Mother and a Warrior

How to Strike a Balance Between Being a Mother and a Warrior in Life

For the many mothers in the world today who bear the responsibility of caring for and providing for their families, Sadhguru offers invaluable insight on how to balance the masculine and feminine within in order to be both a loving mother and a soldier when needed. Read on to discover how to embrace inclusion and avoid getting trapped in survival mode.

Questioner: I’m the eldest of five siblings, and a single mother of four. All my life, I’ve had to look out for my younger brothers and sisters, and now I’m raising my four daughters. I feel the pressure of having to be a soldier and a leader to them, and I’m worried I might reach a breaking point soon. What advice would you give someone in my situation?

Sadhguru: Unfortunately, we still have not yet created a world where we can live without armies and soldiers. They are very important. We bow down to them because they are the ones who ensure the country and its borders are safe and protected against attacks. But why is it that someone always wants to attack another? Because they are also soldiers. Once you are a soldier, you must be prepared for both – defense and attack.

But when you become a soldier, in some way, you destroy the beauty of being a mother, simply because there are things to do. Taking care of and providing for four children is more than a full-time job. But if you are approaching it as a soldier, you will produce more soldiers. More soldiers mean more wars. Is this why we have children, for them to become soldiers and kill other soldiers, or get killed in the process? Is this what we want?

But this is what we are doing around the world. Why are people unable to joyfully play a game? When they play a game, they fight it like a war. They may be using a tennis racket or some other object, but actually, what they want to use is a sword. So, do not approach it like a soldier, as being a mother is a precious thing.

Motherhood is nature’s way of providing women with the opportunity to experience that someone else can actually be a part of you. Both men and women can experience inclusion, but a man has to strive to break through his limitations to get there. For a woman, a simple act will bring her to a place where suddenly, another life is a part of you. When one life can be a part of you, another life can also be a part of you. If you can be a mother to four, you can actually be a mother to the world.

Motherhood is nature’s way of providing women with the opportunity to experience that someone else can actually be a part of you.

Instead of being a mother to the world, would you rather be a soldier? This is a significant drop. Being a mother to the world means inclusion, an embrace. Being a soldier means conquest. Would you rather be conquered or included? Every human being, every creature, every life wants to be included, not conquered. But we have gotten into this mode of conquest.

There have been too many soldiers, right from historical times. You kill anyone who does not belong to your clan. This has been the way of the world because we have been in survival mode. The masculine is in charge of survival, but civilization will only occur because of the feminine. When I speak of feminine and masculine, I am not referring to male and female. It is because a man and a woman came together that you are here.

Does being a woman mean that your father does not exist within you? He does. Does being a man mean that your mother does not exist within you? She does. Only when the masculine and the feminine are well-balanced within you, can you take care of survival, and also be a force of civilization. The next generation needs civilization, not just tools for survival.

This is the time for every human being to enshrine the masculine and feminine in equal proportions so that you are a loving mother, and also a soldier when it is needed.

Though there are still many problems on the planet, including those of survival, the next generation needs civilization because survival is better organized than ever before in the history of humanity. A thousand years ago, would it have been possible to travel all the way from overseas to the Isha Yoga Center in India?

It may have been possible for a man to make the journey, but it would not have been possible for a woman, due to a variety of reasons. But today, it is possible. This is a tremendous leap. Technology has leveled the playing field for both males and females. This is the time for every human being to enshrine the masculine and feminine in equal proportions so that you are a loving mother, and also a soldier when it is needed. Do not be stuck in your soldierhood because you will only end up fighting all the time.