The widespread state of discontent that marks this
beginning of the millennium applies equally to the
delicate issue of gender - the theme of this text. In
approaching such an explosive subject - risk that I run
due to the intense ideological patrol prevailing - I
approach the Spiritist woman, since in theory she enjoys
an arsenal of knowledge and privileged information.
Having said this, it should be noted that, perhaps never
before in Human History, the Spirits incarnated in the
feminine polarity enjoyed such favorable existential
conditions. I do not mean to imply, of course, that the
state of perfection has already been attained, for such
a thing does not yet exist on the face of the Earth. But
I am referring to the concrete possibilities of living a
dignified and decent existence in this physical frame.
In this sense, it is worth remembering that today women
are in almost all sectors of activity (in fact, they
dominate widely some, such as banks, health, education
and financial services, according to data published in
the magazine Voce S/A 150 best companies to work
with, 2017). That is, females are in factories,
hospitals, construction sites, laboratories,
parliaments, performing executive functions in
organizations, teaching activities and so on. Moreover,
women are in charge of important nations and
institutions of the planet, making mistakes and
correcting them, it is necessary to stress, as much as
men.
Disrespectful behavior towards women is being fought
hard - with full support, say, of men. By the way,
modern men have revealed a facet hitherto unknown, i.e.,
they help with the home issues - as never before. After
all, men today shop for the home, look after the
children in schools, many cook even clean the house,
among other things. Put in other words, the 21st century
man of the Christian era has shown tremendous
disposition and flexibility in relation to women's
claims.
However, what one sees today goes far beyond the just
search for space and recognition on the part of the
females (Spirits). There is at present on Earth an
undisputed struggle for power in institutions.
Stimulated by the bellicose feminist thought - which is
as erratic and gloomy as chauvinism - we entered an era
of dangerous disputes driven by the unfortunate binary
reasoning: woman vs. man. In fact, the theme about
gender has been treated and discussed as if it were
exclusively female.
At least that is what is observed - paradoxically - in
many publications (especially academic) in this area,
which should give the matter a more exempt treatment.
Despite this unfortunate bias, women have been benefited
and their value recognized, given that - despite the
difficulties of the way and considering that most men
aim to achieve similar goals - many have managed to
reach the top. As I said earlier, women have been
supported and encouraged to accomplish their ideals -
even if they are not spiritually the most appropriate
for their evolution. This relevant issue is implicit in,
for example, the statement by Indra Nooyi,
Pepsico’s global CEO, in an interview with Forbes
magazine:
"I do not think women can have everything. I just do not
think so.
We pretend we have everything. We imagine we can have it
all. My husband and I have been married for 34 years.
And we have two daughters. And every day you have to
make a decision on whether you are going to be a wife or
a mother, actually many times during the day you
need to make those decisions. And you have to co-opt
many people to help you. We co-opted our families to
help us. We plan our lives meticulously so we can be
decent parents. But if you ask our daughters, I'm not
sure they're going to say I was a good mother. I'm not
sure. And I try all kinds of coping mechanisms ".
(My emphasis)
Note that there is an undeniable discomfort in the
speech of the known executive. In spite of the success
obtained in her professional career, there is doubt and
restlessness in her courageous testimony. Apparently,
there is the feeling that something crucial is missing
or not fulfilled within the family. In fact, what she
outlines is absolutely in line with several studies
focused specifically on female people who enjoy the same
professional status. In some cases, it is worth
mentioning that the women interviewed say they feel
jealous of their children's nannies, given that, due to
their decisions to prioritize their careers they end up
practically abdicating in some way the position of
mothers.
It is unquestionable that they pay the bills in full or
in part, as they have succeeded in gaining financial
emancipation, but they do not experience the taste and
richness of the full mother's experience.
The modern world, as I have said above, does not prevent
women at all. But every decision has a cost. After all,
you cannot get everything... and Nooyi adds:
"My remark... is that the biological clock and the
career clock are in total conflict with one another. It
is a total and complete conflict. When you have to have
children, you need to build your career. Just as you are
moving up to middle management, your kids need you
because they are teenagers - they need you for their
youth". (My emphasis)
The conflict explained here arises mainly from the fact
that there are different roles to be played both by the
Spirits incarnated in the feminine condition and by
those in the masculine. Otherwise, there would be no
such pronounced physical changes established by the
Creator. In this sense, let us remember, moreover, that
Allan Kardec addressed the subject in The Book of
Spirits, according to the question below:
201. In a new existence, can the Spirit who gave life to
the body of a man animate that of a woman and vice
versa? Certainly, the Spirits that animate men and women
are the same.
