What is "Foremost Forever" you ask? As the name suggests, it's a perennial superlative that's at the heart of our existence as a species on Earth. It's an emphatic reminder for all such of our species who have taken this absolute truth for granted. Simply put, No Woman No Life - Women are Foremost Forever.
With the advent of modern society and the so-called scientific temper and spirit of inquiry, one wonders if we have really progressed in the last few centuries. We seem to have taken life for granted, an existence that's cheap and has scant value for life. Look all around you and you will see women being denied a fundamental facet - Respect! I am in no way suggesting that modern society has triggered it. This denial is prevalent for ages now. Why is it that man, with all his imperfections and superiority complex, has brought this upon us? As a species, we have been reckless - be it with nature or women. I look at both as a parallel and hence the connect with the modern society - plunder of nature.
If we look at the evolution of man as on Earth, we realize there were 2 species co-existing at a certain point in time, namely the neanderthal man and the cro-magnon man. Neanderthal man is believed to not have adapted to changes around him and vanished with time. What we see around us are supposedly descendants of the species who indeed adapted to the changes - cro-magnon!
With advent of human settlements, ancient tribes and cultures probably realized the value of survival, as a species, on this planet. They inculcated this value in their tribes by way of worshiping facets of nature as a feminine force. From mother earth to the giver of food and nourishment, every aspect of human life was an embodiment of the feminine. Women are believed to have enjoyed equality and respect right from the Vedic age - the biggest proof being the fact that women priests were at the heart of ceremonies in ancient India.
We all worship gods and goddesses in India with the same vigour and pomp. Such is the deeply rooted value system in each of us that we invoke goddess for virtues like wealth, wisdom and strength. Ancient Indian scriptures talk about the trinity, Brahma (creator), Vishnu (protector) and Shiva (destroyer). Each of these gods is believed to have a wife - Saraswati (wisdom), Lakshmi (wealth) and Parvati (strength), respectively. It's such a beautiful metaphor that one can create through wisdom, protect it by wealth and destroy it with strength. Do you notice that while the doer is masculine, the facet is feminine? That's what it's all about.
The song "Foremost Forever" has a couple of lines which capture this aspect (listen to it in the link provided at the top of this blog).
Wisdom, riches strength help survive - remember these facets are feminine.
There is a need to inculcate such values in the next generation India - in schools, remand homes and orphanages so that a new, vibrant, rich India is unleashed to the world.
Come, join us at Foremost Forever - We are determined to bring about this change at the grass-root level, look at areas of collaboration and synergy between the various volunteer groups in different organizations working towards women empowerment, and promoting dignity and respect for women, so that the power of the whole is greater than the sum of the parts.
We Can We Should We Will.
With the advent of modern society and the so-called scientific temper and spirit of inquiry, one wonders if we have really progressed in the last few centuries. We seem to have taken life for granted, an existence that's cheap and has scant value for life. Look all around you and you will see women being denied a fundamental facet - Respect! I am in no way suggesting that modern society has triggered it. This denial is prevalent for ages now. Why is it that man, with all his imperfections and superiority complex, has brought this upon us? As a species, we have been reckless - be it with nature or women. I look at both as a parallel and hence the connect with the modern society - plunder of nature.
If we look at the evolution of man as on Earth, we realize there were 2 species co-existing at a certain point in time, namely the neanderthal man and the cro-magnon man. Neanderthal man is believed to not have adapted to changes around him and vanished with time. What we see around us are supposedly descendants of the species who indeed adapted to the changes - cro-magnon!
With advent of human settlements, ancient tribes and cultures probably realized the value of survival, as a species, on this planet. They inculcated this value in their tribes by way of worshiping facets of nature as a feminine force. From mother earth to the giver of food and nourishment, every aspect of human life was an embodiment of the feminine. Women are believed to have enjoyed equality and respect right from the Vedic age - the biggest proof being the fact that women priests were at the heart of ceremonies in ancient India.
We all worship gods and goddesses in India with the same vigour and pomp. Such is the deeply rooted value system in each of us that we invoke goddess for virtues like wealth, wisdom and strength. Ancient Indian scriptures talk about the trinity, Brahma (creator), Vishnu (protector) and Shiva (destroyer). Each of these gods is believed to have a wife - Saraswati (wisdom), Lakshmi (wealth) and Parvati (strength), respectively. It's such a beautiful metaphor that one can create through wisdom, protect it by wealth and destroy it with strength. Do you notice that while the doer is masculine, the facet is feminine? That's what it's all about.
The song "Foremost Forever" has a couple of lines which capture this aspect (listen to it in the link provided at the top of this blog).
Wisdom, riches strength help survive - remember these facets are feminine.
There is a need to inculcate such values in the next generation India - in schools, remand homes and orphanages so that a new, vibrant, rich India is unleashed to the world.
Come, join us at Foremost Forever - We are determined to bring about this change at the grass-root level, look at areas of collaboration and synergy between the various volunteer groups in different organizations working towards women empowerment, and promoting dignity and respect for women, so that the power of the whole is greater than the sum of the parts.
We Can We Should We Will.
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