Women And Men Are Different, But Equal

The achievement of full equality between women and men is one of the most important essentiality for global prosperity and the advancement of society. The denial of such equality perpetrates an injustice against one half of the world’s population and stimulates male dominance that is carried from the family to the workplace. Being in 21^st century after so many years of male dominance we are almost standing in the threshold of a feminine era, but there are still some signs of gender discrimination.

We are all humans with inborn endowments and we all should be treated the same. Women and Men must be equal in their rights and opportunities and one gender should not be considered ‘Superior’ over the other. Men and Women are naturally different in physical aspects. When God created man, He made him in the likeness of God. He created them male and female with blessings of equality and called them “Man” (not man or woman). It’s true that they are mentally and emotionally different in certain aspects but these differences are more socially constructed since childhood by pressure of society and parents not by God. If men have power to rape and injure women, in contrast women too have endurance and strength to bring forth men and put an end to the violation.

MEN and Women represents two forms of divine energy, they are the male and female elements of a psyche. A human being is neither masculine nor feminine, but has two forms of emanation~ the masculine form which is by nature more aggressive, externally oriented and physically more powerful, and the feminine form which is more subtle, emotionally powerful and embodies inner dignity. Some people confuse such subtlety with weakness; in truth, it is stronger than the most aggressive physical force. True human trait does not shout; it is a strong steady voice that speaks from within. The nature of a woman is not weak and nature of a man, while aggressive, is not brutish. Man and Woman are two sides of a coin and to be complete, they must possess both energies.

In order to understand the essential nature of man and woman, we must do away with mortal subjectivity and look through God’s eyes. Every human being, man or woman, was created for the same purpose—to amalgamate body and soul in order to make themselves and their world a better and holier place. In the service of God, there is absolutely no difference between a man and a woman.

Bible declares the truth, so In Christ Jesus all children of God through faith, for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor freeze, neither male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. According to divine revelation of Christianity, God created the woman as a “helper” for the man. The Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him (genesis 2:18).

However, being a “helper” does not imply that the woman is acquiescent or inferior to the man. In fact, God created both man and woman in His own image and made them equal custodians of all his creation. If woman worship’s her husband like a God, it does not mean she is weak and her husband can rule over her. She sees in him a Godlike husband and expects love and respect in return and wants him to use his strength to protect and preserve the feminine character, helping women realize there true potential in revealing Godliness which the world so desperately needs today. If the man does not fulfill his role, then it is the woman who must respectfully bring it to his attention. If she has tolerance and devotion to worship her husband, she also has power and strength to rule and slay demons around her like Durga.

Not only Christianity but Hinduism too teaches that man and woman are of equal worth, but have different roles and responsibility because they have different dharma to follow. The Ramayana (Hindu text) tells the story of Lord Rama and his wife, Sita, who proved her “pativrata” (chastity) by giving “agnipariksha” and showed the world that she was not weak, but her love and devotion for her husband was more important to her than her pride. And for this woman still follows her as an example and inspiration.

As the man and woman subject is endless, i'd like to end it with a question for the mortal psyche that when the omnipotent Lord didn’t provide lesser blood and mass to either of the sexes of clay model human is, who are we, the receiver of this gift of life to look a gift horse in the mouth and interrogate his manifestation?

~Sneha Singh

" Feelings Are Untrue And Momentary, Emotions Are Not! "

Have you ever got a really strong feeling about something, but it lasts about a minute or so? I had many of those; for instance, I become upset by one person and suddenly my anger sweeps away in a nanosecond. Sometimes I feel like studying but when I sit to study I don’t feel like studying anymore. It’s quite funny but I’m pretty much sure, we all come across these oddities in life. The following is a good example of such eccentricity in our lives. Nowadays people break up four to five times and get back together. It is because sometimes there were off times where they could not stand being around each other. The problem is not their relationship, problem is that the feelings change and rechange constantly, because the circumstances surrounding the feelings change. We say, "People change, feelings don’t" but in genuine feelings inside the person change very often which changes the demeanour of the person too. Feelings are momentary, what we feel at the particular point of time and nothing remains same after the lapse of time.

As people who change are deceptive or love which change is fake, similarly feelings are also untrue. They change with circumstances and time and are no longer the same. The same feeling could give birth to a different opinion depending on what way we view it.

Our heart’s climate is dynamic, where feelings are like seasons which change, but emotions are like Sun which remains invariably in every climate. Emotions are more similar to conscious thoughts because thought is a deep experience, while feelings are intense or shallow but not deep. Emotion is something which takes more energy to maintain and lasts forever. If someone is punched or hurt, they are only likely to be mad for a brief period of time, but the anger and depression that it arouse might last for a much longer time. We forget something easily which we touch and feel (something related to the material world) but we never forget feelings actuated by experiencing things like love, hate, fear etc in the real world.

