Women, children and pets are loved unconditionally, but men? Only a mother will unconditionally love her son. Otherwise, men are loved only on the condition that they provide some value to others in society.

The greater the value the greater the adoration, praise and love males receive.

Therefore it is quite natural for men to attempt to create value for themselves constantly. Males often push themselves to the extreme, participating in activities, and pursuing things and goals that range from the great to the absurd.

Pursuing wealth, power, influence, etc. higher and greater levels even when they have much because they want to be perceived of higher value.

Males fight violently and war with each other, the greater the scars the greater the value. Men will also battle with nature and the elements, often even fighting with animals to create value in the eyes of their compatriots and society in general.

Male behaviour appears insane to the rational mind, especially the female mind. Yet females are captivated by and generally attracted to such males, further encouraging such irrational male behaviour.

Males thus tend to be self-destructive.

That is why in nature the ratio between the sexes at birth ranges from 101 to 116 males for every 100 females born. This is nature's way of compensating for higher rates of deaths of males in society.

Males need to be protected from themselves. But who will perform that function? It is best to have a Guru next are wise and experienced parents/elders, followed most completely by the presence of a female in a male's life. The female can be a mother, aunt, granny, daughter etc. but the best is a wife.

I would like to make a point here. We are all made up generally half-male and half-female with a slight bias towards one gender. We can also have feminine males and masculine females in the population. So when we speak of males I refer to the more masculine members of the human species.

That is why tribes and societies have instinctively preserved the females. If most males die off, whilst females survive the tribe will be able to repopulate. If the females die off there is no possibility that the tribe will even survive. This is why women are given such extraordinary and seemingly unreasonable privileges.

In Sanatan culture meaning the traditional Indian culture it is advised that males are incomplete until they marry, then they are 'finished'. The female is described as 'Ardh-Angani' meaning half of the male being.

I often suggest when asked, that marriage is a good idea.

From my own experience and observations, the greatest contribution that a woman can provide a man is to save him from self-destructing. It is a fine line, too little and the man has a higher chance of inflicting self-harm, too much and the male becomes a wimp and undesirable, capable of little.

Marriages may be on the decline but male-female relationships are increasing rapidly. However, the duration of relationships is getting shorter because people are increasingly seeking novelty and thrill at the expense of stability and both financial and emotional support. As a consequence, we witness increasing male self-destructive behaviour in societies that shun commitment between partners.

Among the many contributions of my wife to my life, the greatest has been her ability to save me from myself.