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96-Female Worship of Shani

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How Shanaishchar Became Shaneeshwar?

It’s surprising that a major class of the society considers females unworthy of worshipping Lord Shani. In case someone asks them the reason many of them keep quiet. Some of them consider woman folk to be untouchable, where as some others consider them to be the weaker sex so that they are dread of the awful (horrible) form of Lord Shani. Instead of having faith and fidelity, their heart is shocked to look at Shani and they are badly horrified. It can harm them in many ways i.e. physically as well as mentally. However, such an idea is really fake, baseless and imaginary too. It has no traditional basis. So there exists no such reason; for which Lord Shani can’t be worshiped, adored or offered oil by the females.*

In our HIndu culture females are considered goddesses like and said, “Where their women are respected, the gods roam about there”. So how can such honored persons can said to have been called impure. They are said to be the better half of the males. In case they are impure, how can man (male members) remain pure? In our classical books, it is mentioned very clearly that if a man performs any religious ceremony - "without been accompanied by his wife, his Poojaaa is not fructified. It can’t be a complete Poojaaa. Even Shiv, not accompanied by his Shakti (Paarvatee) remains Shav (the dead one) because its the force (Shakti) that makes Lord Shiv to move or only Shakti makes him 'Lord Shiv', the 'Eternal'.

Our ancient sages have never looked down upon females. They have rather considered them worthy of Poojaa and called them goddess like. Our classical books like Ved, Puraan, Raamaayan and Geetaa etc. have never ever said them unworthy of worshipping. In all times they (females) have been worshipping Lord Shiv, Durgaa and the saints and the Guru etc, so how can they be deprived of worshipping Lord Shani, who is the devotee of the Lord Shiv and Hanumaan, who in turn is the devotee of Raam.

It makes no difference as to which does worship them and who does not these lords are not affected. Somebody considers women folk unworthy of worshipping the gods, to Lord Shani it hardly matters. He will shower his bliss to whomsoever he wishes to bless. He will also bestow his anguish over those whosoever deserves it. He is the chief justice among the jury of planets. He alone can make a perfect judgment. He never believes in favoritism. He always acts impartially. He makes them to undergo the results of their good deeds and misdeeds irrespective of the fact that one is a man or a woman. Some of them give a plea to it that women folk are impure because of their mensurative cycles but it is not justified. Except for the four-five days of her menstrual cycle, she is but pure enough. For those specific days, she herself completely takes care of.

Some rigid people say that Shani, Hanumaan, Baalaa Jee are such gods as maintain Celibacy. Therefore, they should not be touched by or worshipped by the women. The celibacy is maintained through controlling over your minds and your sensory organs. Those who have control over their minds and the sensory organs, they can’t be afraid of been worshipped by a women or been served or contemplated over by a woman. It can’t be a hindrance for their Celibacy or Devotion (Tap) etc. Such an idea is even accepted by a commonly determined man too. On the other hand, Baalaa Jee, Shani and Hanumaan are such Lords as provide their adoration to their devotees, after having all their troubles been done away with. So, their devotee can be a man or a woman, it makes them no difference. They are hardly concerned to it. God does never distinguish between them. He is simply a lover of his devotees and he takes care of them.

Since the time immemorial, the sages, the saints and the gurus have been from among both the categories i.e. the people maintaining celibacy or the people having families. Those who were insane, they also had to live with the people having families. Moreover, both men and women had been their devotees and they all were equally treated by them. God bestowed their grace over them equally in departing self-realization (knowledge of the self) to them. If such Saints, the Sages and Mahaatmaa (great people of their time) can be abide by the principles of the celibacy, how can Hanumaan go so weak that he is moved by the glance of a woman or can become anguish. It can’t weaken him nor can his greatness be questioned this way.

Anjani, mother of Hanumaan, herself has sung his worthy songs. If she, being a mother, can sing his worthy songs, why other women can’t do the same being his daughters? It is a point to be noted! Obviously such a forbiddance is baseless and useless ones.

The principle of depriving them (women) from worshipping Shani is purely imaginative. Its a great injustice, keeping them deprived of the worship of Shani by calling them impure. If they get impure for a certain period of time, even the men do get impure likewise. However, they (men) are not finally deprived of any Poojaa. Then why such an injustice is done to the women folk. This principle is not at all justified! Worshipping Lord Shani by females is not harmful. Its not an offence. On the other hand besides worshipping Lord Shani wife of Lord Shani is also worshipped. This way he gets easily pleased. He is concurred over easily and happens to be friendly. Thus, he starts giving favorable results of his Dasha periods. He deprives the devotees of their most formidable sins, too.

Oh, Yes! The principle of embracing the idol of Shani in wet cloths, after having him bathed by oil i.e. ‘Tailaabhishek’, is quite inconvenient to women because doing so they are supposed to wear unstitched clothes and this Poojaa has to be performed in wet cloths alone. So such performances are supposed to be made by their husbands or the sons. Hence its not that they are kept aside because of impurity but its due to inconvenience to be borne by them to maintain the above principles of ‘Tailaabhishek’. Till date, we have not been successful in making such arrangements for the women folk at ‘Shani Dhaam’ so that they themselves can join the performance of ‘Tailaabhishek’.

 

 

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Created by Sushma Gupta on 8/9/2008
Contact:  sushmajee@yahoo.com
Updated on 12/15/12