Emotions are the things which emanates from memory and feelings are something which are more tangible. Our intelligence is driven and thoughts are guided by feelings, whereas our emotion helps us to experience joy, sorrow, love etc in affective state of consciousness.

When someone hurts us we feel the pain which is transitory but the sadness incurred by that person lasts forever in our heart and mind, leaves an imprint of emotional reaction and side of someone’s character. Similarly when someone embraces and pats with affection and care we feel it for a while and forget but the emotional state and response it brings forth remain forever and true to us in our reminiscences.

We should always trust and rely on our emotions rather than taking decisions by depending on our feelings.

~Sneha Singh

"Home is where the Heart is"

Between the stars, through the cloud and over the world, no matter wherever we sail and jaunt, there is really no place like home. Home is a place where the sun brightens my every morning, where love resides in each brick and stone from ceiling to the cellar. For me Home is the symbol of togetherness, where all my innermost feelings, affection and devotion are concentrated in that one little place in the world which God gifted me, where I have been brought up, where I learnt the first step of my life, where since childhood I have seen my father and mother returning home after their day’s hard work, where we gathers and enjoy the cheerful sugar-coated chat with sugary cup of tea.

Home is place which people treasure, where beautiful memories are built and enwrapped in hearts, where people considers and regards each individual evenly and affectionately. Home is a place which embraces and awakens good reminiscence; it is the symbol of wellness and solace which always defends us from calamities and difficulties. It is just not an edifice hold by cement but a home embedded of bricks of love and trust, and painted by colors of care and understanding. Home is a place that gold and wealth can buy or create; whether it be an apartment, huge bungalow, or a house at the seashore, or a tiny room, the size and fascination of home does not mean anything, the things and people inside it mean all. As the time goes on, we find we wouldn’t part with anything we ever had or have- they have grown into our hearts: the antique furniture, moth-eaten yellow books, or the inanimate walls.

For me Home is a place where I gather grace of life and peace of mind. When I come home after a hard tedious day and lie on bed, I forget the mundane life and feel paradisiacal which no other enterprise can. Therefore, Home is the sole centre of peace and bliss and a place on the earth supremely blessed, dearer and sweeter than all the rest.

~ Sneha Singh

Amar City Of Joy!

City Of Joy, the epithet itself enunciates the joy and love. Kolkata alias Calcutta is not only comprised of joy but is full of life, grandeur and glory. It is a place where people manages to listen the murmur of their heart despite difficulty, hardship and traffic congestion and relishes each morsel of their life. It is the city where people have fortitude to afford secrets of abundant happiness in penurious life.

This city has rightly been called the City Of Joy for the exuberance and vitality it exudes. The city itself has dwelled into joy and bustling colors with treasured history. From the journey of Calcutta to Kolkata on hand-pulled ricksaws and pondering trams nothing has changed. It still retains the glory of its old age custom, be it the antiquated british monuments or the constant passion in its people for life or macher jhol and mishti doi. Indubitably it is a hub for culture and cuisine.

It is the miraculous magic of the breeze at the busiest cantilever bridge build on the river Hooghly which has the power to blow away the harassment and encumbrance of a hours in just thirty seconds. It is the zeal and profound dedication in the blood of people which makes thousand of devotees to congregate at the temple gates every single day. The iconic Eden Garden is the best place to feel and watch the sport-fever on any proceeding match day. It is the spell of thousands of accumulated books in the College Street which enkindles wonder and enthusiasm in people. Nevertheless is much more to treasure than the verdure of Maidan and bustle of Burra Bazar, the beauty of Victoria Memorial, the liveliness of Park Street and fun of jaunting in Children’s cum Lover’s Park(the kolkatans knows it better) are among the speciality and unusualness of this city which people can never overlook.

The real heart of the city lies in its people who are not just more than factual but a bizarre for me. People here takes special pride in being a Bong and pride is something which they have in superabundance.  Unclouded emotions, getting flattered and provoked at smallest of things, God-like following for a person they love are some of the traits and idiosyncracies of the Bongs(reference to Sourav Ganguly aka Dada).

