Generally speaking, Hinduism is not as strongly patriarchal as other contemporary religions, however, women are still quoted in some religious texts to be inferior to men. For example, women are, in general, not allowed to read the Vedas, Upanishads and also not allowed to perform certain rituals, rites etc.
But at the same time, in a text called 'Arthapanchakam' which talks about 5 essential truths of life, one of the questions was 'Who is Paratma?' ie "Who is God' ? It is said that the most important identification mark of God is that He is 'Sri-aph-pati' - which means the One with Sridevi in His Heart/ One who is the Husband of Sridevi.
The ultimate mark of God is not the fact that "HE IS GOD!" instead, we are asked to call the 'One who has Sridevi in His Heart' as God. To respect women is the mentioned as THE sign of a God. That seems to be the ultimate mark of reverence for womanhood.
The truth is that most of our Vedic texts have gone through many iterations through very different times. The social mores of that period of time have to some extent, altered some components of these texts. So we cannot say with certainty 'What was actually said in the Vedas when they were written'! As most of these texts have come to us through 'word of mouth', definitely there have been changes to it. So during a period of time when women were persecuted, it is likely that similar minded alterations were made to some texts. We cannot say for sure, but we cannot discount the possibility either.
But interestingly, the Vedas, Puranas and Upanishads contain numerous instances of women displaying incredible intellect, skill and devotion, far surpassing that of their male counterparts. For example, read about Gargi Vachaknavi.
The way I like to view it is that whether you are a man or a woman, it does not matter at the end of the day. We are all jiivatmas. We all have a common goal, that is to break out of the Karmic Cycle and becoming one with the Paramatma. How we go about breaking this cycle becomes our Karma which will depend on whether we are men or women.
For a man, say a Brahmin, he will have to learn and live by the Vedic texts and pass that knowledge to the world and forever abide by its teachings. That is the only way he can break out of the cycle and reach his goal.
For a woman, different activities have been prescribed such as preparing food for the Lord, preparing garlands for Pujas, taking care of children etc. When a woman performs her allotted duties, she will also reach the same goal.
Similar roles were attributed to women all over the world before the modern age. It was simply the social mode of that time.
But nowhere is it said that these activities are in anyway inferior. That mentality is solely a human bias which has been added over time.
So the essence is that, the starting point (jiivatma) and the destination (Paramatma) are the same for Man and Woman and for all castes. Only the route towards the destination is different. That does not make one good and the other bad.
So nowadays when I come across instances where women or other castes are described in an inferior way, I tend to reconcile myself with this knowledge. We are also a part of the long chain of transmitting the knowledge of these texts to future generations. I hope that the notion of equality which (I really hope) is the dominant social notion of our time, will eventually be reflected in these texts over time.
But at the same time, in a text called 'Arthapanchakam' which talks about 5 essential truths of life, one of the questions was 'Who is Paratma?' ie "Who is God' ? It is said that the most important identification mark of God is that He is 'Sri-aph-pati' - which means the One with Sridevi in His Heart/ One who is the Husband of Sridevi.
The ultimate mark of God is not the fact that "HE IS GOD!" instead, we are asked to call the 'One who has Sridevi in His Heart' as God. To respect women is the mentioned as THE sign of a God. That seems to be the ultimate mark of reverence for womanhood.
The truth is that most of our Vedic texts have gone through many iterations through very different times. The social mores of that period of time have to some extent, altered some components of these texts. So we cannot say with certainty 'What was actually said in the Vedas when they were written'! As most of these texts have come to us through 'word of mouth', definitely there have been changes to it. So during a period of time when women were persecuted, it is likely that similar minded alterations were made to some texts. We cannot say for sure, but we cannot discount the possibility either.
But interestingly, the Vedas, Puranas and Upanishads contain numerous instances of women displaying incredible intellect, skill and devotion, far surpassing that of their male counterparts. For example, read about Gargi Vachaknavi.
The way I like to view it is that whether you are a man or a woman, it does not matter at the end of the day. We are all jiivatmas. We all have a common goal, that is to break out of the Karmic Cycle and becoming one with the Paramatma. How we go about breaking this cycle becomes our Karma which will depend on whether we are men or women.
