outcasts. (Manu 9.59-63)

There is quite a bit here to note. First, niyoga concerned women who had not been able to have a child for some reason, usually because her husband had died, hence the reference to “widow” in the above text. It is also possible that her husband was still living but was impotent. Second, niyoga allowed her to sleep with another man in order to conceive a child (*note that Manu says “son” but the tradition usually presumes one child, male or female). Third, the man chosen to impregnate the woman was usually the brother of her deceased (or impotent) husband, or another close male relative. Fourth, the sexual intercourse involved should not be pleasurable, hence the requirement that they smear themselves with ghee (clarified butter) and remain silent throughout. Fifth, once the woman was pregnant, the sexual relationship must end and the two carry on as “father and daughter-in-law”. Hence the term “cohabit” does not mean marriage but sleeping together for the purpose of impregnation. If the two pursued an ongoing sexual relationship, then Manu prescribed casting them out of the community. Elsewhere the tradition limited the number of women with whom any man could perform niyoga at three in his lifetime.

Commentators have noticed the striking similarity to the ancient Jewish tradition of Levirate marriage, which we will examine later in the course. Niyoga is no longer practised today and it is difficult to know precisely when it commenced but there are two references to it in the Mahabharata and even one in the Vedas:

Where are ye, Ashvins, in the evening, where at morn? .... Who brings you homeward, as the widow bedward draws her husband's brother, as the bride attracts the groom? (Rg Veda 10.40.2)

The point is that niyoga clearly demonstrates the importance of fertility in ancient Hinduism, so much that the usual rules of widowhood and marriage were bent so that the childless wife may have a child.

2. Preference for sons

A second issue concerning motherhood and children is the traditional Hindu preference for sons over daughters. This is not the monopoly of Hinduism since many religions and cultures have displayed a bias towards male over female children and we will see a similar trend in the ancient Jewish scriptures as well. It is evident in the Hindu tradition even as far back as the Vedas. For example, there are the following prayers in the Atharva Veda:

Let a female child be born somewhere else; here, let a male child be born (6.2.3)

God, you have created this womb. Women may be born somewhere else but sons should be born from this womb (6.11.3)

O Husband, protect the son to be born. Do not make him a woman. (2.3.23)

The Rg Veda contains similar sentiments, as found in Surya’s Bridal Hymn quoted earlier:

O Bounteous Indra, make this bride blest in her sons and fortunate. Vouchsafe to her ten sons, and make her husband the eleventh man

Moreover, the second samskara is the Pumsavana ritual, which was designed specifically to bring about the birth of a male, rather than a female, child. In ancient times it was performed at the time of the “quickening”, namely when the mother first felt the movement of the baby in her womb. We know today that this is too late since biological sex is determined at the moment of fertilisation and indeed, the ritual is rarely performed these days. However, the preference for sons over daughters is still a clear feature of Hindu society today, borne out by current statistics that estimate the male-female ratio in India today is 1000:930. Given that the two sexes should be about even, this means that 7% of females are “missing”, presumably as a result of selective abortion or clandestine female infanticide. Sadly, a common saying after the birth of a girl was: “nothing was born here”.

We have already noted some reasons for this imbalance, some of which are financial and others are cultural-religious. The cost of a dowry and the wedding itself can be a daunting prospect for high and middle caste families with many daughters. In addition, a son remains within the family whereas a daughter is given away to the family of in-laws. Finally, it is Hindu custom that the eldest son lead the funeral rites, although other male relatives can be called in to substitute. But a person without a son would naturally worry about the efficacy of the funeral prayers and thus be concerned about their fate beyond death.

3. Menstruation and birth impurity

A third aspect of motherhood for Hindu women is the taboo surrounding menstruation and the birth process itself. Again, such concerns and taboos are not uncommon in other religious traditions and indeed, again, we will see interesting parallels with the ancient Jewish tradition of niddah. Much of this anxiety is linked to religious ideas about blood and other bodily fluids. In Hinduism, menstruation and birth are seen as dangerous times of spiritual impurity and bad karma. Hindu superstitions include the notions that menstruation causes plants to die, cows to become sterile and men to fall ill. There is also an ancient story (in various forms) of how the god Indra slew an enemy who threatened the world. Unfortunately that enemy was a Brahmin priest and, thus, Indra was condemned as a Brahmin-killer. So he asked the earth, the trees and women to each assume one-third of his guilt. For women this took the form of menstrual blood. The consequence is that Hindu tradition requires a woman to limit her social contacts during menstruation. For example, there is a Nepalese tradition (chaupadi) that the woman retires to a “hut” away from the rest of the family. Similarly, in Kerala (south-west India), the woman is expected to spend most of her time in a room on the south side of the house – the direction associated with death and funerals. A Hindu woman who is menstruating would especially avoid areas of the house such as the kitchen where food is prepared and rooms where sacred shrines and statuettes are kept. They are also told to avoid entering temples and explicit signs stating this principle are common throughout India.

