Our Ideaology

Ideaology

Shakti is a pan India women’s organization under the ARDHANARISHWAR concept. Ardhanarishwara represents the synthesis of masculine and feminine energies of the universe (Purusha and Prakriti) and illustrates how Shakti, the female principle of God, is inseparable from (or the same as, according to some interpretations) Shiva, the male principle of God. As such we believe in the synergy of both masculine & feminine energy that must counterbalance the mindset of various other organizations working for women’s empowerment & liberation who treat the gender as adversaries. Men & women should complement each other for the benefit of the society & for progress & peace which cannot happen unless there is trust & confidence between them.

Heritage

India has a tradition of worshiping woman as the divine mother. The ancient scriptures by the great sages of India depicts “All forms of knowledge are the aspects of divine mother: and all women throughout the world are her forms”. We find ample examples of this in the Early Vedic period, when women were respected and were taught the highest truths and received the same veneration as men. The concept of complementary role of man and woman was then ingrained into the very fabric of the society. There were equal participation of Rishi Kanyas and the wives of the great Rishis in the quest for knowledge through keen observations and the inferences drawn were applied on society at large. This is how our civilization took shape through ages. The symbiosis, co-operation, synergic attitude in Rishi Kulas resulted enormous development of science and technology, suited to their time, place and people which attracted the attention of other civilizations.

Decline

But unfortunately such a state of affairs did not continue for long & the synergy between men & women was broken. A weaker society unable to withstand the onslaught of foreign invasion began to crumble morally. Women were subjected to a rigid & often cruel social customs. We lost our freedom & became slaves of a dehumanizing system that robbed us of our self esteem & pride. Now degradation of women has become a sub culture, which confines her within the domestic sphere and poses a threat to her self esteem & authority.

Awakening

We have broken from the shackles of domination & won our freedom, we have paid our price & we are still in the process of nation building. But we cannot do so when we work with half our strength by shunning the women who are the foundation from which our men & children go forth. We must make a promise to ourselves that in this land of Sita, Maitreye, Gargi, Meera Bai, Ahilya Bai Holkar, Lakshmi Bai of Jhansi….we can overcome centuries of orthodoxy & bring into the mainstream the women of India who are the backbone of the nation.

In this wake, with the intellectual support and creative inputs of great visionaries and ideological inspiration of Vijnana Bharati – SHAKTI, the women’s wing of Vijnana Bharti took form in March 2003.

With the belief in the holy concept of ‘Ardhanarishwar’– Shakti asks to progress together with self-respect and mutual love by restoring self-identity. Maintaining the sanctity of Indian women hood Shakti is committed to awake and augment the talent latent in women.

SHAKTI envisions a union of creative and socially committed women to take LEAD ROLE in the overall development of the society. It is formed for uniting and enriching the creative woman force of India to reach out for the development of society with the involvement of science and technology and thereby work for their social, intellectual, economic and cultural uplift.