Inauguration (from Hindi). Noida, Uttar Pradesh (India), 27 March 2003.

You must allow me today to speak in Hindi Language.In our country there are many problems. One of the biggest problems is that here men and women are seen from different angles or different points of view. I don’t know how this happened because it is not written so in our Shastras (Holy Books). It is written in the Shastras that “Yatra pujyante nari” (Sanskrit) meaning that where women are worshipped, “Tatra ramante devata” : there reside the Gods. So I do not know how it is that in our country such a situation has culminated where there is no respect toward women, especially here in U.P.(Uttar Pradesh).I was married in UP and I was surprised to see that in UP housewives do not have any status. There is no difference between them and the domestic servants. How this happened and why is this still happening?? – Because the people are not awakened toward this. Sometimes I feel like crying seeing how they have taken advantage of women. They have thrown them out of home, without any reason ! Just like that, thrown out of house!!

And I have had so many experiences in my life which deeply aggrieved me. I did not understand why they are maltreating women? And there are no arrangements to house them! And when they are thrown out of their house there is nobody to take care of them. Poor women!, they were thrown out alongwith children. They (women) themselves become shelterless but children as well are so cruelly thrown out (of house).How this situation can be changed?? Is there a cure for it or not?? I thought so many times that I should write about it. But writing only does not help. I thought that for this something had to be done, some arrangement had to be made in an organized manner. My heart used to ache at seeing so many women begging in the streets. Many people said what a good way to make money by begging! I said if you had to go begging then you will realise!

I felt like crying upon seeing such insensitivity toward women’s problems in our country. And because of this I had decided that something had to be done to house them, to feed them and to do something for these poor women. They beg in the streets, do all kinds of works. I called them to my home and talked to them. I could not find any particular reason. Husband liked some other woman so threw her out. Make any excuse and throw her out of house. Don’t know why?

Woman is a great life-giver. The whole world is because of her. It is because of her that thousands of children are born in this country. But such a disrespect is shown toward them that any woman would become lunatic tolerating all this. But no, she lives very courageously because she has to take care of her children. But what can she do? She doesn’t have any means to have food. There is no way out! Where should she go? Where to beg? Nobody lets them come even near to their doors! I did not see any cure for this. So, I thought a lot about it and decided that if any substantive work is to be done, it is to build some shelter for them. I thought that after coming here they will learn something, learn to do some work or other. They can learn to do massage. Besides, they can run some small hotel restaurant. But they need some help, some place to learn this and they need somebody to teach them. Keeping this in view, I have made this Ashram and have beckoned to everybody’s love, I have beckoned to the whole world’s love that everybody sees this with love that these women have not committed any crime if they are begging at our doors. It is the responsibility of our society.

I felt very aggrieved and being a woman I felt like crying at seeing all this. When the construction of this Ashram started, I said that would be good if somehow it gets completed fast. I worked very hard. I designed this Ashram.

And special about this is that the white colour that you see will never get spoiled. It is made with a special technique. I learnt this in Italy. And I learnt in Italy that one could make such a colour which never fades, and I know this technique and see how beautiful this white colour has come out by using this technique and will never got spoiled. No matter how much water pours, whatever happens, it never gets spoiled.I have done this as an experiment. But this is really a very good thing. (...somebody adjusts microphone. She says thanks).And it is not difficult to make this. I said to so many people that you should use this thing. But they all thought who would make effort’ , who would take trouble? But there is no trouble, no efforts. In our country there is this bad habit developed that if you do one thing in a way then you keep on doing it the same way. So what to say ! There have been so many great sages one after the other. So many pandits of sanskrit. They diffused so much knowledge. But people do not realise this at all. They don’t know and don’t realise that they are born in such a great nation and there is so much pure knowledge in this country.But they do not respect women. They keep them like beggars. Husband will drink alcohol and beat his wife! Even if he does not beat her up, there is no comfort for her, no easy life for her. She somehow lives her life. Yes, if she is from a rich family then it is alright, otherwise she is maltreated a lot. And in this way so many women have suffered. Some of them got fed up and left their homes and started begging and there are many who keep on suffering and rotting at home and somehow carry on with their lives.

I don’t know why there is no attention paid to this aspect of our society. Especially here, here in UP.In Maharashtra one thing good happened. There have been 2-3 social reformers and these social reformers worked a lot and because of them universities were established and women got very good education and people started to see that women also have many good qualities.

Now we have built this school and there is only this request to you that you should tell us what else we could do here? What education we can diffuse here? We have already thought about lots of things but still you should tell us what else we could do for these women.

Abroad I have seen that there nobody can maltreat a woman. Here they are subjected to such cruelty. It is specially in our country that women are so much mistreated. I have lived abroad for so many years. I keep on going there. I see this big difference and feel it a lot. I see that here there is no value of a woman. It is she who creates children and takes care of them. And an Indian woman is anyway so beautiful, so docile, very dextrous and full of love. Mothers of this country are famous. But here we do not have any love or respect for them. I don’t know why it is like this?

