We all are noticing a shift in daylight and welcoming autumn with longer nights. In India, the beginning of longer nights are celebrated as the rise of the feminine energy. As the summer winds down , masculine energy of the sun begins to move back and make space for the feminine energy which celebrates the moon. The first nine days after this new moon day are called Navratri, 9 nine nights to harness the energies of moon thus celebrating the feminine energy. Different parts of India celebrates Navratri in their unique way. State of West Bengal celebrates the fierce form of female called Durga or Kali which is an energy of transformation, northern India celebrates goddess Shakti and her 9 forms, Gujarat celebrates these 9 nights with an addition of never ending dance and music to celebrate art, Karnataka celebrates Chamundi , a form of shakti who beheads the evil. But almost all of these cultures will worship Durga, Lakshmi and Saraswati which stands for transformation, prosperity and Knowledge respectively. We celebrate mother earth, cleansing rivers, mountain peaks , arts and artists which are all honored as feminine energy. For me , this is feminism of purest form.
Celebrating all kinds of feminine energy means honoring all kinds of women.
A women who chose to be single or just did not get partner she was looking for.
A women who chose to get married and found happiness in her partners joy,
A women who chose to have , a job , a career or follow her passions
A women who bore children and the one who doesn't want to or couldn't ,
Also the women with no choices at all.
A super-sacrificial kind and the self driven
The fierce one and the one who is shy.
The one who test your patience and also the one with world of patience
The feminist , the womanist , the political, the apolitical and the activist
The one you hate and admire at the same time.
Also the one you cannot put any of these boxes because its convenient to you.
Lets celebrate all of them without our own baggage of what we think a women should be. They already get that from men and women who have less compassion than us. But if we can recognize that this world is a better place with different personalities , then lets judge less and honor more. A friend of mine invites different natured women with different point of views to her house and encourages her teenage daughters to be a part of our conversation.
She said which I will never forget ,
" I do not want my daughters to think that their mother is their only example , I want then to see that irrespective of the kind of lives you all chosen, ( sometimes who did not even have a choice) they are successful , kind , compassionate and happy. I want them to have real life examples and not just some names in a book they read."
So, lets honor that kind of feminism , not the kind which only agrees with our ideologies and believes. Lets use these 9 days and nights when the moon energies are at their peak to embody all that is feminine.
Namaskar
Savitha
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