International Women’s Day (March 8) is a global day celebrating the social, economic, cultural, and political achievements of women. The day also marks a call to action for accelerating women’s equality. As a student of Human Anatomy, my primary concern is about understanding the definition of man and woman in all its dimensions. For example, I dissected the cadaver of a human female to learn the Human Anatomy of the lower limbs without any concern for the gender identity of the human cadaver.
In 1965, while I was a student of Human Anatomy at Kurnool Medical College, I had the opportunity to know about Dr. J. C. B. Grant (1886-1973), the author of Grant’s Atlas of Anatomy. The 5th Edition of his Atlas was published in 1962 and was available in India in our Medical College Library.
Who is Whole Dude?
The word ‘Whole’ as an adjective describes quality of being healthy, sound, auspicious, not broken, not defective, entire, undivided, complete, containing or constituting the entire amount, or having all of its natural elements. The word ‘Whole’ is also used as a noun to describe a thing or entity that is complete in itself and which lacks none of its parts. Whole Dude is a phrase that refers to Whole Man in all aspects of one’s being, including physical, mental, social, moral, rational, creative and spiritual. The man exists because of functional unity of the entire system and hence the singularity of the multicellular organism called man may not be divided into its constituent parts like body, mind, and soul which have no independent existence of their own.
I prefer the phrase Whole Dude over other often used phrases such as Whole Man, Whole Person, Whole Self, and others. Just like ‘White Light’, the singularity described as Man is in reality a spectrum of seven colors. The seven dimensions of the Man are, 1. The Physical, 2. The Mental, 3. The Social, 4. The Moral, 5. The Spiritual, 6. The Creative, and 7. The Rational. The description of the Man as a created, spiritual, and rational being is fundamental to defining the Man as a Whole Dude.
Who is Whole Cookie?
The phrase Whole Dude somehow misses the flavor called Woman. God created both man and woman in His own image and hence God is both male and female at one and the same time. In the common usage of the term God, most often writers refer to God as if He is exclusively Male or of the masculine gender. From the very beginning, the Indian tradition views God as the First Male and the First Female and named the Male Principle as Father and the Female Principle as Mother. Father is the Originating Principle, and Mother is the Source Principle. The Indian tradition describes the Mother as the Divine Source of Matter, Energy, Knowledge, and Life or as the Constitutive Principle. Father is described as the LORD, the Owner, the Ruler, the Governor, the Controller, the Protector, the Sustainer, the Maintainer, the Preserver or as the Regulative Principle that rules, regulates, and governs all the operations of matter, energy, knowledge, and life in the created, natural Cosmic Order.
Just like the phrase Whole Dude, I coined the phrase Whole Cookie to specifically refer to the feminine gender created by God.
The word Cookie is often applied to describe a young, attractive woman, a sweet thing, whose flavor is reflected in the language, behavior, and mannerisms that contribute to the constitution of the female personality. I love Whole Cookie for she brings to my experience the sweetness of the Divine Mother called Madhavi.
The name Madhavi is derived from the word Madhu, a sweet substance found in nectar, honey, wine, sugarcane, and others.
Whole Woman Selects Her Tone of Voice to Get Discovered as Whole Cookie
In my analysis, the flavor experienced as Whole Woman involves the attribute called the Tone of Voice. The descriptions provided by Human Anatomy and Human Physiology cannot account for the experience called Sweetness which alone helps in knowing Whole Woman as Whole Cookie.
Defining Indian Identity – The Tradition of Speech Etiquette
Bankim Chandra Chatterjee composed India’s National Song BANDE MATARAM (“Hail to Thee, Mother”). “Vande Mataram” became the Mantra and slogan of people of India in their struggle for independence.
In the Song Vande Mataram, the Land of India is described as Suhasini, and Sumadhura Bhashini .Suhasini refers to a person who can speak in a pleasant manner without being rude or offensive and provide a sense of cheer and humor to the listener. Sumadhura Bhashini refers to a person who speaks good and sweet words which gives a sense of pleasure to the listener.
Speech is the oral, audible expression of human language while talking. Man became characteristically human when he learned to speak. All human Culture and its propagation appears to depend on some form of language to serve as the vehicle for teaching, persuasion and tradition.Speech is a very important aspect of human personality. Culture plays a significant role in the development of speech behavior. Particularly, in the Indian society, there are social expectations in the use of speech, speech mannerisms and in the observation of speech etiquette.The manner of speech is predictive of human behavior. Indians are expected to speak softly, in a sweet and pleasant manner. A loud-mouthed person is generally viewed as disrespectful, disobedient and disruptive. In the following poem, the famous Telugu Poet Vemana describes the importance of speech behavior.
Sri Kumaragiri Vema Reddy is popularly known as Vemana, Yogi Vemana (Telugu: వేమన) was a telugu poet. C.P. Brown, known for his research on Vemana, estimates the year of birth to be the year 1652 based on some of his verses. Vemana was the third and youngest son of Gaddam Vema, then the king of Kondaveedu in Andhra Pradesh.
Brass can produce high volume sound as compared to Gold but we consider Gold to be a precious metal and value its high quality in spite of its lack of ability to generate a loud sound. People who are mean-spirited and low in virtue speak in tones that reflects a sense of arrogance and self-importance. People of high virtue and good character would speak in a gentle and pleasant manner that reflects a sense of humility and the listeners would be pleased by listening to the words spoken. While speaking, the pitch and the volume of the sound is less important and we need to focus on the contents of our speech.
Speech Etiquette and Indian Culture:
Indian Culture describes “Saraswati” as the Goddess of Speech or “VAK”. She is known as VAG DEVI. Indians worship her to obtain fluency and to become eloquent speakers. Our identity is related to the quality and content of our speech. Speech mannerisms, speech etiquette and speech discipline are parts of the grooming process of the children in our homes. In fact, the Indian Tradition of Learning begins only after imparting the importance of Speech Etiquette in the learning Process. Children are generally counseled to use some restraint in their speech. There are several words and phrases that identify an Indian speaker according to their speech quality and content.The phrase ‘Su Bhasini’ directs us to use good and pleasing words. The phrase ‘Mita Bhasini’ directs us to speak to the point using only a few appropriate words. The phrase ‘Manjula Vani’ directs us to speak in a beautiful and elegant manner. Our traditional greeting “NAMASKAR” represents our devotion to showing respect and displaying an attitude of obedience in our public conduct. We can only meet this Cultural expectation by using a manner of speech which would convey the qualities of respect and obedience.
Dr.Martin Luther King, the famous Civil Rights Leader of the United States wished for that day when his sons would not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character. Similarly, a person’s identity should not be assumed by the person’s physical attributes but by his attitude and behavior. As an Indian, I wish to be identified not by the color of my skin. ‘Sumadhura Bhashini’ is the Cultural standard of our speech behavior. If you care enough, listen to me, my speech would reveal to you the country of my origin.
Please also view a related blog post titled ‘Defining Indian Identity – The Pursuit of Pure and Perfect Knowledge’.
The Rudolf-Rudi doctrine of Spiritualism 