Ideal Life for Women

In ancient India, women were revered as the Goddess. Some scriptures described them as the embodiment of shakti or the primordial energy. She was respected in her house, and worshipped as Devi. Women also had many duties and responsibilities to fulfill, and high expectations were placed on them. They had to be the embodiment of virtues as well as devoted to their husbands and children. If they were renunciates, they would follow the highest ideal of self-control and purity.

In the modern age, as a result of the passage of time and extensive social changes, there appears to be a lack of clear understanding as to how women should live an ideal spiritual life. To meet the long-felt-need Revered Swami Chidananda expressed the wish for a book to be brought regarding the concept of purity for women and leading the ideal spiritual life.

The articles on these pages are extracts from the book Women and the Ideal of Purity compiled by members of Sivananda Ashram Matri Satsang, and we are grateful for their permission to use materials from the book.