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EDITORIAL  Comment on this story On Women Giving Class BY SITA DEVI DASI EDITORIAL, Jan 11 (VNN) — There has been a trend in recent years to revert to some of the standards present in the early days of ISKCON. There has been much said about allowing women to lead kirtana and give class and many GBC members are now actively encouraging this. Letters from Srila Prabhupada and personal remembrances from the late 60's and early 70's, are used as proof that these should be re-introduced. But on careful consideration, it becomes clearer that giving women carte blanche access to these privileges would ultimately undermine Prabhupada's mission. Draupadi spoke in front of a public assembly with many advanced male devotees present. She was appealing her being insulted and left unprotected. And Sati publicly complained to her father after he insulted her exalted husband, Lord Siva. However these examples do not support the notion that women who wish to give class should be allowed to do so, no matter what. There are principles of vaisnava etiquette to consider. It would not be socially appropriate or even personally beneficial for a woman who is married to a non-brahmana, non-preacher husband to give class when senior men are present, especially when the audience includes sannyasis. ISKCON's Founder-Acarya, Srila Prabhupada, was never more lenient than he was in the 60's and early 70's. He was laying the groundwork of a worldwide preaching movement by teaching and practically demonstrating the basics of Krsna consciousness to his neophyte disciples. The rules and regulations were not emphasized so much; these would "follow automatically" when his disciples followed their spiritual master's example and precepts (Bhagavad-gita lecture, 9.29-32, December 20, 1966). When a disciple had mentioned to Prabhupada that the brahmacaris were putting their tilaka on in the bathroom, Prabhupada told him, "Do not worry too much about the rules and regulations. Just get everyone to chant Hare Krsna." December 1967, Prabhupada-Lila, Chapter 1, by Satsvarupa das Goswami. The goal was to gradually introduce rules and regulations according to the spiritual maturation of the disciples (August 30, 1968, Radhastami lecture). However this was something that could not be done immediately or forcibly, although he gave the goal to progress towards, "Our Krsna consciousness movement is meant to revivie Vedic cultre"/sanatana-dharma. (Nov. 2, 1970 lecture) Prabhupada wrote of his tactic in Caitanya-caritamrita, explaining that "special concessions" would need to be made. The idea was to first "capture those who strayed from Krishna consciousness, introduce them to joyous chanting and feasting, as well as studying, practicing, and propagating this process to others: "Sometimes jealous persons criticise the Krishna consciousness movement because it engages equally both boys and girls in distributing love of Godhead. Not knowing that boys and girls in countries like Europe and America mix very freely, these fools and rascals criticise the boys and girls in Krishna consciousness for intermingling. But these rascals should consider that one cannot suddenly change a community's social customs." "However, since both the boys and girls are being trained to become preachers, those girls are not ordinary girls but are as good as their brothers who are preaching Krishna consciousness. Therefore, to engage both boys and girls in fully transcendental activities is a policy intended to spread the Krishna consciousness movement." "These jealous fools who criticize the intermingling of boys and girls will simply have to be satisfied with their own foolishness because they cannot think of how to spread Krishna consciousness by adopting ways and means that are favourable for this purpose. Their stereotyped methods will never help spread Krishna consciousness. Therefore, what we are doing is perfect by the grace of Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu, for it is He who proposed to invent a way to capture those who strayed from Krishna consciousness." CC Adi Lila, Chapter 7, verses 31-32 "An acarya should devise a means by which people may somehow or other come to Krishna consciousness. First they should become Krishna conscious and all the prescribed rules and regulations may later gradually be introduced. In our Krishna consciousness movement we follow this policy of Lord Shri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. For example, since boys and girls in the Western countries freely intermingle, special concessions regarding their customs and habits are necessary to bring them to Krishna consciousness." CC Adi Lila, Chapter 7, verse 37 Let us now take a look at a couple of often-quoted references on the subject of women giving class: 1. "If a woman can lecture nicely and to the point, we should hear her carefully. That is our philosophy. But if a man can speak better than a woman, the man should be given the first preference." Letter to Jaya Govinda Feb. 8, 1968. Comments: Prabhupada tells his disciple that it is within our philosophy to listen carefully to a woman if she can speak on Krsna consciousness "nicely and to the point". One needs to read between the lines a little here. Giving nice classes is not just a matter of possessing good speaking ability or mere intellectual understanding of philosophy points. A rule of etiquette is also introduced, to give "the first preference" to a man, should there be one present who is better qualified to give class. In Teachings of Lord Kapila, Vs. 5, Prabhupada writes of this preference due to male "prerogative" (defined in the dictionary as 'an exclusive or special right, power, or privilege': "Twenty-five year old "Kapiladeva was a brahmacari, and His mother took lessons from Him. That is the prerogative of the male." In contrast to this we have the GBC