Womanhood

Through this poem, Tathvagnani Vethathiri Maharishi gave a lasting tribute to all the women of the world for their roles as mothers, wives, sisters, daughters and friends. To realize the greatness of women, he urged us to accept the fact that women alone gave birth to the entire human race. He recognized women having a special place in society because nature entrusted this noble task by bestowing them a suitable physical structure and nurturing qualities such as love, compassion and sacrifice of self for others.

He took a firm stand against practices like dowry system, sati pratha and female infanticide. He always emphasized that a government should take strong measures to ensure greater economic strength for women by providing them education, equal employment opportunities, inheritance rights, and equal treatment in political as well as religious fields. Total emancipation and wellness of women was his vision for their future.

The deep concern for the above issues, and to offer tangible solutions, the Women International Spiritual Educational (WISE) Trust was founded as a wing of The World Community Service Centre (WCSC) in Guduvancheri, Tamil Nadu, India. In a grand inaugural function on February 5, 1994, Mother Logambal presided over as the president of the trust. Arul Nidhi Piramukutty, the managing trustee, highlighted the aims and the action plan of the trust.

The trust has proved its worth by giving successful training courses to many rural women, which consisted of physical exercises, meditation, Kayakalpa and introspection. Vocational and computer trainings approved by the Government of Tamil Nadu, such as, tailoring, typewriting, spoken English and computer applications were given through the Annai Logambal Technical Training Centre that was housed in the trust. More than 3,000 students have successfully completed their training, and many of them have found gainful employment in private organizations and government departments. Vocational training also helped them to augment their incomes by self-employment. Combined services of professors, psychologists and doctors to these women improved their quality of life in every way.

Maharishi’s appreciation and gratitude to his wives for their life-long dedication and service to him was unique and original. He observed during his travels to foreign countries that on certain days of the year a particular relationship was celebrated and appreciated such as father’s day, mother’s day, secretary’s day etc., but no country celebrated the wife’s day. So, in response maharishi declared mother Logambal’s birthday, 30th August 1994 as “Wife’s Appreciation Day”. He believed that by cultivating and expressing gratitude in return for love and compassion, which women give to mankind, will surely result in peace and happiness.

Teachings of Tathvagnani Vethathiri consistently show that to achieve physical, mental and social health for all, a practical and comprehensive spiritual education is the foundation. It specially empowers women to strengthen their self-esteem and build strong character to uplift their status in the world. Developing a lifestyle guided by the science of yoga can enhance total wellbeing including reproductive health for a healthy progeny. Accepting women as equal to men in all spheres of life is fundamental in dealing with issues of human rights, social justice and world peace. To fulfill these aims, WCSC established Vethathiri Maharishi Spiritual and Intuitional Educational (VISION) directorate in 2004. Nearly 20,000 women including many housewives have benefited from this educational program.

There are numerous organizations doing outstanding work to uplift and empower women in many fields at the local, national and international levels. Recently Women’s empowerment was one of the subjects included in bilateral discussions between India and the United States at the Working Women’s Forum (WWF) in Chennai, South India. So our plan to move forward in the 21st century is to offer simple and practical spiritual education worldwide. Thousands of women who are given mastership training to teach yoga and meditation through WCSC trusts and centers, would provide a potential work force to achieve and fulfill the goals of United Nation’s slogan, “Healthy Women, Healthy World”.