{"id":4196,"date":"2013-07-13T01:54:05","date_gmt":"2013-07-13T01:54:05","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/localhost\/?p=4196"},"modified":"2013-12-01T21:10:33","modified_gmt":"2013-12-02T05:10:33","slug":"50-to-women-vol-12-on-education-volume-12","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/02-works-of-the-mother\/01-cwmce\/12-on-education-volume-12\/50-to-women-vol-12-on-education-volume-12","title":{"rendered":"-50_To-Women.htm"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n
\n
\n


\nTo Women about Their Body
\n<\/font><\/span> <\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

{Answers to Some Questions)  <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

1. For God’s sake can’t you forget that you are a girl or a boy
\nand try to become a human being? <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

2. Each idea (or system of ideas) is true in its own time and
\nplace. But if it tries to be exclusive or to persist even when its time is
\nover, then it ceases to be true.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

The Mother<\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

While handling children in the Group for Physical Education we
\nmeet certain problems with girl students. Most of these are suggestions put
\nupon them by their friends, older girls, parents and the doctor. Please throw
\nyour light on the following questions so that we may be better equipped in our
\nknowledge to execute our responsibilities more efficiently. <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0
\n<\/span>1. What attitude should a girl take towards her monthly periods? <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0
\n<\/span>2. Should a girl participate in her normal programme of Physical
\nEducation during her periods? <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>3. Why are some girls completely run down during their periods and
\nsuffer from pains in the lower back and abdomen while others may have slight or
\nno inconvenience at all? <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0
\n<\/span>4. How can a girl overcome her suffering and pains during periods? <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>5. Do you think there should be different types of exercises for boys
\nand girls? Will a girl bring harm on her genital organs by practising the
\nso-called manly sports? <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0
\n<\/span>6. Will a girl’s appearance change and become muscular like a man and make her look ugly
\nif she practises vigorous exercises?  <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

\nPage \u2013 292<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

<\/span><\/div>\n

\u00a0<\/span>  <\/span><\/span>7.
\nWill the practice of vigorous types of exercises bring difficulties in
\nchild-birth if the girls want to marry and have children afterwards? <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n


\n   <\/span>8. What should be the ideal of Physical
\nEducation for a girl from the point of view of her sex? <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n


\n   <\/span><\/span>9.
\nWhat roles should man and woman play in our new way of life? What shall be the
\nrelation between them? <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n


\n  <\/span>10. What should be the ideal of a woman’s
\nphysical beauty? <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

Before answering your questions I wish to tell you something which
\nyou know no doubt, but which you must never forget if you wish to learn how to
\nlead a wise life. <\/span><\/p>\n

It is true that we are, in our inner being, a spirit, a living
\nsoul that holds within it the Divine and aspires to become it, to manifest it
\nperfectly; it is equally true, for the moment at least, that in our most
\nmaterial external being, in our body, we are still an animal, a mammalian, of a
\nhigher order no doubt, but made like animals and subject to the laws of animal
\nNature. <\/span><\/p>\n

You have been taught surely that one peculiarity of the mammal is
\nthat the female conceives the child, carries it and builds it up within herself
\nuntil the moment when the young one, fully formed, comes out of the body of its
\nmother and lives independently. <\/span><\/p>\n

In view of this function Nature has provided the woman with an
\nadditional quantity of blood which has to be used for the child in the making.
\nBut as the use of this additional blood is not a constant need, when there is
\nno child in the making, the surplus blood has to be thrown out to avoid excess
\nand congestion. This is the cause of the monthly periods. It is a simple
\nnatural phenomenon, result of the way in which woman has been made and there is
\nno need to attach to it more importance than to the  <\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage \u2013 293<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

<\/span><\/div>\n

other functions of the body. It is not a disease and cannot be the
\ncause of any weakness or real discomfort. Therefore a normal woman, one who is
\nnot ridiculously sensitive, should merely take the necessary precautions of
\ncleanliness, never think of it any more and lead her daily life as usual
\nwithout any change in her programme. This is the best way to be in good health.
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