Executive Committee's statement, "The GBC will not tolerate anyÉpreferential treatment given to male devotees in any form". This does not fit with the above references to "first preference" or "prerogative of the male". It especially seems out of place when one considers the correct preferential treatment towards men who are husbands, fathers, sannyasis, gurus, gbc's, etc. 2. "You can also keep giving Bhagavatam class if you like. Women in our Movement can also preach very nicely. Actually male and female bodies, these are just outward designations; Lord Chaitanya said that whether one is brahmana or whatever he may be, if he knows the science of Krishna, then he is to be accepted as guru. So one who gives class, he must read and study regularly and study the purport and realize it. Don't add anything or concoct anything, then he can preach very nicely. The qualification for leading class is how much one understands about Krsna and surrendering to the process. Not whether one is male or female. Of course women, generally speaking are less intelligent, better she has heard nicely then she will speak nicely." Dec. 25, 1974, Letter to Malati. Comments: Here it is said that if a woman wants to give class, she must regularly and carefully hear, read, study, practice and realize the philosophy, and not add or concoct anything. Furthermore, in order to have realization, she must be acting in her "constitutional position", not adopting an artificial and hypocritical role where she neglects her duties to her family in order to spend more time doing brahminical activities in the temple or "go to Japan for preaching like Prabhupada" (Morning Walk: Rome, May 27, 1974). In 1972, Prabhupada had written to Arundhati, wife of Pradyumna, that he was "surprised" she wanted to give her child to other devotees to take care of to facilitate her deity worship. "For you, child-worship is more important than deity-worship. If you cannot spend time with him, then stop the duties of pujari.... do not neglect it or be confused. Your duty is very clear." It should also be kept in mind who Prabhupada was encouraging. Malati was the wife of a brahmana. Jadurani was also, as were Himavati, Syama, and Jyotirmayi. It did not, generally speaking, conflict with vedic social standards or etiquette for them to give class. What follows is an excerpt of a related conversation the same year this letter was written. It is quoted in Jyotirmayi's paper, "Women in ISKCON in Prabhupada's Times": Prabhupada: Woman is to help her husband. Jyotirmayi: So the duty of the brahmana is to preach. It is to learn the philosophy. Prabhupada: Yes, to learn and to preach. Jyotirmayi And to teach the philosophy. So in our movement, the women have always preached philosophy, given classes, given lectures. Prabhupada: Oh yes, oh yes. With the husband. She is always helping hand to hand the husband.... Assistant. Jyotirmayi: Does that mean that the girls should not give lectures and not give classes? Prabhupada: Why not? If she is a brahmana's wife, she can give lecture. Jyotirmayi: Jadurani, for example, now she is no longer with her husband anymore., but she is giving classes, she is giving lectures. So is that good? Prabhupada: Yes, yes. Why not? This varnashrama dharma, woman is according to the husband. That's all. Jadurani is suppose to be a brahmana's wife, her husband has taken sannyasa, so she can preach. Jyotirmayi: So women can preach. They can give classes. They can give lectures. Prabhupada: Oh yes. (Conversation in France, 1974) Over the years, and becoming more prominent perhaps after 1974, progressively stricter varnasrama-based principles were taught and practically implemented alongside sadhana-bhakti practices. This should have come as no surprise to those who were aware of Prabhpupada's spiritual strategy and were reading his books. Intermingling between male and female disciples decreased as separate men's and women's asramas were established. Instead of congregating together in the temple room, men and women stood in separate groups. Prabhupada himself introduced these particular changes and his various instructions inspired further changes to be implemented by temple managers. For example, temple presidents became more selective in recommending devotees for brahminical initiation. Second initiation was not required for those who did not work in a brahminical capacity. In 1975, Prabhupada further described to a reporter how women adapt to their husband's situation: Woman reporter: Where do women fit into these four classes? Prabhupada: That I already explained. Women's position is subordinate to man. So if the man is first-class, the woman is first-class. If the man is second-class, the woman is second-class. If the man is third-class, the woman is third-class. In this...Because woman is meant for assisting man, so the woman becomes suitable according to the man, her husband. (Television Interview, Chicago, July 9, 1975) In the stories of Sukhanya and Cyavana or Gandhari and Dhritarastra, we see how great, chaste women adapted themselves to suit their husbands' moods and occupations. The more one is conditioned by western modes of independence and equality, the more one will find this role of assistant to be unfair and demeaning. Those devotee women who are actually qualified to speak on Krsna consciousness, will show they try to follow these vedic women's examples. They will show understanding of vaisnava etiquette and how, more than thirty years after Prabhupada brought his magnanimous spiritual gift to the west, they have grasped a more complete understanding of his mission and the vedic cultural history behind it, and want to press on to gradually raise the standards some more. Your servant, Sita Devi Dasi Related VNN Stories Comment on this storyContact VNN about this storySend this story to a friend
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