202. When wandering, what does the Spirit prefer: To
incarnate in the body of a man, or that of a woman? It
matters little to the Spirit. What guides it in its
choice are the trials that it must go through.
Spirits incarnate as men or as women because they do not
have a sex. Since they have to progress in everything,
each sex, as each social position, provides them with
special trials and duties, and with that, the
opportunity to gain experience. He who only embodies as
a man would know only what men know.
Kardec went further to inquire of the Spirits on another
question:
821. The functions to which the woman is destined by
Nature will have as great importance as the functions
deferred to the man? Yes, even more. It is she who
gives him the first notions of life". (My emphasis)
Therefore, to perform such a function - vital, by the
way - it takes dedication and courage, even more in
these times in which we live, where children, teenagers
and young people are clearly disoriented, besides
revealing a significant lack of wisdom and maturity.
And so that there would be no doubt as to the
distinction of roles - Kardec asked them in question
822-a - of that same work:
822-a. Therefore, for a legislation to be perfectly
just, should it establish the equality of the rights of
men and women? Of rights, yes, of functions, no. It
is needed that everyone be in their proper place. The
man takes care of the outside, while the woman takes
care of the inside, each one according to their
aptitude. [...](My emphasis)
Based on such clarifications we can infer that feminism
is pushing the woman to assume a position of
confrontation with serious damages, even for the harmony
of the human family.
In addition, in examining the influence of feminism, the
Spirit Emmanuel commented, in question no. 67 of The
Comforter (psychographics by Francisco Candido
Xavier):
"The feminist ideology of modern times, however,
with the various political and social flags, can be a
poison to the unsuspecting woman of her great Spiritual
duties on this Earth. If there is a legitimate
feminism, it must be that of the re-education of women
for the home, never for counterproductive action outside
it. It is that the feminine problems cannot be solved by
the codes of man, but only in the generous and divine
light of the Gospel". (My emphasis)
Seeing the relevance of women in another area, Emmanuel
also clarifies (see question no. 109 of the same work):
"The children's period is the most serious and the most
convenient to the assimilation of educational
principles.
Until the age of seven, the Spirit is still in the
process of adapting to its new life in the world.
At this age, there is still no perfect integration with
the organic matter. His recollections of the Spiritual
plane are therefore more alive, and become more
susceptible to renewing the character and establishing a
new path, in the consolidation of the principles of
responsibility, if it finds in its legitimate parents
representatives of the family association.
That is why the home is so important for the edification
of man, and why so deep is the mission of a woman before
the divine laws.
After the period as a child, which is a credit to all
paternal energies and care, the processes of moral
education, which form the character, become more
difficult with the integration of the Spirit into its
material organic world and, upon becoming of full age,
if education was not accomplished in the home, then only
the violent process of hard trials in the world can
renew the thought and conception of creatures, since the
reincarnated soul will have taken over all its harmful
heritage from the past and will repeat itself in the
same falls, if it lacked the Inner Light of sacred
educational principles".(My
emphasis)
In the book Dictionary of the Soul
(psychographics by Francisco Candido Xavier), Emmanuel
also considers: "The feminist program is not that of
excluding women from their dependence: it must be the
understanding of their great duties. Within Nature, the
lines established by the impenetrable designs of God do
not change, under the influence of the unlimited human
will; and women cannot change the structural complex of
their body".
In the same book, Eugenia Braga states that "feminism -
the one that integrates women into self-knowledge - is
the movement of Jesus, in favor of the home, for the
home, and within the home".
Thus, one can see at once that the modern feminist
movement is completely unrelated to the Spiritual
aspects that emancipate the soul. Its flag is not in
favor of the home or the union of the family, but
essentially of the fleeting power.
