Swami Vivekananda's Perspective on Women and Womanhood

Abstract

Swami Vivekananda, following the path of his master Sri Ramakrishna Paramhansa Dev, dedicated his life to the service of humanity. Learning the essence of spirituality from his Guru, Vivekananda realized that all human beings are the embodiment of the one supreme power, and each soul is part of the one and absolute soul or ‘paramatma’. Hence, he believed that women are not frail and feeble beings, and are linked to the Paramatma. They have the similar capability as men. The prohibitive and suppressive measures prevalent in the social structure had been restricting the full-fledged development of women. Especially, nineteenth-century India was infested with a number of regressive customs and social practices. Women were the worst sufferers of most of the social maladies. With the introduction of colonial rule in India, a group of young and educated people felt the need to reform society. Under the sway of modernity in Colonial India, the enlightened people took the mission of rejuvenating the orthodox and stagnant social order. And some of them relied heavily on spirituality for the regeneration of society by abolishing certain age-old practices. It was evident that the women were more susceptible to the conservative social dictums. But the social reformers of the nineteenth century had rightly observed that a nation could not prosper without the enrichment and growth of women.   Likewise, Vivekananda took initiatives to uplift the condition of women by promoting female education and developing an image of womanhood for preserving the rights and dignity of women.