Every day is mothers’ day. A week into the Mothers’ Day celebration that we had just observed, I was just scanning through google search and stumbled upon an interesting caption, “A woman is a generation”. I found this phrase very intriguing. What struck me first, by the caption, was that a woman is truly a generation for fact that she is the only gender that is capable of bearing and giving birth to a child. Secondly, a woman is the primary genes (hereditary traits) carrier that’s passed on to her offspring. While, in contrast, what a father, as a male gender, primarily contributes to a child is that which determines the gender of the child as boy or girl. Unfortunately, due to ignorance of this fact some men had been cursing their wives for giving birth to only girls or only boys not knowing that it is entirely caused by the father and not the mother. Over and above, the crucial stage of a child’s learning rests with mothers, they being the first persons that children come in contact with and also remains as the prime associate of the children as late as adulthood. This factor demands the mothers to be of high calibre as a person, not in terms of literary standard as such, but in terms of humanity. For example, being down-to-earth persons with qualities such as humility, simplicity, sensitivity, understanding, forbearing, patience, healthy and of good humour.
The above mentioned qualities are paramount because a child’s basic way of learning is imitation, touch, seeing and hearing. A Mother is crucial in a child’s up bringing where a child learns by touch, sight, hearing and imitation. Because of this element, a child should not be given to the care of random baby sitters, most of who are themselves in need of education and often times uncouth in behaviour. Relying on such cares, unfortunately, can be disastrous for our children. Compounding to this crisis is the modern way of life where both father and mother are employed and thus compelling such families to rely on baby sitters or servants. The situation demands for the need of employing well trained, good individuals as day care personnel for babies. We need to take this issue seriously if we desire a future society with a wholesome humane and robust generation. This truth also demands each one of us to strive to be better people with high sense of common good and common welfare if we truly desire our children’s future to be robust in all fronts.
As a tribute to all the women, I would like to share the creation story of Adam and Eve narrated in the Genesis chapter of the Bible. Adam, the creation story says, that God took clay and shaped it in His own image and likeness and breathed life into his nostrils and so was the first man. God then said, “it is not good for man to be alone, let us give him a companion.” So God spelled a deep sleep on Adam and during his sleep took out one of his ribs and put flesh on it and Eve came to be. And when Adam woke up from his deep sleep and saw Eve, he said, “This, at last, is flesh of my flesh and bone of my bone and since she came out of man she shall be called woman.” This genesis story of creation may be only a myth but it is a powerful myth and has an underlining deep meaning and message. The meaning, therefore, is more important than the literal story itself.
The purpose of this creation story, as the story teller intends is, first of all, to affirm that we are all children of God and that God is the cause of the universe and all the wonders that is in it. It is also a story to reiterate that God is the beginning and also the end. And importantly, any man who insults or discriminates a woman is self-abuse because she was created from a body part of man. The narration that Adam was created out of clay and that Eve was created out of the rib of Adam literally means that the one created out of a refined material is purer than the one created out of a raw material. This means that a woman is more complex, physiologically, than man and it is so.
Metaphorically speaking, this implies that a woman is superior to man from the point of matter out of which they were created. To make it clearer, take the instance of crude oil. When distilled, we get diesel and from it kerosene and then petrol, while from iron ore we get iron and from iron, steel. In a humorous way, if we were to compare with the distillation process to Adam and Eve’s creation, we may say that if man is diesel then a woman is either a kerosene or petrol; if man is iron then a woman is steel. What this means to assert spiritually is that a woman is all along a special creation of God that man is obliged to give due respect and honour without being asked or told for the undeniable fact that all men have come to life from a woman except Adam. True to God’s intend, Adam remains the only man who professed the most befitting expression about woman as, “flesh of my flesh and bone of my bone” even without being asked or told to mean so. Let all men be like Adam in our understanding of women.
The symbolism of Eve being created out of the rib of Adam is another important metaphor. In the first place, what does a rib signify? Anatomically speaking, the rib functions not only to give shape to our body structure but also positions itself as a full protective armour to the vital organs of life like the heart, the lungs and the liver. Metaphorically speaking, a woman is like the rib protecting the vitality of man’s life. Besides fulfilling other daily needs of man, a woman is there to boost the morale of man when he is down in spirit and remains as a consoler when man is in despair or sorrowful. And for this reason a man is obligated to love and respect women in return. A man’s inability or refusal to love or respect women renders him not only in human but also becomes an insolent being before men and God.
Lastly, another important aspect of man and woman lay in their perception of life. For instance, God’s way of knowing differs from man’s way of knowing. God’s way of knowing is by comprehension whereas man’s way of knowing is by apprehension. This is the reason why when anyone who claims to know everything ends up in self ridicule. A man’s approach to life is different from a woman’s approach. A woman’s approach to life is immediate, here and now needs and, as to what to eat or wear today. A woman gives priority to immediate ratifications. In contrast, a man’s priority is futuristic and calculative as to how one would be in five years from now or in twenty years from now, etc. His concern is not so much of the immediate gratification but the future to be. Ignorance of this seemingly opposite perspective of life, existent in husband and wife, often leads to avoidable conflict and arguments. The fact of the matter is both the views and perspectives are essential for successful measured life. Without resolving the present needs and requirements, the plan for the future can be in jeopardy. Hence, the need is to harmonise the two views rather than stubbornly or unwisely clinging on to one’s perspective view of life.