| Respect for women was another most cherished value of life from times immemorial in Bharat. Women were not considered as an object of physical pleasure by man, but were regarded as divine treasures for family life. In view of the role assigned by nature to mothers, and in view of the fact that the mother is the dearest person on earth to an individual and in view of the intense love and affection of a mother for her children, and her readiness to make tremendous sacrifices for the sake of her children the mother came to be regarded as God incarnate (Mata Pratyaksha Devatha). Further, as every woman is a potential mother, the cultural value evolved was to treat mother as God and to treat every woman except one's wife, as mother. As a result, every woman and even small girls, are addressed as Ma, Amma etc., which means mother. | | Respect for women was another most cherished value of life from times immemorial in Bharat. Women were not considered as an object of physical pleasure by man, but were regarded as divine treasures for family life. In view of the role assigned by nature to mothers, and in view of the fact that the mother is the dearest person on earth to an individual and in view of the intense love and affection of a mother for her children, and her readiness to make tremendous sacrifices for the sake of her children the mother came to be regarded as God incarnate (Mata Pratyaksha Devatha). Further, as every woman is a potential mother, the cultural value evolved was to treat mother as God and to treat every woman except one's wife, as mother. As a result, every woman and even small girls, are addressed as Ma, Amma etc., which means mother. |
| # M. RAMA JOIS, DHARMA - The Global Ethic, Published by "Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan | | # M. RAMA JOIS, DHARMA - The Global Ethic, Published by "Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan |