The Puranas and Sastras stress the role of women as mothers and extol the mothers, who instilled high ideals in the minds of the children of the land. The Vedas speak of Maitreyi and Gargi, as great scholars and spiritual heroines, Gargi well revered in the assembly of Vedic pundits for her mastery of the abstruse problems of the spiritual voyage into the heights of self-realisation. In historical times, we have the mother of Shivaji who fed him on the epics and Puranas, and brought him up as a brave representative of the best of Hindu Culture.

The Mother is held as the object of affectionate reverence in Indian Culture. She is the chief of the house, the earliest teacher of the child, the person who lovingly transmits the culture of this ancient land to its heirs in their most formative years. The mother and the father are the first examples in social behavior that the child sees before it and learns to imitate. They teach Bhakthi and Prapathi (adoration of God and surrender to the Highest)- they represent Santhi and Prema (equanimity and love) before the watchful and receptive eyes of the child. So, they have to be inspired to take their share in the spiritual awakening. Tolerance and humility have to be promoted in the rising generation through the promotion of Sadhana among the mothers. Every one has a mother as the source of his life and body. So the mother has to be strong in mind and body, ripe in culture and character, sanctified by holy thoughts and steeped in love and dedication. Good mothers make a good nation. Good mothers have to be repositories of Tyaga, Yoga and Bhakthi; Detachment, Discipline and Devotion. Their Karma (Activity) must be based on these three urges.
If you want to know how advanced a nation is, study the mothers; are they free from fear and anxiety, are they full of Love towards all, are they trained in fortitude and virtue? If you like to imbibe the glory of a culture, watch the mothers, rocking the cradles, feeding, fostering, teaching and fondling the babies.
Woman has been extolled in ancient scriptures as well as classical poetry as Grihalakshmi, the Goddess of Prosperity in the Home. She is the Dharmapathni, who accompanies the Husband in the fulfillment of the duties and rights of wedded life as a Householder. While learning home science, you may be getting trained in the art of making the home happy and full of harmony and health. You have to learn also how to steer clear of hatred, malice, greed, anger, anxiety, pride and other obstacles that come in the way of inner peace. It is not enough if the home budget is balanced; the wife must learn the art of having a balanced view of life, which will not be affected by triumphs and troubles, gains or losses, victory or defeat. This balance can be got only by reliance on God, faith in the in-dwelling God.
The mother must set the example in making the shrine the heart of the household. She must enforce discipline over the children in personal cleanliness, in humility and hospitality, in good manners and acts of service. She must persuade the children by example and precept to revere elders and to allot some time both in the morning and evening for prayer, and for silent meditation.
The mother herself should look after the children during the early years; if the child is handed over to servants and ayahs, they will learn their habits of living and speech and they will weep only when they die, not when the mother dies.
India had many such great women whose virtue and Wisdom are extolled through the centuries. Sita, Savitri, Gargi, Anasuya, Damayanthi; women who are installed in the hearts of millions of people who worship them; they draw inspiration from them when confronted with calamity or crisis. They were full of unsullied love towards all who suffered; they were ready to serve the poor and the distressed; they were so steady in their faith in God that they put up with the direst misery in joyful submission to His Will.