The thing I like most about this city is affordability. Here  every moment is equally enjoyed by a rich and a poor speacially Durga Puja. The magic of Puja is that all the passions of Bengal mingles- emotion, the warmth of being together, culture, the joy of celebration, and the adoration of the Goddess. Kolkata is the city of festival and here everyday is celebrated. Here Durga Puja is not just festival, it is much more than just worship. It is a time for shopping, gathering, dressing in their new and bestest attire ever, visiting pandals and eating appetizing and flavorsome food. The whole holy city, comes down from God out of heaven, prepared as a dazzling bride adorned for her husband. Beholding Durga Puja in Kolkata is a long-lasting memory to relish.

People says, Kolkata is congested, bedraggled and filled with boorish and weirdos but beyond shadow of a doubt  beneath the delusion and dirt, there is warmth and a special happiness among the kolkatans which no other bold and boisterous city like Delhi or tech-savvy city like Bangalore or tinseltown like Mumbai has.
                                                    ~ Sneha Singh

Morning Blues

It was a blue morning in the grip of mourning and pain. In a dark room I was engrossed in some nostalgic thoughts, waiting for the light of happiness. Suddenly I saw shaft of light coming from the window; I opened it to see outside, the Morning Blues came out of the blue as a stroke of good fortune. I saw the outside world is itself engulfed in misery and grief, I’m not sole, lone on the street. I was at some earlier stage of a journey that delivered me to another life, into another way of being.

I realized my sorrow and suffering are frivolous in comparison to a doomed child who is bound to live without his family; a family that don’t even have shed to shelter in the wintry nights and heavy rain. I realized my agony and weakness are momentary in comparison to them who are dwarfed, disabled, and blind; inside the surrounded walls of my home I felt more secure and safe than the victims of natural disaster. These mysterious realizations will ever remain elusive. These thoughts instilled in me an intense light of hope in the darkness. I felt really fortunate to have rays of light which grew larger and larger, until the darkness appeared to slip behind.

I always used to think that unpleasant occurrence and experience in life can often make life seem insipid but, today I realized these invariable trivialities of life greet us all in some or the other way not to shatter or break us but to mend and evolve. I learnt to look at the situation in a more cheerful light. Therefore, my Morning Blues turned into Morning Hues.

~Sneha Singh

In The Odyssey Of Life Change And Acceptance Are Requisite Lanes

Sit for a minute and look at the things around us, are we happy with them, or would we like things to change? We think about the people in our life, and ask if we are happy with, if not we would like them to change. We think about ourselves, and see if there are things we are dissatisfied with, we don’t like to change ourselves.                                                                

We want things to change, but we never try sitting out and thinking whether we can simply accept each one, as they are or not. We never try to accept each person in our life for who they are, but we accept ourselves for what we are, without the need for change.

There is an apothegm by Augusten Burroughs- “I like flaws and feel more comfortable around people who have them, I myself am made  entirely of flaws, stitched together.” It is frailty of the human blood that  we always try to spot/incur blemish in others and try to change them according to our accord and satisfaction, but when we peep into our inner soul we witness nothing is blemished  than it. Thus it is true that, “ we don’t see things as they are, we see them as we are.” Our vision becomes clear and awakens our mind only when we look into our own heart.

We are the creator and destroyer of our own peace and turmoil. In the process of looking and waiting for things to happen, things we could have easily created for themselves are completely lost. With every aspect of life, it is we who has to make it happen. When we have intent capability it does not matter how world treats us or how it is, at least we are in control of what we are. We can change ourselves for our betterment and we can do that while also being happy by accepting others for who actually they are. Great things are possible if we can change and accept as Change and Acceptance are great things in and of itself.
        ~Sneha Singh

NATURE~ THE PSYCHEDELIC BEAUTY

With the dropping of moonlight in the east

the sun is up in the west,

with blowing breeze and balmy birdsong

stream of sunlight fell from the clouds;

Trails the moony mind into a marvelous myth

beyond the utmost bound of human thought.

Taking flight across the sky

walking clouds obscure the sun,

resembles flock of feathered doves;

wings of cloud wakens the mind,

enkindles in it a fantasy blind.

                                                            

Breezes in serene air

to sweep away sorrow.

Heaving and rolling ship in the sweating sea,

alike balancing of dreams against

the duties in the sweating life.

To move human fallacy by scenic beauty

drops in heavenly heavy rain,

with the swiftness of stream and thundering sky

long pouring of rain washes away strain of heart.

The long sun wanes the slow moon climbs

to escape the fever and fret of mundane life.

Luminous moon walks among the twinkling stars,

and it keeps awake till the bustle of day returns.

With the end of dusk ends darkness,

a day, a dream to unbuild and arise again:

awaits a new morrow with a new journey to follow.

                                                                         ~Sneha Singh