Woman an object of temptation

I often read spiritual texts and yesterday I was reading this famous text by Adi Sankara, the saviour of Hinduism & India back in 700BC. where it said:

एतन्मांसवसादिविकारं मनसि विचिन्तय वारं वारम् 

Translation: Do not get drowned in delusion by going wild with passions and lust by seeing a woman’s navel and chest. These are nothing but a modification of flesh. Fail not to remember this again and again in your mind.

I was forced to think, why always a woman. Despite powerful woman narratives on Gargi, Maitrye, Durga, Kaali, women are often treated not as protagonist but an object of temptation, someone who is nothing more than a mere distraction to a man, and this could go on and on to a point when I could reach the peak of my modern day feminism. 

Well, fortunate enough, I know I am like the waters that contain the shape of the container and I know for one, that if I continue the thought, I might as well start my activism against men. LOL

So, again fortunately, enough, I can pause and reflect. which i did for this one, because my mind was not ready to not believe in Adi Sankara, whose teachings I believe in a lot. 

What if I say gender is a temporary condition, like caste, birth, or body type. It is only a label. Then you wonder, if that's so, why do men get the undeserved hype all through the narrative-- well that's just the polar nature of this world. 

If you are a woman, you could look down upon a lower caste person; if you are a lower caste person, you could look down upon someone who's not maybe as economically privilegd as yours. 


The point being, its all labels, you gotta witness yourself. You are merely an observer. If fate got you to be a woman, be it. Accept the natural strength you have got, the beauty you have got, and if some of that stops you in pursuing your calling, dont let it stop you. be the force like gargi, maitraiye, lopamudra, but DO YOU!



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