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Why Does Hinduism Portray God as a Woman?
Hinduism contains many feminine forms of the Divine like Kali, Durga, Lakshmi and
Sarasvati. These represent different feminine qualities and
functions of the Divine which contains both male and female
energies. For example, Kali portrays the destructive energy, Lakshmi
the nourishing, and Sarasvati the creative, while Durga is the
Divine Mother in her protective role. Hinduism also has many dual
male-female forms like Radha-Krishna, Sita-Rama, Uma-Mahesh, and
Lakshmi-Narayan in which the female form is usually addressed first.
The different masculine forms of the Divine in Hinduism have their
feminine counterparts.
As Sanatana Dharma or a
universal tradition Hinduism recognizes that the Divine contains
both masculine and feminine attributes. Without giving proper honor
to the feminine qualities a religion must be incomplete and
one-sided, which must result in its teachings having negative
consequences. Without recognizing the feminine aspect of Divinity
one cannot claim to know God. To recognize the feminine is necessary
to restore wholeness, completeness and universality.
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