FYI
1. Esther was a sex slave. She was kidnapped by a foreign ruler who was her King while in exile. In that society & at that time, she was given one night to either “please” the King & be made a bride, become one of his many concubines, or be sent away as “damaged goods”.

2. The “One Night With the King” was not an romantic evening, it was an evening of desperation whereby she had to do all she could to win over the King are have a terrifying and unknown future. She won over the King, & her later fear to speak was wrapped up in this context.
3. When Mordecai warned her that if she didn’t speak God would raise up another, wasn’t Mordecai rebuking her for faithlessness. Esther was Queen, but she was a slave to that position; this wasn’t a Disney movie situation. Her fear of being killed was legit & Mordecai knew this.
4. The story of Esther includes 2 women.

1. A Queen (Vashti) who risked death by refused to be objectified & was ultimately sent away. Her exile made way for another woman.

2. Queen (Esther) who was objectified, but whose circumstances made possible salvation of God’s people.
5. So what was the “such a time as this?”

God in his cosmic wisdom that transcends space & time raised up two strong women who would stand against the violent misogyny of a Pagan world. Thru their courage & insistence to rise above circumstances their moves prevented a genocide.
6. The story of Esther is not a story of Romance. It’s a tragic story of slavery, sexual oppression, misogyny, and loss. Remember, Esther had to abandon her Jewish identity in Order to stand a chance in that society (original name Hadassah)....
7. One of the applications we can receive from Esther is that even sexual oppression does not define a survivor’s life or legacy. We are so much more than our loss, oppression, & trauma. Though our experiences may leave what is like toxic soil, From it God can still sprout roses
8. Beloved, HOW you read the story of Esther, the story of David and Bathsheba, the story of Abraham and Hagar reveals much of your heart & your posture towards men & women. In all of these stories, women are being sexually oppressed & in two of the cases are even sex slaves...
9. God shows up for Hagar. Though we don’t read any specific engagement b/t God & Bathsheba it is clear whose side He is on; it is Bathseba whose son is blessed by God & who is part of the line to the Messiah, & Esther is remembered thru canonized Holy Scripture.
10. If we truly desire churches to be safe places for women, where they can flourish and abound in all God desires them to be; we must understand various biblical stories rightly. We must be able to see the heroes where tradition only saw side-characters to the stories of men.

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राम-रावण युद्ध समाप्त हो चुका था। जगत को त्रास देने वाला रावण अपने कुटुम्ब सहित नष्ट हो चुका था।श्रीराम का राज्याभिषेक हुआ और अयोध्या नरेश श्री राम के नेतृत्व में चारों दिशाओं में शन्ति थी।
अंगद को विदा करते समय राम रो पड़े थे ।हनुमान को विदा करने की शक्ति तो राम में थी ही नहीं ।


माता सीता भी हनुमान को पुत्रवत मानती थी। अत: हनुमान अयोध्या में ही रह गए ।राम दिनभर दरबार में, शासन व्यवस्था में व्यस्त रहते थे। संध्या को जब शासकीय कार्यों में छूट मिलती तो गुरु और माताओं का कुशल-मंगल पूछ अपने कक्ष में जाते थे। परंतु हनुमान जी हमेशा उनके पीछे-पीछे ही रहते थे ।


उनकी उपस्थिति में ही सारा परिवार बहुत देर तक जी भर बातें करता ।फिर भरत को ध्यान आया कि भैया-भाभी को भी एकांत मिलना चाहिए ।उर्मिला को देख भी उनके मन में हूक उठती थी कि इस पतिव्रता को भी अपने पति का सानिध्य चाहिए ।

एक दिन भरत ने हनुमान जी से कहा,"हे पवनपुत्र! सीता भाभी को राम भैया के साथ एकांत में रहने का भी अधिकार प्राप्त है ।क्या आपको उनके माथे पर सिन्दूर नहीं दिखता?इसलिए संध्या पश्चात आप राम भैया को कृप्या अकेला छोड़ दिया करें "।
ये सुनकर हनुमान आश्चर्यचकित रह गए और सीता माता के पास गए ।


माता से हनुमान ने पूछा,"माता आप अपने माथे पर सिन्दूर क्यों लगाती हैं।" यह सुनकर सीता माता बोलीं,"स्त्री अपने माथे पर सिन्दूर लगाती है तो उसके पति की आयु में वृद्धि होती है और वह स्वस्थ रहते हैं "। फिर हनुमान जी प्रभु राम के पास गए ।
Rig Ved 1.36.7

To do a Namaskaar or bow before someone means that you are humble or without pride and ego. This means that we politely bow before you since you are better than me. Pranipaat(प्राणीपात) also means the same that we respect you without any vanity.

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Surrendering False pride is Namaskaar. Even in devotion or bhakti we say the same thing. We want to convey to Ishwar that we have nothing to offer but we leave all our pride and offer you ourselves without any pride in our body. You destroy all our evil karma.

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We bow before you so that you assimilate us and make us that capable. Destruction of our evils and surrender is Namaskaar. Therefore we pray same thing before and after any big rituals.

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तं घे॑मि॒त्था न॑म॒स्विन॒ उप॑ स्व॒राज॑मासते ।
होत्रा॑भिर॒ग्निं मनु॑षः॒ समिं॑धते तिति॒र्वांसो॒ अति॒ स्रिधः॑॥

Translation :

नमस्विनः - To bow.

स्वराजम् - Self illuminating.

तम् - His.

घ ईम् - Yours.

इत्था - This way.

उप - Upaasana.

आसते - To do.

स्त्रिधः - For enemies.

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अति तितिर्वांसः - To defeat fast.

मनुषः - Yajman.

होत्राभिः - In seven numbers.

अग्निम् - Agnidev.

समिन्धते - Illuminated on all sides.

Explanation : Yajmans bow(do Namaskaar) before self illuminating Agnidev by making the offerings of Havi.

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