Goddesses are always called "Maa", but Gods are never called "Baba"?

Why is it that female Gods (Durga, Saraswati, Kali etc.) are always called "Mother" while male Gods Shiva, Vishnu, Brahma, Krishna etc. are never called "Baba". Only Lord Ganesha is an exception I guess.

Even in Ram-Seeta, Ram is never called "Ram Baba", but Sita is always called "Sita Maiya".

Thoughts? This is an interesting and peculiar phenomenon.

Maybe because of patriarchy.

Men command respect from women just for being men, while women can only command respect from men when they are at the status of their mother.

Religion was also primarily designed for men, hence all the goddesses are referred as "mother" as a form of respect, to show that they are above the mortal women.

Ummm Shiv is called Bholebaba no

That's not true. God is called Parampita ( the great or holy father ) in brahma samaj.

Also , God Shiva is always referred to as Baba. Be it Bhole Baba , Baba Tarakeshwar, Baba Kedarnath, so on and so forth.

So it's the same for Gods and Goddesses. We consider them as our parents, as they're the guiding force of goodness and protective and nurturing towards humanity.

Originally posted by: MusicMuse

That's not true. God is called Parampita ( the great or holy father ) in brahma samaj.

Also , God Shiva is always referred to as Baba. Be it Bhole Baba , Baba Tarakeshwar, Baba Kedarnath, so on and so forth.

So it's the same for Gods and Goddesses. We consider them as our parents, as they're the guiding force of goodness and protective and nurturing towards humanity.

Param pita is different. But we rarely ever refer to Shiva as 'Baba' except while saying bholebaba. Bholebaba is used very rarely, 90% of the time people say "Shiv ji" or in bengali, "Shib thakur".

Bholebaba is used very very rarely in normal conversation.

Originally posted by: Charaiveti

Ummm Shiv is called Bholebaba no

Bholebaba is used very very rarely in normal conversation. Mostly we say "Shivji", "Bhagwan Shiv" or "Shibthakur". Very rarely we use 'Bholebaba". In Hindi people mostly say "Bholenath".

Originally posted by: AwaamKiJaan

Maybe because of patriarchy.

Men command respect from women just for being men, while women can only command respect from men when they are at the status of their mother.

Religion was also primarily designed for men, hence all the goddesses are referred as "mother" as a form of respect, to show that they are above the mortal women.

Well said. My thought is along the same lines. In the South Asian society, young women are bound with a million restrictions to prevent them from losing their 'purity' and 'virginity', but when these same women become old and de-sexed, as in when they attain the status of "Aunty ji/Mummyji", they are respected and even feared by their sons and daughters-in-law. As in, women are given a place of respect only when they are devoid of their youth and sexuality.

It depends on the God and the avatar in question. Rama is seen as the ideal man. For women that means the kind of man they desire and commit to. Devotion to Krishna too is flirtatious. Radha is revered for her devotion to Krishna, but their love may have been chaste but was romantic. Shiva is often seen as the epitome of masculinity and virility. It would be very creepy to have the same Gods who are seen as "desirable" to also become "'father-figures."

Goddesses, on the other hand, are subject to the Madonna-whore dichotomy. A man can be seen as both desirable and worthy of devotion. Women on the other hand are either mothers/wives/sisters, if they become the subject of desire they are whores. Mortal women could bear the children of God's but mortal men desiring Godesses meet bitter ends. This isn't true just in Indian mythology, but in most mythologies.

Barring Aphrodite/Venus, most Goddesses are treated as mothers and wives of other Gods and not looked upon with desire. IMHO, its deep-rooted patriarchy that has been around since ancient times.

Shivji is also called Bholababa. In bengali its mostly baba... Lokenath baba, Gannu baba. We generally address Gods as Baba n Goddess as Maa♥️

They are called parampita parmeshwar