In all the Semitic religions, there is no mention of any revelation to women and no woman is listed among the prominent disciples of the founders or prophets of those religions.
There are numerous hymns in the Rigveda indicating the high status accorded to women in the Vedic society. Rig Veda (10.27.12) explicitly states that the practice of a lady choosing her own husband was in vogue.
The hymn (10.85), the marriage hymn, explicitly states that the daughter-in-law should be treated as a queen, sāmrājni, by all the family members, especially the mother-in-law, husband, and father-in-law.
In Rig Veda (10.85.26) the bride was exhorted to address the assembly; to be asked to address the assembly was regarded as an honor by most of the sages. Women were not oppressed in Vedic times. First, one has to realize the fact that, Hinduism is not the ancient Vedic religion or Santana Dharma.
It is in Hinduism we find women were oppressed. Women were not oppressed in the Vedic times, but high status was accorded to women in the Vedic society.
Even today, some orthodox persons deny the right to chant the Veda to women. However, the Orthodox cannot cite any authoritative scripture to support their views. Any book in Sanskrit cannot be accepted as scripture or divine revelation.
Women Sages:~
Women saints and sages of India have been given less importance, for several reasons obvious to anyone studying history.
In the medieval period, women were confined to homes and according to some moral codes, women were not allowed to study scriptures and chant mantras while mantras were invoked as female deities or Goddesses.
The Vedic rishis had wives who were learned women and took part in philosophical discussions. The crippling social practices for women, considering them as inferior, and unfit for scriptural studies were introduced by male-dominated societies. While women's monastics or nuns were introduced in Buddhism; it was not a common practice to have nuns in Hindu monastic orders until recent times.
Sage Sankara has philosophical disputes and debates with an equally great scholar, Mandana Mishra. Mishra's learned wife Bharathi served as the umpire.
Sage Sankara says: ~ in Mand.P.351 and also in Vivekachoodamani, that even women can realize the truth if they persist.
Thus, it proves that Sage Sankara wanted even women to acquire Advaitic wisdom whereas the orthodox Advaitins bar women from indulging in the path of wisdom.
Sage Sankara says:~ that even women can realize the truth if they persist. (Mand.P.351 and also in Vivekachoodamani)
Some of the quotations given by these critics are from the period of the sutra books which are dated more than two thousand years later than the Rigveda. Naturally, these critics suppress quotations that speak of the high status of women in the society of the Rig Vedic period and the period of Upanishads.
There is no evidence to support the orthodox claims that Veda bars women from studying the scriptures and chanting mantras. Women were not confined to homes like in Hindu culture. The Vedic culture is different than the Hindu culture.
Hinduism is a group of castes and creeds with diverse beliefs and cultures diverse rituals and dogmas have nothing to do with the ancient Vedic religion or Santana Dharma. It is an error to identify the Vedic Religion as Hinduism because Hinduism is the non-Vedic belief system.
The people on the Indian side of the Sindhu were called Hindu by the Persians and the later Western invaders. That is the genesis of the word `Hindu'. (The Hindu View of Life by Dr. Radhakrishan, p.12).
When we think of the Hindu religion, we find it difficult, if not impossible, to define the Hindu religion or even adequately describe it. Unlike other religions in the world, the Hindu religion does not claim any one prophet; it does not worship any one God; it does not subscribe to any one dogma; it does not believe in any one philosophic concept; it does not follow any one set of religious rites or performances; in fact, it does not appear to satisfy the narrow traditional features of any religion or creed. It may broadly be described as a way of life and nothing more.
Confronted by this difficulty, Dr. Radhakrishan realized that Hinduism seems to be a name without any content. Is it a museum of beliefs, a medley or rites, a mere map, or a geographical expression? (The Hindu View of Life by Dr. Radhakrishan, p.11)
The Vedas as a body of scripture contains many contradictions and they are fragmentary in nature. For most Hindus of today, scriptures like the Bhagavad Gita, Ramayana, Mahabharata, and Puranas are more attractive and appealing than the Vedas.
The Gods and Goddesses they worship differ considerably from the Vedic ones. The collection of hymns called Vedas are written in praise of certain deities by poets over several centuries does not seem to have much significance for the Hindus of today.
Much of modern Hinduism is ‘Puranic Hinduism’. Vedic Gods like Indra, Varuna, Agni, Soma, and the like, whom the Vedic people worshiped, hardly have any significance in present-day Hinduism. The Gods and Goddesses important to the Hindus of today are Ram, Krishna, Kali, Ganesh, Hanuman, Brahma, Vishnu, Shiva, and the respective consorts of the last three, namely, Saraswati, Lakshmi, and Shakti. None of these deities figured prominently in the Vedic pantheon and some of them are clearly non-Vedic. The major Gods of Hinduism like Vishnu and Shiva are non-Aryan in origin. Though they may have belonged to the Vedic tradition they played no major role in the Vedas.
Thus, it is important to bifurcate Hinduism from the Ancient Vedic religion or Santana Dharma the importance of ‘going back’ to the Vedas’ to realize the Vedic religion has nothing to do with Hinduism, which is based on diverse beliefs in non-~Vedic Gods, dogmas, rituals, and worship of human being, which is barred by Vedas.
Indian people are sentimentally attached to religion because they have inherited an adulterated version of Hinduism which is founded by the different founders of sects and castes from time to time. Thus, understanding our religion is necessary to realize Vedic Religion or Vedic Religion or Santana Dharma was caste free, temple-free, priest-free, and free of dogmas. :~Santthosh Kumaar
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