The ideal for women is the status of Sathi, the faithful wife, the loving mother. The Indian ideal of marriage is that the right half is the husband and the left half of the same body is the wife; pathi and sathi are complementary parts of the same unit.
In the aspect of womanhood, one must observe and draw attention to a great quality which may be described as compassion. The next quality, that we must note is their ability to sacrifice. The make up of a woman is such that she will give protection in spite of many faults. She can also be compared to an educational institution where she will teach patiently like a good teacher, even if the recipient is not willing to learn. She may also be described a happy home where she is arranging everything without thinking of any discomfort for herself.
In this stage of domestic life, the lady of the house should play the role of the Goddess of Wealth by being the custodian of her husband's earnings and as women are acknowledged to do, spend the money judiciously and wisely.
Learn to adjust your likes and dislikes to those of others, learn the gentle art of sacrifice and service, keep in mind, when you react angrily against your mother-in-law. Try to appreciate their points of view, they may have greater forethought, greater experience, greater sense of responsibility, they may know more about people and things than you, who are fresh entrants in their household. The family of the husband which you enter with marriage is a good training ground, it is a sadhana-kshetra.
The feminine is the foundation on which a peaceful and happy world is to be raised. When women are true and brave, kind and compassionate, virtuous and pious, the world can have an era of peace and joy.
Woman is not meant to surpass man, nor to be trampled underfoot. She should stand as his equal, not merely to nurse him, but also as his companion in his joys and sorrows in life.
There are some who deny women the right to repeat the Pranava. This is sheer prejudice; it is not laid down in the Shastras. The Shastras are composed by persons who have known and experienced that the one Brahman symbolised by Pranava, Om, is inherent in this multiplicity of creation. They have outgrown all distinctions of caste and sex- they seek the progress and liberation of men, women and all animate and inanimate creation. How can such saints exclude women from this great instrument of jnana and Yoga? The Pranava Upasana is the royal road to Spiritual victory, which all are entitled to use.

Women are the makers of the home, the nation and the world. You are the mothers who shape the generation. So you must enshrine in your hearts the spiritual urge towards Light and love, Wisdom and Bliss.
Instruct the women of the village in the basic principles of child-health, child-care and-child-training. When health fails, people become despondent and even desperate. When health prevails, vitality pervades both mind and body. By the process of loving service, you can become the promoters of much joy. Do not consider any act of service as demeaning.
Women have a very crucial role in individual and social uplift. When the lady of the house measures the rice for preparing lunch of dinner, let her place a handful in a separate pot, kept for the purpose, with the words, "For God". At the end of the week, let her give it to as many poor people as the quantity justifies. That will be a daily act of dedicatory service.
People call women weak. Do not believe it. Having all these strong points in your favour, intelligence, discipline, spiritual capacity, consciousness of other's excellences, awareness of one's faults, eagerness to improve yourself. How can you be called "weak"? You are the leaders.

To save at least the next generation, women have to be educated in a well planned manner and endowed with the wisdom, fortitude and faith that can equip them for the great responsibility that rests upon them.
Girls who are studying in this college today, will become mothers tomorrow. It is therefore necessary that they should equip themselves with all the culture, learning and wisdom that they need in their future lives. In India, we assign a special place to women. It is therefore all the more important that the girls who are studying here should train themselves in such a way that they can live up the ideals and aspirations of an Indian woman. We consider women as Grihalakshmi, Dharmapathni and so on. A woman has to maintain her house. She is not only the housewife, but on her depends the glory or otherwise of the whole country. That is why we say this is our motherland. It is in this spirit that we refer to our country as Bharatmatha. We also find that women are given the first position when they are associated with their counterpart as in Sita-Rama, Lakshmi-Narayana, Radha-Krishna and Parvathi-Parameshwara. It is only to establish this prominence given to women in our country and to train our young girls on these lines that we took up the task of opening such colleges. I expect the young girls studying in this college to cultivate such good qualities which will bring name and fame to the native homes and to those where they proceed after marriage. The bad habits and vulgar behavior that we find in most of the young girls today should not find a place in the girls of this college. The girls of a Sathya Sai College should maintain the ideals of the institution and keep the prestige of their homes, their society and their culture. It is only then that the purpose of establishing this college can be served.
Women students and teachers have to be ever vigilant that they do not adopt fashions that outrage the traditions and conventions of this country and its culture. Do not bring dishonour to your parents or disappoint them by acting contrary to their dearest plans.
Women must emerge from this College armed with deep rooted virtue and firm faith in the ideals of womanhood, laid down in our sacred texts. Then only can they as mothers, mould their children as bright, beautiful, virtuous, strong citizens of the world.