QNA WITH SRI SRI

MONDAY, APRIL 25, 2016

Q: You said 'A family dominated by a woman is much happier than a family dominated by a man!' Please explain.

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Yes. When men dominate, women become unhappy, and when women are unhappy, they make everyone around them unhappy! Then nothing can make them happy! So, it is better that women dominate; in her dominance, the family becomes happier. And men don’t mind being dominated!

Women should dominate in five areas:

1. In the family or the emotional sphere

2. Economy

3. Politics

4. Religion

5. The intellectual sphere

In politics, wherever women are dominating, the country is prospering. Ibu Johan is one such example, and our honorable mayor of Surabaya is another example. When women dominate, corruption comes down. I have heard several stories of how Surabaya has prospered in the last few months; there has been a lot of improvement in the living conditions.

When women will dominate in politics, there will be less war in the world. There may be different types of wars, but this big war that is happening all over the world, which is male-dominated, has created several conflicts. Women should also dominate in the economic field. There are very few women taking lead in the economy. Of course, there are many here on stage and in the audience. Ivan is one such lady who is an entrepreneur, and there are many other here, who I am glad are setting an example. When women dominate the religious and spiritual fields, perhaps, there will be less conflicts, violence and terrorism in the world. One more thing that women have to note is the need for intellectual dominance, in the field of science, architecture and literature. Women have to come forward in these areas. Though there are pockets of excellence here and there, generally, women are emotional and,more into arts; not so much in the literary field, which I think should be promoted in a big manner.

The reason I say dominance is required is because on a practical level, when we see that a woman is the boss of the family, generally, family members are happier. Women have the skill to bind everyone together. If the basic unit of the world, i.e., the family becomes stronger, then the value-system is well founded, and the happiness factor is on a rise. Today, it is not just GDP (Gross Domestic Product), but GDH (Gross Domestic Happiness) that matters more.

All this hooliganism and problems that we find in society are often because of broken families; mothers have been unable to pay enough attention to children. When children from such families grow older, they create havoc in society, making themselves and everyone around them also miserable. I feel women have a big influence in building the character of a man.

Another aspect of leadership is the ability to listen; it is a natural gift for women to be good listeners, and to see things from another’s perspective. I am not saying that everyone has these tendencies or qualities, but women have far more potential as compared to men. Thus, emotional nurturing and intellectual exaltation, both, are possible when the right training and guidance are made available at the right age. Thus, be prepared to dominate at home, at your workplace, in politics, and take a dominating position in religious and spiritual fields. These are the four different pillars of society; if any one pillar is not strong enough, then society cannot be a happy.

http://qnawithsrisri.artoflivinguniverse.org/