We have a feminine and a masculine side to us. Aggression, self assertion, production, growth oriented, competition, these are all words you could use to describe the male attributes. Co-operation, integration, networking, nurturing, forgiving, intuitive are all words that could be used to describe the feminine aspect in us. Love is probably a word that happens when the male and female aspects meet in a harmonious balance. Keeping in mind that these are all spaces experienced by us, whether male or female, none can claim patency for these qualities; neither can they be demarcated as good or bad. Ayurveda says that the body is a mixture of three”doshas” and as per their prominence medicines are provided to balance the system. Similar is the case of the male and female ‘doshas’ in the system and balance is what one seeks.

Globalization and the Masculine-

Globalization is an example, looming large, driven by masculine qualities at the expense of the feminine in us. We have become so productive that we have become the product. We’re so growth oriented; we do not have the time to enjoy our growth. This march of greed and desire generating endless wealth for ourselves at the expense of the feminine is costing us our planet. Desires are getting mixed up, and we do not know whose desire it is that we are blindly running after. The feminine is not the woman out there. We must keep remembering that it is a part of us that we have chosen to suppress, and shine the torch only on say the feet, or the ears perhaps!

Masculine qualities peeked in globalization, leading to the inevitable downfall- the recession. “Every action has an equal and opposite reaction.” said Einstein, and what goes up will always come down, including Einstein’s apple! Will we choose to continue the blind cycle of extremities? Will we struggle to zoom up again, riding on the masculine and then crash, express surprise, condemn etc? This is the oscillation of the pendulum we are a part of, the extremities we ride, and unless a vast majority who are tired of the game pull out of the masculine cycle, we are doomed.

The other side of recession-

This is the time we have been waiting for- for balance; away from greed and the mad rush for money. Here, we regain our lost vision of the network we are a part of, of relationships and environment that build us. The market has responded with a splurge of social networking sites that connect people, like face book and link petals. The goal would be to regain the all inclusive voice that will help us balance ourselves. If personal benefit doesn’t remain as an essential ingredient of the whole, every good venture will defeat its own purpose-like globalization or communism did, or any other organization for that matter. The need of the hour can easily be converted by the relentless mind into the worst nightmare. Even a simple act like reaching out to people or even a righteous act like feeding the poor, can be converted it into a habit, a need, an identity, and you are once again trapped in the imbalance it creates. You are back in the imbalance you just climbed out of.

The Ruthless balance-

In balance, you reclaim emotions (women in Bangalore are reclaiming spaces after the attacks on women) that were denied and you rejoice in the others gain, for his gain will

be your gain too, being part of the same network. If my mother is happy, I am happy, if my child is unhappy, the unhappiness is passed on to me-that’s how the dynamics works within a family. The same force is in play on a larger scale too though we do not always see it. Only now, we are forced to see it and feel it. A butterfly’s wing flutters here, inducing a storm there, goes the saying.

This beautiful phenomenon of ruthless balance has come to be a part of our lives in this unique era. Earlier terrorism was something that happened to somebody. Now, international countries are coming together to fight the scourge because we cannot live in isolation any more. Pakistan’s problem is our problem. If cricket was attacked in Pakistan its repercussions are felt in India too. We’re all coming together to tackle glacier melts, carbon emissions and global warming. The root of all this can be traced to the masculine ride that we indulge in. This waking up to a wholesome meal, (it includes the bitter tasting karela and palak) though not so happy on the taste buds, has to be recognized as a good omen, a gold lining. It must be recognized and encouraged by society as the emergence of the suppressed feminine seeking its rightful balance in interconnectedness and inclusiveness; a remarkable shift of perception from the individual to the collective consciousness, in all spheres of life- social, economic and ecological.

The magnitude of this dynamic journey is mind-boggling, awesome. We’re at the juncture Now! What will we choose? To be or not to be? That is the only question.

President Obama and the feminine-

President Obama’s rise is a symbol of the rise of this phenomenon that the world has been thirsting for. Not only glaciers, but huge power centers have shifted. A newsreader observed that for the first time in the history of the United States a president spoke of his willingness to walk with the world, with the Hindu and the Muslim, with the downtrodden not just in the U.S but everywhere in the world. It was a speech that the world listened to with bated breath because it was all inclusive. But at the same time he minced no words in saying that the enemy will be crushed as they should rightfully be. May he act and serve with the strength of the male and the compassion of the female.

The West had to feel the pinch first because they were the greatest upholders of masculine principles. We sought the West for their go get it attitude and their focus on the individuals needs and comforts. We read Ayn Rand and re read it, fascinated. The West was bracketed into the material and the East, spiritual. If you’re rich you’re materialistic, if you’re poor, you’re spiritual seemed to be the equation. The West and their foreign policies were known to be self serving.(Well, who doesn’t do that?) With the torch focused on materialistic freedom, children learnt to stand on their two feet even before they left school. While in India even after you’re married and have children, you still haven’t left your home.

The West stumbled on their path towards freedom; they made mistakes; teenage pregnancies and abortions to name a few, broke head lines, while we tut -tutted their wayward independence, dwelling in our false crutches of spirituality- We were not ready to stick our heads out.

The East-West balance-

Now we value ‘independence’ and our children are also standing up to be counted much before we dared to. But the question remains- do we see the larger picture? Are we wise enough to not blindly hurtle into the path of independence disregarding age old family values? And what is a family value? Family consists of father, mother and their clone/ Clones. Can the clone learn to balance the male and the female chromosomes in it, is the root question. On the path of freedom, in a working environment, where qualities like aggression and control are prerequisites, will you also remember to take along the feminine is the question. It is also the voice that says that you’re working too hard, forgetting the whole purpose of work; the voice that asks you to take a break, to nurture yourself, to bring your attention to your forgotten self. It says spend time with your children and family, you have forgotten to answer their questions and the more you forget the more they will suppress, until finally the question surfaces not in the family but in the form of violence and abuse in society. It surfaces in the economy of a nation in the form of expenses related to crime and health care-(says Hazel Henderson, the economist) More and more people fall prey to new diseases of the new unbalanced era. We are rectifying that now by shining the torch back on to the body with fitness drives and yoga taking a quantum leap.

Terrorrism and the dharmic roll-

Terrorism related issues force us to comprehend those torturous souls from whose memories goodness has been erased by the environment they live in. And the environment means us. We must acknowledge the deep isolation that they feel; they have been led so far away from love, enough for them to commit heinous crimes and feel no remorse. What did we do to that voice in them that tells them (at least faintly), that this is wrong.

One cannot help wondering what if their intense passion and hatred could be redirected. Those willing to go all out in hatred also have the capacity to go all out for love. Reclaiming love seems to be a clichéd abstract concept, but that is the root of the solution. But what can be done immediately, to assuage the current crisis? The way out for the truly damned is death. They (the terrorists) are courting death, knowingly, as part of the jihad they wage, or unknowingly as part of a massive dharmic roll whose movement has been set off. Like moths jumping into flames. Annihilating themselves and making room for peace? Those who have nothing to live for, desire death, and I do not see room for mercy. In the larger good they will have to be eliminated.

Meanwhile awareness programmes that shine the torch on love and peace should flood the market, instead of hate campaigns. Replace the earlier hate web with the magical web of music, art and sports. Our goondas should learn martial arts and join the police and the army in their fight against crime. What better way than to provide them with a job that will truly satisfy their drive? We must build playing fields for the common man to come and play, to release their energy.

Anuradha nalapat