Besides, even while recognising that in our body we still belong
\ndreadfully to animality, we must not therefore conclude that this animal part,
\nas it is the most concrete and the most real for us, is one to which we are
\nobliged to be subjected and which we must allow to rule over us. Unfortunately
\nthis is what happens most often in life and men are certainly much more slaves
\nthan masters of their physical being. Yet it is the contrary that should be,
\nfor the truth of individual life is quite another thing.\u00a0 <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

We have in us an intelligent will more or less enlightened which
\nis the first instrument of our psychic being. It is this intelligent will that
\nwe must use in order to learn to live not like an animal man, but as a human
\nbeing, candidate for Divinity. <\/span><\/p>\n

And the first step towards this realisation is to become master of
\nthis body instead of remaining an impotent slave. <\/span><\/p>\n

One most effective help towards this goal is physical culture. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>For about a century there
\nhas been a renewal of a knowledge greatly favoured in ancient times, partially
\nforgotten since then. Now it is reawakening, and with the progress of modern
\nscience, it is acquiring quite a new amplitude and importance. This knowledge
\ndeals with the physical body and the extraordinary mastery that can be obtained
\nover it with the help of enlightened and systematised physical education. <\/span><\/p>\n

This renewal has been the result of the action of a new power and
\nlight that have spread upon the earth in order to prepare it for the great
\ntransformations that must take place in the near future. <\/span><\/p>\n

We must not hesitate to give a primary importance to this physical
\neducation whose very purpose is to make our body  <\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage \u2013 294<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

<\/span><\/div>\n

capable of receiving and expressing the new force which seeks to
\nmanifest upon earth. <\/span><\/p>\n

This said, I now answer the questions you put to me. <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

1. What attitude should a girl take towards her monthly periods? <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

The attitude you take towards something quite natural and
\nunavoidable. Give it as little importance as possible and go on with your usual
\nlife, without changing anything because of it. <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

2. Should a girl participate in her normal
\nprogramme of Physical Education during her periods? <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

Certainly if she is accustomed to physical exercise, she must not
\nstop because of that. If one keeps the habit of leading one’s normal life
\nalways, very soon one does not even notice the presence of the menses. <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

3. Why are some girls completely run down during their periods and
\nsuffer from pain in the lower back and abdomen while others may have slight or
\nno inconvenience at all? <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

It is a question of temperament and mostly of education. If from
\nher childhood a girl has been accustomed to pay much attention to the slightest
\nuneasiness and to make a big fuss about the smallest inconvenience, then she
\nloses all capacity of endurance and anything becomes the occasion for being
\npulled down. Especially if the parents themselves get too easily anxious about
\nthe reactions of their children. It is wiser to teach a child to be a bit
\nsturdy and enduring than to show much care for these small inconveniences and
\naccidents that cannot always be avoided in life. An attitude of quiet
\nforbearance is the best one can  <\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage \u2013 295<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

<\/span><\/div>\n

adopt for oneself and teach to the children. <\/span><\/p>\n

It is a well-known fact that if you expect some pain you are bound
\nto have it and, once it has come, if you concentrate upon it, then it increases
\nmore and more until it becomes what is usually termed as \u201cunbearable\u201d, although
\nwith some will and courage there is hardly any pain that one cannot bear. <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

4. How can a girl overcome her suffering and pain during periods? <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

There are some exercises that make the abdomen strong and improve
\nthe circulation. These exercises must be done regularly and continued even
\nafter the pains have disappeared. For the grown-up girls, this kind of pain
\ncomes almost entirely from sexual desires. If we get rid of the desires we get
\nrid of the pain. There are two ways of getting rid of desires; the first one,
\nthe usual one, is through satisfaction (or rather what is called so, because
\nthere is no such thing as satisfaction in the domain of desire). That means
\nleading the ordinary human-animal life, marriage, children and all the rest of
\nit. <\/span><\/p>\n

There is, of course, another way, a better way, \u2013 control,
\nmastery, transformation; this is more dignified and also more effective. <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

5. Do you think there should be different types of exercises for
\nboys and girls? Will a girl bring harm on her genital organs by practising the
\nso-called many sports? <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

