A train journey through the clouds

I was starting to wonder why you mentioned the train journey when the body of the text is all about wives , wonder -women , muses and slavedrivers . The push-pull engine metaphor is very illustrative.

.That Common saying about there beng a woman behind every succesful man has gained currency and some spurious sanctity only due to constant repetition. i have always found it suspect. People who succeed are born with the fire within them and they would succeed with or without or because or inspite of another person . People with supportive spouses succeed and just as many people without supportive spouses also succeed .

As for woman being the prime moving force that set civilization in motion, there can be no doubt about it at all. It was woman that discovered agriculture, the salient step towards a settled life. But for the instinct and ingeniousness of woman, Adam's flock would still be roaming as naked apes in wastelands and not journeying through clouds.

In tamil there is a saying, Aavathum pennaale azhivadum pennaale. why only pennaale ? It holds good for all humans. we as a species have the ability to create as well as to destroy.

 

Dear Sri,

It is hilarious to read and enjoy. I never traveled by train to Ooty. May be sometime in future. But, traveled in a similar scenario in US....among the clouds and tree tops...it was an excellent experience.

Coming to Adam and Eve and women being the driving force in the success of a man..... May be true in some cases....weapons may be different, ranging from encouragement, nagging, pushing, cajoling...running out of adjectives! In some cases success may be in spite of a woman by not being present (that is also a way of getting things done. Isn't it?). Man may accept any of these but if she surpasses him in success he cannot take or accept it. In so many T.V interviews.....I saw a successful woman saying " I give the credit of my success to my husband by being co operative , encouraging blah blah". But no man says " I am here because of my wife or lady behind me, who so ever it is'. He describes things like hard work, toiling, my teacher, my mentor etc etc but never about wife.He wants her to be behind him but should not go ahead of him.

Syamala

Favourite quote...( I do not yet know how to reply with quote, still learning)

Do not walk behind me, I may not lead.
Do not walk in front of me, I may not follow.
Just walk beside me and be my friend.
- Albert Camus

 

I think there is a missing piece to that saying, "Behind every successful man, there is a woman". The following words should be "telling him he is wrong". Frankly, it looks like priorities for men are a) me first and b) family second. Somehow these priorities appear to have reversed for women. In spirituality, people always say the priorities should be a) God first, b) others second and c) me third. The women are living examples of these principles as they focus more on the Creator as well as others before they focus on themselves. There could be a few exceptions but majority of them are like that.

If we take a man's life, it is the mother who teaches him the baby steps to lessons for the school until he grows up to a stage where he can learn to feed and educate himself. It is the sister who teaches a man how to be considerate to women (I am not lucky to have a biological sister for myself and I consider many of my IL friends as my own sisters). Then comes the wife who plays much more difficult role. Now the man is fully grown with a lot of ego and believes that there is nothing he could learn from others. Despite seeing this personality, the wife has the courage and conviction to tell him that he is wrong in his decision making. Whether it is to prove a point or to make her happy, man starts focusing on everything he does resulting in his success. Then comes the daughter (again I am not lucky to have one but I consider many of IL members as my daughters as they are young enough to be considered as my daughters). She makes a man behave properly with her in-laws and demands respect to her husband (the next generation to the man).

In my opinion, no man is complete without a woman in his life. In other words, the man's head remains in his neck because of women in his life. Shiva (the God consciousness) in man becomes sava (the dead body) in the absence of Sakthi or Prana (the woman/vital air).