The world needs goddesses (devis) to worship if it is going to honor "gods" (devas) like we used to have in the Jewish and early Christian traditions, which were taken away by Rome when they converted these ideas into an imperial Psy-Op to conquer the world, and females were relegated to an afterthought with the triumph of beloved Western icon Mother Mary (like the East's Kwan Yin). Later Buddhism was not immune to the worldwide sexist rampage that took away our sacred feminine figures keeping a more androgynous.
Originally, females were honored as chief disciples (Khema, Uppalavanna), enlightened matriarchs (Maha Pajapati Gotami, Rahulamata Bhaddhakaccana a.k.a. Yasodhara or Princess Bimba, Kisa Gotami, Maha Maya Devi often portrayed as a salabhanjika), and exemplary nuns (bhiksunis, anis, theris, sayalays) and supporters (Ambapali, Queen Mallika). A feminine revival largely forgot them but set up other Buddhist "goddesses" such as Prajnaparamita, the 21 Tārās like Green Tara, the apsaras, dakinis, tantrikas, yakshinis, and of course the universally beloved Kwan Yin Bodhisattva. Even the Jewish-Christian God YHWH (Yahweh, Jehovah) once had a consort or wife named Asherah, and Rabbi Jesus (Issa, Y'shua) had Mary Magdalene.
WHEN GOD WAS A WOMAN: A
rchaeologically documented is the story of the religion of the Goddess. Under Her, women's roles were far more prominent than in patriarchal Abrahamic (Jewish, Christian, Muslim) cultures. Author Merlin Stone describes this ancient system and, with its disintegration, the worldwide decline in women's status. Index, maps, and illustrations. More
Parvati (Sanskrit पार्वती) or Uma (as in Thurman) is the
Hindu goddess of fertility, love, and devotion, as well as of divine strength and power.
Known by many other names, she is the gentle and nurturing aspect of the Hindu goddess
Shakti and one of the central deities of the Goddess-oriented
Shakta sect.
 |
| Goddess Saraswati |
She is the
Mother Goddess in Hinduism and has many attributes and aspects. Each of her aspects is expressed with a different name -- giving her over 100 names in regional Hindu stories of India.
Along with
Lakshmi (goddess of wealth and prosperity) and
Saraswati (goddess of knowledge and learning), she forms the
Trinity of Goddesses (
Tri-devi).
 |
| Deva Shiva and Devi Parvati like Greek gods |
Parvati is the consort or wife of the Hindu god
Shiva -- the protector, the destroyer (of evil), and regenerator of universe and all life, according to the
Shaiva sect.
She is the daughter of the mountain King
Himavan and Queen Mena. Parvati is also the mother of Hindu deities
Ganesha and
Kartikeya.
 |
| Shiva, Parvati (British Museum) |
The Puranas also reference her as the sister of the preserver god
Vishnu [who gets equated with the Buddha and other for being peaceful] and river goddess
Ganga.
Along with Shiva, Parvati is a central deity in the Shaiva sect. In Hindu belief, she is the recreative energy and power of Shiva, and she is the cause of a bond that connects all beings and [not] a means of their spiritual release.
In Hindu temples dedicated to her and Shiva, she is symbolically represented as the
argha or
yoni (womb, vulva, vagina, abode, uterus linked to the Shiva
lingam).
She is found extensively in ancient Indian literature, and her statues and iconography grace Hindu temples all over
South Asia and
Southeast Asia.
More
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| Young Sadhvi once put her foot in her mouth in defense of Hindutva nationalism. And in an instant, there vanished our peaceful super heroine. |
Originally, females were honored as chief disciples (Khema, Uppalavanna), enlightened matriarchs (Maha Pajapati Gotami, Rahulamata Bhaddhakaccana a.k.a. Yasodhara or Princess Bimba, Kisa Gotami, Maha Maya Devi often portrayed as a salabhanjika), and exemplary nuns (bhiksunis, anis, theris, sayalays) and supporters (Ambapali, Queen Mallika). A feminine revival largely forgot them but set up other Buddhist "goddesses" such as Prajnaparamita, the 21 Tārās like Green Tara, the apsaras, dakinis, tantrikas, yakshinis, and of course the universally beloved Kwan Yin Bodhisattva. Even the Jewish-Christian God YHWH (Yahweh, Jehovah) once had a consort or wife named Asherah, and Rabbi Jesus (Issa, Y'shua) had Mary Magdalene.
WHEN GOD WAS A WOMAN: Archaeologically documented is the story of the religion of the Goddess. Under Her, women's roles were far more prominent than in patriarchal Abrahamic (Jewish, Christian, Muslim) cultures. Author Merlin Stone describes this ancient system and, with its disintegration, the worldwide decline in women's status. Index, maps, and illustrations. More
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