Why was this declaration made? Because in the path of Bhakthi there are no hurdles. Young and old, high and low, man and woman, all are entitled to tread it. Who among men are in urgent need of medical treatment? Those who are badly ill, is it not? So too, those who are groping in A-jnana are first entitled to the teaching and the training leading to the acquisition of Jnana. Why feed those who have no hunger? Why drug those who are not sick? Brahmam or Jnana, is the drug for the unrealisation of the falsely realised, the removal of the fog of misunderstanding or A-jnana. It will burn off the dust that hides the Truth.

Everyone, whatever the status, class or sex, can win that Jnana. If it is stated that women are not entitled to it, why is it mentioned that Siva taught Vedanta to Parvathi? Or how did Kapilacharya, a great Yogi, teach the Sankhya system to his mother, Devahoothi? Or how did Yajnavalkya the great Rishi impart the essential principles of Vedantic philosophy to his wife, Maithreyi, as mentioned in the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad? The Upanishad cannot be false. The Scriptures wherein these facts are mentioned speak only Truth.

There is no doubt that the sage Matanga was a great ascetic. Does not the Ramayana declare that he taught the woman Sabari the secret of the sacred doctrine of Brahmam? Is that statement false? Coming to this age itself, who does not know that the scholarly wife of Sureswaracharya contended with Shankaracharya himself in a philosophic discussion on Brahmam? So the chief qualification for the path leading to Jnana is only Sadhana, the Tapas one is engaged in, not the irrelevant consideration of caste, creed or sex. Leaving all other matters aside, one should concentrate on that Sadhana and that Tapas.

The Lord is accessible and available to all. He is All Mercy. No one except the Lord has the authority to declare any one unfit for the discipline of Jnana. If you reflect a little deeper, you will realise that the Lord would not deny any one the chance to reach Him. To sparks of the same fire, or drops of the same sea, how can the flame or the sea deny refuge? The Lord will not refuse or reject.