The mystery of feminine powerSpirituality

The power of women lies in tenderness, love, beauty and feminine grace. When they start seeking the same power as sought by men, they lose something very precious. Of course, women should be strong and courageous but not in the same way as men are. They should be strong in their own unique way-the feminine way. When they realise this uniqueness, no man can match their power.

Once Emperor Akbar asked Birbal: "Sometimes, I get worried. All the people in my court look henpecked. Is there not even a single brave man here?" Birbal said: "Looks difficult, but we will try to find one."

They were all brave men. If ordered, they would put down their lives without a moment's hesitation. Their bravery was not in any way suspect. Birbal made arrangements and said: "Tomorrow, come decided that you will assert the truth. Anybody who tells a lie is going to the gallows. Think over it. The king wants to know the truth-are you afraid of your wife or not?"

They all came. The king said: "Those who are afraid of their wives should move to the right, and those who are not afraid should stay on the left." All moved to the right except a single, tiny man. Akbar said: "I am happy because I was thinking that not even a single man would stay." The lone man said: "Wait! Don't be happy so soon. When I was coming here, my wife told me not to stand in the crowd! That's why I am standing here."

What makes a man fear a woman? Her feminine strength. Man can argue endlessly but, in most cases, the woman always wins. She may not even produce a good argument, but win she does.

Talking on Lao Tzu and his feminine principle, Osho explains: "It is natural. The feminine principle wins. And Lao Tzu is all for the feminine principle. Why does the woman win? She is so soft. In fact she never fights, she persuades. She does not fight directly; her fight is indirect and subtle. If she wants to say no, she will not say so directly, but in a thousand and one ways her whole being will say no. In the way she places the plate, in the way she moves, in her sari's swish... She will say no. She herself will say yes but her whole being will say no. How can you defeat something so subtle? If you love the woman, you are defeated."

Osho brings in the spiritual dimension: "And it is good that the hard is defeated and the soft wins because that is the only possibility for God to win in the world. The devil must be hard like rock. God must be soft. In the East, we never think of God as a father; rather we think of God as a mother. That insight is beautiful. God should not be thought of as father because the male principle is hard. God should be thought of as mother, feminine."

God persuades you to come to him, yet he never forces you. You never meet him anywhere and yet you search for him. You never encounter him. He follows you as a subtle aroma. You never come face to face with him. You will find him deep in the stirrings of your heart. You will not find him like a storm; he comes like a subtle breeze. Only those who are very subtle will be able to feel it. He comes like a flower.

All the enlightened ones-such as Gautama Buddha-are like flowers and have feminine grace. That's why people worship them as incarnations of God. They have a feminine mystery and a tremendous power that no Alexander the Great or Napoleon could have had. Their influence on humanity is eternal. Humanity surrenders to them out of reverence, while all the Alexanders who try to conquer the world fail miserably. Masculine power is violent; feminine power is full of love and compassion.