For a man, say a Brahmin, he will have to learn and live by the Vedic texts and pass that knowledge to the world and forever abide by its teachings. That is the only way he can break out of the cycle and reach his goal.
For a woman, different activities have been prescribed such as preparing food for the Lord, preparing garlands for Pujas, taking care of children etc. When a woman performs her allotted duties, she will also reach the same goal.
Similar roles were attributed to women all over the world before the modern age. It was simply the social mode of that time.
But nowhere is it said that these activities are in anyway inferior. That mentality is solely a human bias which has been added over time.
So the essence is that, the starting point (jiivatma) and the destination (Paramatma) are the same for Man and Woman and for all castes. Only the route towards the destination is different. That does not make one good and the other bad.
So nowadays when I come across instances where women or other castes are described in an inferior way, I tend to reconcile myself with this knowledge. We are also a part of the long chain of transmitting the knowledge of these texts to future generations. I hope that the notion of equality which (I really hope) is the dominant social notion of our time, will eventually be reflected in these texts over time.
Vaishya and shudra are considered to be of lower birth because of being born in lower modes of material nature - passion and ignorance. For business purpose Vaishyas have to engage themselves in speaking lies sometimes, also they have think about making profit. That type of intelligence is not suitable for spiritual progress. Therefore Vaishyas are recommended that they should donate something for religious purposes to nullify some of the discrepancies in their natural behaviour. Since religious performances need financial support as well, Vaishyas can easily donate a part of their profits for purpose of executing religious ceremonies. Therefore despite their flaws they can participate in religion and hence be qualified for salvation. Brahmanas are qualified for conducting such ceremonies but they don't earn money in conventional business activities. So Vaishyas support Brahmanas for conducting religious ceremonies. Kshatriyas give protection to Brahmanas because envious people sometimes try to disrupt religious activities. So basically this is a very logical structure where one group supports and facilitates the progress of another group, and consequently all groups benefit ultimately.
Same with shudras because they are usually not very clean or austere. They are not inclined towards vedic study and spiritual knowledge. So they are told to do some physical labour for brahmanas and Kshatriyas, vaishyas, and make their living. They are also told to hear scriptural stories like Mahabharata and Ramayana so that they can easily understand the message of the Vedas, because they don’t have so much analytical mind to study Vedas directly and understand their purpose. So Vedavyasa Muni presented Vedic philosophy in form of Mahabharata and Ramayana to make it easier for them to understand Vedas.
Vedic philosophy is very inclusive and broad. It has a plan for every individual according to his or her natural tendencies, so that they can achieve salvation.
About women, it is a tricky part. As far as I have read from scriptures and seen in direct experience - they are more attached to material world. They are especially very much attached to husband and children. They cannot let go of that attachment at any cost. They do not like their husband taking sanyaas and renouncing the world for spiritual advancement, leave aside doing it themselves. They really hate their child becoming a naisthik brahmachari (celibate for life) under a spiritual master (Guru). They always desire that family life should go on without any end, and within family life only we can serve God. So basically they want to enjoy the world and simultaneously serve God also. In short, they don't want to surrender completely to God - they are ready to surrender partially. The sanskrit word for women is "stri" which literally means the one who causes expansion of material desires. Their demeanor is such that they always try to induce worldly desires in the heart of man. First children , then house, then car , then social networking, kitty parties, marriages, gossips, etc etc. It is endless. That is why scriptures declare that women are of lower birth because they are not intelligent enough to give up material attachment and surrender to God completely (100%). And that is also the reason why scriptures recommend that those men who do not want to get entangled more and more in worldly affairs, and want to focus on spiritual progress, should avoid associating with women completely/absolutely (naishthik brahmachari) or should restrict it to a bare minimum.
Having said that, women do a lot of service for God in every way, they will come to temples in large numbers, they have a lot of faith in God. But the moment you talk about renouncing family ties and worldly desires - they just lose their mind. Following lines by a woman about the nature of women should be enlightening :
"Not knowing your transcendental situation, I have loved you while remaining attached to the objects of the senses. Nonetheless, let the affinity I have developed for you rid me of all fear.
- Srimati Devahuti, daughter of Syambhuva Manu, Srimad Bhagavatam, Canto 3.