The contemporary woman has the legitimate right to make
her choices. However, in prioritizing the career
exclusively, I for my part see that the difficulties
will always be significant, since the number of jobs on
the planet is not enough to absorb everyone - and it
does not seem to me that there is such an objective, at
least not while human decisions are not based on love
and compassion.
On the other hand, when choosing the family, the woman
gives proof of invaluable love and surrender. Since love
is the highest Spiritual achievement of the entire
Universe, the development of this virtue will by
extension be considerable in the eyes of Spirituality.
Confirming this understanding, the Spirit Analia Franco,
in the work Salome (dictated by the Spirit Lucius
and psychographics of Sandra Carneiro), explains the
following:
"It is mainly in the home, in the family, that the woman
is invited to exercise this softness, the love that adds
and strengthens those around her. This is where the new
society demands urgency in women's action. It is the
woman's job, in particular, to work for domestic and
family harmony. Her dedication - which in many cases may
even come to sacrifice
- will bless all family members. With eyes fixed on the
heights, she will act as God's tool on Earth,
with those whom the Father entrusted to her, raising the
vibrations around her house, edifying the good,
exemplifying patience, forgiveness and love. Such a
role, my friends, belongs - above all – to the woman".
(My emphasis)
In addition, nothing more enlightening than to call on
the wisdom of Jesus Christ, recorded in Chapter 22,
entitled "The Woman and the Resurrection", from the book
Good News, dictated by the Spirit Humberto de
Campos (psychographics by Francisco Candido Xavier). The
revealing dialogue brings relevant aspects on the issue:
"What do you have, Simon?" asked the Master with his
penetrating and friendly gaze.
Old Cephas was surprised with the Lord’s words and
transmitted his fears and concerns by a gesture, as if
he had difficulty in completely forgetting the old law,
in order to understand the new idea on his long journey
of love, enlightenment and hope.
"Master," he replied shyly, "the law that governs us has
the woman, who demoralized her life, stoned."
Knowing the fisherman's thoughts in advance and
observing his scruples in giving him a slight warning,
Jesus answered him gently:
"Most often, Simon, it is not the woman who demoralizes
herself: it is the man who destroys her life. [...].
The old fisherman received the exhortation with a new
gleam in his eyes as if touched in the most intimate
fibers of his Spirit.
"Master," he said, highly surprised, "your word is that
of divine revelation. Do you mean, then, that the woman
is superior to the man, in her earthly mission?
"Both are equal before God," the Christ explained
lovingly, "and the tasks of both are balanced in the way
of life, completing perfectly, so that on every occasion
there may be the most holy mutual respect. We must
consider, however, that the woman received the sacred
mission of life. Having advanced more than her
companion on the path of feeling, she is therefore
closer to God who often takes her heart as an instrument
of His messages, full of wisdom and mercy. In all human
achievements, there is always the trace of feminine
tenderness, raising imperishable works in the
edification of the Spirits. In the history of men
only the names of politicians, philosophers, and
generals remain; however, they are all sons of a great
heroine who passes, in silence, unknown to all, often
torn in her most intimate feelings or destroyed in the
most punishing sacrifices. But also God, Simon, passes
ignored in all the achievements of human progress and we
know that the noise belongs to men, while the silence is
of God, synthesis of all truth and all love.
That is why the most unfortunate women still have the
divine germ in their hearts, for the redemption of the
whole of humanity. Their feeling of tenderness and
humility will at all times be the great script for the
illumination of the world, for without the treasure of
feeling all the works of human reason may seem like a
castle of false splendor.
Simon Peter, overjoyed and in a sanctified admiration
and fervor, listened to the Master”. (My emphasis)
In conclusion, Spirits incarnated in women's clothing
have before them a valuable opportunity for progress as
long as they are willing to give authentic love to their
fellows, as have other great women of the past. They
will certainly also answer - even if partially - for
whatever happens to those under their care. In fact, the
human family today needs mothers who are truly engaged
and engaged in the Spiritual well-being of their own.
And such a mission requires extreme dedication. For this
to happen, they may, for example, set more modest career
and work goals to become more available, closer to, and
involved in the guiding of their children, as well as
provide them with good ethical and moral examples. In
performing such an important role, God will always
reserve opportunities for development and infinite joy.