The woman should also avoid physical intimacy with her husband during the period so that he is not spiritually contaminated. One bright side for the women concerned is the avoidance of normal domestic chores, which effectively turns her menstrual period into a time of rest, somewhat akin to the Jewish Sabbath. The impure period is ended by a ritual bath after which the woman may return to normal activities. In the case of birth, a Hindu mother is usually confined with her baby for a period of about 10-11 days, which corresponds to the mourning period for the immediate family following the funeral of one of their members. In both cases, the persons are affected by the bad karma and spiritual impurity of the event (birth and death) and thus must minimize contact with others in their family and community.

LEADERSHIP

The final major issue that we need to examine is religious leadership and the extent to which Hinduism has allowed or encouraged women to take up leadership roles. We will look at three main areas of religious leadership:

a. Teachers

b. Priests

c. Saints

1. Teachers

The first form of leadership that we will examine is intellectual and scholarly. To what degree has the Hindu tradition allowed women to pursue religious study with the aim of becoming experts in their faith and, thus, gurus and guides for others? The immediate answer would seem to be rather negative. The main obstacle here is the classical idea that only a certain category of Hindu society are worthy of studying and teaching the holiest texts (the Vedas). This privileged subsection of Hindu society is known as the “twice-born” and the ritual initiation into this special class is the reception of a sacred thread during the tenth samskara, the Upanayana. This samskara is the beginning of the first of the four stages of life - the Student phase – and the Laws of Manu spell out the appropriate age for its celebration:

In the eighth year after conception, one should perform the initiation (upanayana) of a Brahmin, in the eleventh after conception (that) of a Kshatria, but in the twelfth that of a Vaishya. (Manu 2.36)

These are all rather young ages even though they are supposed to be linked to the commencement of puberty and the “coming of age” of the Hindus concerned. Moreover, the text clearly presumes that the higher the caste, the younger the age of reception. It is as if those of the high castes are ready for adult initiation and the duty of study earlier than their counterparts in lower castes. The ceremony itself involves the gift of a thin, white thread that is placed over the left shoulder and under the right arm. It is supposed to be worn by the recipient every day for the rest of their lives. It marks their new life as student and the title “twice-born” captures the idea that the recipient is starting a brand new life. It is as if they have been born again into a new world and one of the distinctive privileges of that world is access to Hinduism’s holiest texts, the Vedas.

The Sacred Thread ceremony (Upanayana)

The text also refers to three castes and three castes only: the Brahmin or priestly caste; the Kshatria or warrior caste; and the Vaishya or merchant caste. There are two castes below these: the Sudra (servant) caste and the Dalit (untouchable) caste. However, Manu goes on to confirm that the sacred thread is not given to anyone except members of the higher three castes:

Brahmin, Kshatria, and Vaishya castes are the twice-born ones, but the fourth, the Sudra, has one birth only. (10.4)

Moreover, Manu clarifies that it is only males of the highest three castes that receive the thread and, thus, are properly called twice-born. Hence, the Vedas are only supposed to be studied and used in religious ritual by the twice-born who carry the sacred thread; these are adult males of the highest three castes. Men of the lower castes, all women and all children are excluded.

For women no rite is performed with sacred texts, thus the law is settled. (Laws of Manu 9.18)

It is unusual for a religion to restrict its holiest writings to just one elite group among its members but we should keep in mind that Hindus operate with a reincarnational model of human existence. In other words, the fact that someone is male or female, high or low caste, or even human or non-human in this particular life, is only one small stage on their epic journey to liberation. High caste males have probably been animals, or women or lower caste men in previous lives. Animals, women and low caste men will hopefully be higher caste males in a future life. The samsaric model tends to relativise species, caste and gender as a result. Nevertheless, there is clearly priority given to men over women in the system and Manu goes on to draw a parallel between the sacred thread ceremony for a high caste male and the wedding ceremony for a woman.

The nuptial ceremony is stated to be the Vedic sacrament for women and to be equal to the initiation, serving the husband equivalent to the residence in the house of the teacher, and the household duties the same as the daily worship of the sacred fire. (Laws of Manu 2.67)

In other words, the duty of a twice-born male to serve his teacher humbly and thus gain good karma is akin to the duty of a woman to serve her husband dutifully and, thus, gain good karma. If the sacred thread samskara is a key moment for boys, giving them initiation into the Student phase, then the wedding samskara is a key moment for girls, giving them initiation into the Householder phase. But it also implies that girls skip the Student phase altogether since they never receive the thread. According to Manu, their primary duty is not to study sacred texts but to look after their husband and children. Clearly, if women were never allowed to study, then there was no scope for them ever to become experts in the religious texts and, thus, no scope for them ever to become religious teachers.

However, there are Hindu thinkers and writers who question Manu’s version and argue that the exclusion of women and low caste men from the sacred thread and the Vedas is not a true interpretation of Hinduism. Moreover, they don’t have to look very far to find evidence that supports their counter-claims. In fact, much of that evidence comes from the Vedas themselves, as well as the Upanishads that were attached to them long ago.

First, there are hints in the Vedas that women as well as men received the sacred thread and were encouraged to study the sacred texts and rituals. In particular, there are two terms used for young girls that indicate two possible paths in life. The first is “sadyovadhu”, which refers to the normal path of marriage and child-bearing. This certainly conforms to Manu’s understanding of women’s proper role in society. But there is also the term “brahmavadini”, which refers to a female student, alongside the “brahmacarin” or male student that Manu endorses.

