Celebrating Motherhood

Before childbirth, a woman is in great pain. After childbirth, the woman becomes a mother with unbounded pleasure. Childbirth is the only moment when both pain and pleasure converge in a single moment of time. Osho says,

“The moment a child is born, the mother is also born. She never existed before. The woman existed, but the mother, never.”

This rebirth of a woman into a mother is a privilege reserved exclusively for women.

The state of being a mother or motherhood is the only trait that is universal in all women. The external personality is different for every woman in every country and every environment but motherhood is one attribute that is always present in all of them.

Illiterate or educated, unemployed or professional, aggressive or submissive, all women in all countries and environments are always tender, caring and loving as mothers. As a mother, she showers all her selfless love and total attention for her newborn child all her life. Motherhood is another name for devotion.

Now an international debate is raging about motherhood after the publication of a new book – “Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother” by Amy Chua, a Chinese mother in USA that has angered mothers because of the brutal discipline she imposed on her two daughters. ‘Cruelty to children’ would be an understatement to describe some of the methods used by Amy Chua dubbed as ‘Tiger Mom’ for bringing up her two daughters. ‘Tiger Mom’ is a very ambitious mom. She is cruel so that her Celebrating Motherhood children can face the intense competition tomorrow and come up on top. Deep down, she is kind and loving because she is a mother. Thus, it is no wonder that her two daughters say that their mother is right and they, too, will also bring up their children in the same manner when they become mothers.

Whether a woman gives birth or not, she becomes a mother at some stage. She enhances every relationship with the flavour of motherhood with her children, husband, relatives, friends and guests. Her love, her giving, her sharing is laced with the sweetness of motherhood. No wonder the enlightened master called all his women sannyasins – married or not – as ‘Ma’ or mother. Osho says,

“The feminine path is that of love, and love brings you to an ultimate point where you can mother the whole existence. And that is the meaning of ‘Ma’. A woman in her ultimate flowering becomes a mothering energy … she can mother the whole existence. She feels blessed, and she can bless the whole existence.”

Motherhood is always concealed in every woman. After she gives birth or grows up, she displays the qualities of motherhood. As she meditates, her love transforms into tender motherhood. Whether kissing or scolding, the love of a mother is always the same. So on 8th March, the United Nations International Women’s Day, let’s honour and celebrate all women for their motherhood.

Text by Swami Anand Kul Bhushan
First published in Osho World News