Yes, abroad it is definitely like this that women themselves have created a forum for themselves. They have established themselves as a force. But in our country nobody cares for women. With this view, I have built this small Ashram where women or girls who come here if they are given some “knowledge” to be self-reliant along with the knowledge of Sahaj Yoga.If they can grasp this then they can live their life with great dignity and self-respect. In this ashram we can build lots of industry. Can make lot of different kind of eatables, and also can give higher education. This we will see that how many women will have this kind of capacity (to absorb higher education).

How many will come up? Sometimes I have seen that from the very same places where the women have been crushed (suppressed) so much, there come up such great women. But we will have to help them, look after them. Because what is happening is very destructive for our society and it is a sign of cruelty. And we have not put any attention to this aspect.

I don’t know why! It is very necessary to put our attention to it. And I must say this that the Shraddha that we should have in our hearts toward women is not there, not at all there. And we mistreat them, beat them up. I know so many such stories that if I recount them to you, you will start crying. I have already cried a lot . Now I want that we should find out some way and in this direction I have made this small effort. We can enlarge this later and the women who will leave this Ashram, let us say that the women who will leave this ashram matured, they will definitely do something in their lives. Not only they can take care of themselves, but also of their children and can live a dignified life. It is very necessary, whatever education you give them if they are not respected at home then what will the poor thing do? If her education is not respected then what will she do? Here we have to try that these women are made able and they have the education so that they can live their life in a dignified way. They also are human beings. They are not animals. And to give them status of human beings is very very necessary.We should understand this. First let us start from our home. See from there itself what is happening. I have seen it all from a very close range myself and I did not see a way out but for crying for them. ( .... microphone being adjusted. You can’t listen anything. Who can’t hear please raise hand. Everybody can listen! )I am deliberately talking in hindi because how can I talk bad about women of our country before these foreigners(... Clapping). They respect our country so much. Whenever they come here, they first bow down and touch the earth with their foreheads, and they respect our country so much that I can not even describe it to you.

I have never asked them anything to do so. But do not know how they from their own Shraddha in their hearts they do it. They feel that it is “Nandanvan”- the garden of paradise. But they do not know about the bad condition of our country. So I do not want that they be told all this. What use is it to criticise our country. But it is necessary to root out the evil if it is there in our country. It must be absolutely cleaned up. This is what I am telling all of you.There is no special reason that the women abroad get respect., but the laws there developed in such a way that no woman , whether she is educated or not, can be insulted. So, we should also understand that it is a very great thing that we should respect our women and we should have Shraddha towards them.I have seen so many terrible things that I can not believe that any human being can mistreat, be cruel and torture another human being in such a way. It is a strange sort of slavery. We got rid of the slavery from the English but it is very necessary to get rid of this kind of slavery in our society.

The women of our country, I think, constitute 70 % of the population . and rest are men. Even after this the men are so arrogant. Don’t know what they think of themselves! And they think that they can do whatever they like and it will be alright. But it is not so.A woman is also an important part of the society. If you commit any sort of excesses on her, you and your children will have to pay for it.Now we see that now our children are also getting spoiled. Because who controls them? Mother does not have any right and father does not have any time. So who will take care of their children. This is now becoming a story of each and every home. I have seen that in UP the college going boys, in broad daylight, after finishing their classes board any train and misbehave with women in train. What can their mothers do? They can not say anything. Nobody listens to them.

This we should change. And we have to put our attention to improve the social status of our women at home. If we improve in our homes, then it will improve outside also.

And I feel troubled for this. You know that my nature is so that I could not tolerate all this. When this building was projected I said that I will pay whatever you want but get this building constructed fast somehow. And now that it is ready I am very happy. At least something has come up through which attention will get drawn up to the situation of women and people will treat them with at least some love and respect.

I do not have to tell you once again about the bad situation of women. But you should see in your individual life that what is the situation of women in your homes. What is the condition of your mother, your sister. And then look around yourself in the society. If you can set it right, your country will really progress a lot and will rise very high.

Where a woman guides and takes care of things, great people are born there. But the way it is happening here through our small effort (of opening this ashram), I hope that something will definitely improve and for what I longed for so many years and was craving to attract the attention of everybody to this aspect of women’s situation.

In Sahaj Yoga you get to know the Atma. It is alright. But you should have compassion within you towards everybody. If after attaining Atma, you do not have compassion then what is the use? You should have compassion and when you see in the light of compassion then you will really feel pained that these mothers and sisters are stuck up in such a vicious circle. For this I request you that you look around yourself, in your home, outside home and try to see that the situation of women improves.I have just made this very small effort but you people can do a lot more and for this I request you all that the way you love me, same way you love your mothers and sisters.

I bless you infinitely.