Second, the Vedas themselves suggest that they were composed not only by men but also by some women. The usual term for the author of a Vedic hymn is “rishi” – someone who is taken up in an ecstatic state and is inspired by sacred words. However, the Vedas also speak of “rishikas”, or female rishis, and at least thirty are mentioned in the Rg Veda including names such as Ghosha, Apala, Vishvavara, Lopamudra and Indrani. Many of the rishikas seem to have been wives of rishis and, although they are admittedly a minority (the gender split is not 50/50), nevertheless their inclusion means that composing a Veda was not the sole privilege of men.

Third, the Upanishads also use two terms for experts in and teachers of Hindu philosophy. The normal term “pandit” refers to a male thinker and teacher, but the term “pandita”, which is also used in these texts, indicates a female expert. Again there are concrete examples given including two of the most famous panditas, Maitreyi and Gargi. Maitreyi was the wife of the philosopher Yajnavalkya. Apparently she was allowed to follow her husband to the forest, thus entering the third of the life-stages: the Forestdweller. The tradition states that she composed at least ten Vedic hymns and became an expert who instructed others in their proper interpretation. Gargi, was the daughter of another sage, Vachaknu, and she composed hymns about the creation of the cosmos. It is said that on one occasion she attended a philosophical congress and stunned fellow participants with her intellect and knowledge, holding a convincing debate with the aforementioned Yajnavalkya himself.

Maitreyi and her husband Gargi

This early evidence that women received the sacred thread, and studied and taught in the Vedic tradition, inspired a 19th Century Hindu reformer to establish a new movement within Hinduism that incorporated these ideas. His name was Swami Dayanand Saraswati (1824-1883) and his movement, which is still vibrant today, is known as the Arya Samaj (“Noble Society”). For Saraswati, the Vedas were the supreme authority in Hinduism and they took clear priority over later texts, including the Laws of Manu. Based on the Vedic evidence, he professed equality for all, irrespective of gender or caste. This was not just a vague ideal. He tangibly expressed it by offering the sacred thread to women and low caste members of his community – a move that created a great deal of controversy in its day.

Dayanand Saraswati

Apart from the Arya Samaj, there are more and more women studying the Vedas and Upanishads in Hindu ashrams and colleges today, and taking on roles as gurus and teachers within Hindu communities. The gender and caste elitism of the mainstream Brahminic tradition, rooted in the Laws of Manu, is slowly being diluted and democratized, although there is still much conservative resistance.

2. Ritual Leaders

The first thing that we should keep in mind when we ask if women ever lead religious rituals in Hinduism is the fact that Hinduism is not a “congregational” religion in the normal sense. There is no holy weekday when adherents gather in a sacred place for regular communal prayer and spiritual nourishment via a sermon or talk. Thus, it is difficult to compare Hinduism to religions like Judaism, Christianity and Islam where ordained rabbis, priests and imams act as presidents of the official services (especially on Saturdays, Sundays and Fridays respectively). For many Hindus, it is in the privacy of the domestic sphere that the most fundamental rituals occur – the daily prayers and offerings in the family home. Each day, often in the morning, on behalf of her household, the mother places flowers, burns incense, offers food and prays before icons of Vishnu, Shiva or a selection of the many gods of the Hindu pantheon according to her Hindu sect.

A Hindu women performs daily worship

However, there are occasions, especially significant festivals on the religious calendar, when Hindus visit temples and join fellow believers in more formal worship and prayer. In this context, they will be led by a priest who will chant the liturgical mantras and perform the prescribed symbolic actions. Hindus may also seek priestly blessings at important milestones in life such as the birth of a new child, a wedding or a funeral. So Hinduism is not without priesthood – a class of ordained ministers that provides ceremonial expertise and spiritual leadership at important times. At this level, the tradition has certainly favoured male members. The highest caste of the classical Hindu hierarchy is the Brahmin or “priestly” caste and it was from the males of this group that priests and ceremonial leaders were traditionally trained. Thus, the mainstream Brahminic tradition did not encourage or even allow women to take up such roles (not even Brahmin women).

One element of temple life that did involve women was the tradition of the “devadasi” (servant of God). These were young girls who were dedicated by their families (often for life) to a particular temple, often via a ritual marriage to the temple god. In many cases they were not allowed to marry a man and, thus, remained celibate. They were given practical tasks such as maintaining the temple area and acting as guides for visitors. In its prime, the devadasi tradition saw these women acting as dancers and singers for the temple ceremonies. Quite often they were highly trained in the arts and enjoyed an elevated status. However, when times were difficult and temple income declined, many were forced into prostitution, which naturally attracted the criticism of both the British colonial rulers as well as Hindu reformers such as Roy and Vidyasagar. The role of devadasi was banned in various states in the 1930s and eventually outlawed in all of India in 1988.

Devadasi

Today, it is still the norm to see men acting as priests in temples across India although more and more women are gaining qualifications in theological and scriptural studies with a view to serving their communities in the priestly role. One example is a school based in Pune: