You have lifted the World Cup,
And with it, part of the weight of centuries.
Such victories go beyond the field;
They remind us how much becomes possible
When you are unshackled from limiting scripts and submissive roles.
For ages, you were worshipped in poetry and suppressed in practice,
Placed on pedestals yet denied the field.
Today, we got another glimpse of what happens when you stand
Neither as puppet nor as goddess,
But as player, warrior, conqueror.
Let the world see that sacredness lives
In the full flowering of human potential,
Not in glorified conformity.
That not ritualistic adulation,
But the urge of the self to beat the odds,
Is what marks holiness.
A true victory is not over an external opponent,
But over one’s own limitations: personal, cultural, historical.
When women play freely, the nation breathes freely.
When women claim their place, the planet finds its peace.
Let this not end in celebration alone.
May it spark reflection:
How many girls still never touch a field,
Still hear that their place is elsewhere?
How many remain denied education, freedom, voice, choice?
How many are denied even the right to take birth?
Every boundary scored on the ground must turn into
boundaries broken in our homes and minds alike.
To the Indian women’s cricket team:
Your composure under pressure, your quiet discipline,
Your refusal to be reduced to symbols,
All this has displayed something that transcends sport.
To India:
Let this mark the beginning of reverence,
Not through tradition but through transcendence.
History will remember this day not just for the trophy,
But for what it may stand as an augury to.
For victory is truly beautiful only when
It opens the way for many more to be victorious.
May this be the dawn of conquest of many more cups,
Many more grounds, and many more spaces.
~ Acharya Prashant
Acharya Prashant is a teacher, founder of PrashantAdvait Foundation, and author on wisdom literature.