In all cases, as well for boys as for girls, the exercises must be
\ngraded according to the strength and the capacity of each one. If a weak
\nstudent tries at once to do hard and heavy exercises, he may suffer for his
\nfoolishness. But with a wise and progressive training, girls as well as boys
\ncan participate in all kinds of sports, and thus increase their strength and
\nhealth.  <\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage \u2013 296<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

<\/span><\/div>\n

To become strong and healthy can never bring harm to a body, even
\nif it is a woman’s body! <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

6. Will a girl’s appearance change and become muscular like a
\nmuscular man’s and make her look ugly if she practises vigorous exercises? <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

Weakness and fragility may look attractive in the view of a
\nperverted mind, but it is not the truth of Nature nor the truth of the Spirit. <\/span><\/p>\n

If you have ever looked at the photos of the women gymnasts you will
\nknow what perfectly beautiful bodies they have; and nobody can deny that they
\nare muscular! <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

7. Will the practice of vigorous types of exercises bring
\ndifficulties in child-birth if the girls want to marry and have children
\nafterwards? <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

I never came across such a case. On the contrary, women who are
\ntrained to strong exercises and have a muscular body go through the ordeal of
\nchild-formation and child-birth much more easily and painlessly. <\/span><\/p>\n

I heard the authentic story of one of these African women who are
\naccustomed to walk for miles carrying heavy loads. She was pregnant and the
\ntime of delivery came during one of the day’s marches. She sat on the side of
\nthe track, under a tree, gave birth to the child, waited for half an hour, then
\nshe rose and adding the new-born babe to the former luggage, went on her way
\nquietly, as if nothing had happened. This is a splendid example of what a woman
\ncan do when she is in full possession of her health and strength. <\/span><\/p>\n

Doctors will say that such a thing cannot occur in a civilised
\nworld with all the so-called progress that humanity has achieved; but we cannot
\ndeny that, from the physical point of view, this is a more happy condition than
\nall the sensitiveness,  <\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage \u2013 297<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

<\/span><\/div>\n

the sufferings and the complications created by the modern
\ncivilisations. <\/span><\/p>\n

Moreover, usually doctors are more interested in the abnormal
\ncases, and they judge mostly from that point of view. But for us, it is
\ndifferent; it is from the normal that we can rise to the supernormal, not from
\nthe abnormal which is always a sign of perversion and inferiority. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

8. What should be the ideal of physical education for a girl from
\nthe point of view of her sex? <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

I do not see why there should be any special ideal of physical
\neducation for girls other than for boys. <\/span><\/p>\n

Physical education has for its aim to develop all the
\npossibilities of a human body, possibilities of harmony, strength, plasticity,
\ncleverness, agility, endurance, and to increase the control over the
\nfunctioning of the limbs and the organs, to make of the body a perfect
\ninstrument at the disposal of a conscious will. This programme is excellent for
\nall human beings equally, and there is no point in wanting to adopt another one
\nfor girls. <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

9. What roles should man and woman play in our new way of life?
\nWhat shall be the relation between them? <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

Why make at all a distinction between them? They are all equally
\nhuman beings, trying to become fit instruments for the Divine Work, above sex,
\ncaste, creed and nationality, all children of the same Infinite Mother and
\naspirants to the one Eternal Godhead. <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

10. What should be the ideal of a woman’s physical beauty? <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

A perfect harmony in the proportions, suppleness and strength,  <\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage \u2013 298<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

<\/span><\/div>\n

grace and force, plasticity and endurance, and above all, an
\nexcellent health, unvarying and unchanging, which is the result of a pure soul,
\na happy trust in life and an unshakable faith in the Divine Grace. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

One word to finish: <\/span><\/p>\n

I have told you these things, because you needed to hear them, but
\ndo not make of them absolute dogmas, for that would take away their truth. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Published in September 1960 <\/span><\/i>\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage \u2013 299<\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

To Women about Their Body   {Answers to Some Questions)     1. For God’s sake can’t you forget that you are a girl or…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[118],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4196","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-12-on-education-volume-12","wpcat-118-id"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4196","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4196"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4196\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9740,"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4196\/revisions\/9740"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4196"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4196"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4196"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}