"In Tantra it has been accepted for centuries that it is impossible to have man just be man for the simple reason that everybody is born out of a father and a mother. Both contribute to the being of the child. Whether the child turns out to be a man or a woman, it doesn't matter; his basic constituents came from both sides, man and woman. Something in the child will remain of both.

"But society has not been so cultured, so civilized, so psychologically sane as to understand the implications of it; they are vast. If every man is carrying a woman within him, society has not taken care of it – no society in the world.

"If every woman is carrying a man within, nobody has taken note of it. The truth has been known for centuries, but societies have ignored that truth. And the result is this whole humanity is in tremendous suffering, misery, divisions, splits, and nobody feels at rest because half of him is always ignored, half remains undernourished. How can you feel contented?

"On the contrary, every society of the world has insisted from very childhood that a boy is a boy and a girl is a girl. In small details they are reminded again and again…If the boy is climbing a tree it is okay, but this is not right for a girl.

"In my childhood, just beside me, there lived a neighbor who was principal of a school. He had a daughter of my age, and because she saw me climbing trees, naturally she also followed. Her father came out and said to her, 'Never do it again. This is against womanhood. You are a GIRL.'

"The girl said, 'But you are not saying anything to the boy who is climbing.'

"He said, 'It is not a question of climbing. Boys are allowed to do many things that girls are not allowed to do. The boys are also not allowed to do many things.' A boy playing with dolls is not allowed. Everybody laughs at him: 'What are you doing? Are you a girl?' Girls play with dolls; it is not manly.

"We have created such a division and a split – the man is some different species and the woman is some different species."