Letting the Feminine to Flower By Sadhguru

“Shakti” means energy. That energy which makes the atom work is the same energy which makes the
cosmos work. And this energy is always identified as feminine. The Indian culture has always represented
the feminine as the most powerful dimension of life. You will see even calendar art where Kali is standing
on Shiva’s chest, who is lying there dead. This is to show you that the masculine is lifeless unless it is
invigorated by the feminine.

Feminine worship is the most ancient form of worship on the planet. India, Europe, Arabia, and large parts
of Africa were involved in goddess worship. But today, because of too much emphasis on the masculine
worldwide, the only culture which still has feminine worship is India.

At one time, India was a culture where men and women lived in total equality on all levels. A woman is as
capable as a man when it comes to inner nature, and right from Vedic times, there have been many women
who reached the very heights of their consciousness. Women also wore the sacred thread, and like a man,
a woman could live within the marriage for ten to twenty years, and when she had the urge to become
spiritual, could renounce the family. However, women slowly lost their freedom when barbarian hordes
invaded, because the feminine can flower only in a certain situation of relaxation.

Feminine does mean “female.” The “feminine” and “masculine” are certain qualities. Only when these
two qualities happen in balance within, can a human being live a life of fulfillment.

Today women have also misunderstood feminine nature as weakness. They are trying to be like men. If
you go physically, definitely a man is stronger. Because your perception of life has been totally limited to
the physical, you are considering masculine as strength and feminine as weakness. That is a foolish way
of strength. We have chosen the power of gross conquest over the subtleties of love, compassion and
embracing life. If you just have masculine, then you will see you will have everything, but you will have
nothing.

For a long time, because survival was the dominant factor, humanity has given too much significance to
the masculine. The feminine can come to its proper place only when societies have handled their survival
well and reached a certain level of stabilized culture and civilization. Today, because economics has
become the main force in the world, once again everything is back to the law of the jungle – survival of
the fittest. Once you do that, again the masculine will dominate.

Consciously nurturing and celebrating the feminine in a society is very essential. This needs to happen
right from the school level. Children should go into music, art, philosophy, and literature as much as they
go into science and technology. If this does not happen, there will be no room for the feminine in the
world. Female you may be, but masculine you will become.

Ranked amongst the fifty most influential people in India, Sadhguru is a yogi, mystic, visionary and a
New York Times bestselling author Sadhguru has been conferred the Padma Vibhushan by the
Government of India in 2017, the highest annual civilian award, accorded for exceptional and
distinguished service.