Nirbhaya means “without fear.” What can we do so that women can really live fearlessly in society? Nirbhaya lost her life but not in vain. She created so much awareness and an awakening in society that is required to bring a solution for woman safety. She represented the untold stories of many girls whose voices remain unheard.
This is not a recent phenomenon. Even powerful women in the past like Draupadi and Sita went through so much turmoil and humiliation. Injustice in any form, where rights are denied, is a clear sign of erosion of values. This has to be properly addressed at the roots and the only way is to educate people on morality and human values. Even in schools today, moral science is such a sidelined subject.
Our scriptures speak of six major vices including lust, anger, obsession, greed, arrogance and jealousy. Any one of these can bring our downfall. Under their influence, the values of caring and sharing are lost. This is the reason such incidents are happening.
How do you prevent these vices? Spirituality helps. It brings a broader understanding of oneself, and one’s life. It gives us the inner strength, peace and clarity of perception.
Doubts and insecurities that lead to the vices are simply a sign of low energy or ‘prana’. Even the complacency in society when they see things like this happening is a sign of low prana. We are neither able to take quick and prompt decisions nor any action - only procrastination and regret results. When low prana reigns over society, simple spiritual practices like Yoga and meditation raise the ‘sattva’ (purity, calmness, positive energy) in society and naturally crimes cease.
We have seven energy centres or “chakras” in our body. Different emotions, positive and negative, result as a movement of prana through these energy centres. Positive qualities express themselves when there is an upward movement of energy. Negative emotions like greed, lust and jealousy result because of the downward movement or fall of energy levels. This is why raising energy levels is so important. By doing this, the lower energies can be transformed into creativity. Art and culture in society help to do this as well and must be encouraged. This is also why in the past, every child was taught some form of art, music or dance. Festivals help to keep the energy levels of society high and to maintain a sense of belongingness in society.
It is time to re-visit this ancient wisdom and renew our society. Both men and women have to come together and take responsibility. As a mother, sister, friend, wife – in all roles, women have to ensure that values are upheld. Women need to receive the proper value-based holisitic education at the right time. They need to be taught how to deal with negative emotions and stress. When the lady of the house is stressed, the mother is stressed, then it reflects on the whole house and in her children. The same is for men also. Now is the right time. We must increase our prana levels and sattva in society by inculcating human values and positive qualities in our children from the grassroot levels to the top strata of society. We must give them solutions instead of just saying “don’t do this”.
We may not be able to change the past but we have to learn from it and take positive steps to prevent and eradicate such heinous crimes. Spirituality is the clear answer to this. Yoga and meditation are no longer a luxury. It is the basis for both physical and mental health. It is a necessity in our society now, if we really want our daughters to be free and happy.
The writer is the Chairperson of the International Women’s Conference, a meditation teacher, and Director of Women and Child Welfare programs of The Art of Living Foundation.
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