Women on the Path

Women on the Path

By Life Positive

January 2013

Soul has no gender, but an identity,” said Ms. Farida Vahedi, while delivering a talk on the topic of ‘Women on the Path – Insights into Contemporary Feminine Spirituality.’

Farida Vahedi on the Bahá’í approach to women’s spritualityMs Vahedi, a member of the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of India and a trustee of the Bahá’í House of Worship, threw light on the Bahá’í perspective of spirituality during a discourse held in India Habitat Centre on December 12. The discourse was part of a series of talks organised by the Foundation for Universal Responsibility founded by his Holiness, the Dalai Lama.

The talk focussed on the application of spirituality to bring about social change. It also emphasised the equality of gender and its corollary on spirituality. It stressed that each child born is a gift from God on this planet, and this makes him connected directly to the Supreme. According to the Bahá’í faith, humans are spiritual beings with innate capacities, meant to be employed in the path of selfless service. And it does not matter if the being is male or female. All that matters is the adherence to what is called the ‘eternal covenant of God’. The sole purpose of a human born on earth is to receive and follow the divine light sent to him by God. He has been given the power of choice. A human reaps the consequences of his acts and this gives him the power to bring on a change. Good thoughts, good words and good deeds are what make a man manifest spirituality in the true sense.

“The spiritual growth of an individual, along with his materialistic growth, drives him towards true prosperity which is inclusive of peace, compassion, altruism, dignity as well as material discovery and progress,” she said.

The talk ended with a question/ answer session on violence against women around the world. Ms Vahedi deliberated on ways of combating it without any rebuttal; with peace and oneness. Just as the faith explicates, ‘let deeds, not words, be your adorning.’