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EDITORIAL May 13, 1999 VNN3851 Experience Real Freedom BY DHIRA LALITA DASI EDITORIAL, May 13 (VNN) — For women in the Krsna Consciousness movement, to position themselves in the back of the temple room during worship, being served prasadam after the men have, or being given the title "Mataji" instead of "Prabhu", are some of the consummate facts of daily devotional life. Despite being used to this routine over the years, ladies in the Krsna Consciousness movement may be questioning the authenticity of the "discrimination", as they see it, imposed upon them by the male section. More women in the western part of the movement especially are voicing feelings of regret towards this "discriminatory" attitude. "Encouragement!", "Appreciation!", they cry, but men (and women alike) are not sure in what form that request would be fulfilled. When demanding to be treated in equal terms with men, women are addressing equality merely in terms of bodies. More to the point, as Srila Prabhupada explains, equality between men and women is a contradiction in terms if guna (subtle natural propensities), are to be taken into consideration. The bodies of men and the bodies of women, subtle and gross, are naturally not equal. Instead of finding equality with her godbrothers, the women in Krishna consciousness are sometimes forced to learn humility and if they don't, they become very miserable and belligerent and lose the best and easiest opportunity to make advancement. Despite their best protests, ladies' natural tendency is to follow their husband and take care of their family. When they practice devotional service, however, their best chance to succeed is their natural submission. Humility and submission are their best assets. Mundane society has taught them to fight for their rights but as we know this very society is going down to hell. "Deviations from the vedic injunctions are the bane of modern society. Plagued by uncontrolled and irresponsible habits in diet and sex, the ideals and benefits of the varnashrama system have been for the most part lost, even within India. The erosion of moral standards which reflect all human interaction should alarm everyone who is concerned with the ultimate good of human society. Vaisnavas cooperate with persons who are like-minded and have similar habits, but they cannot support the present-day-society's capriciousness and more importantly, its apathy to god consciousness." (The heart of Krsna by Bhakti Promode Puri Maharaja.) Our mundane society has too much tendency to produce frustrated men, disrespectful of women in general. In this day and age the women have all rights, even the right to become the famous "superwoman". That is to say she can kill herself doing her job and all her household duties at the same time. Or she can opt for divorce and raise her kids and provide for them as well. What a tremendous advantage! Devotees do come from this type of environment, however. Therefore because of this extravagant and misguided education for men and women, these women, when they join Krsna Consciousness think they have the right to "equality". But tell me where Srila Prabhupada says that all men are equal. On the contrary he says: " A spiritual rejuvenation is required. You must realize, aham brahmasmi: "I am not this body; I am brahman, spiritual soul." Then you'll be happy. Brahma-bhuta prasannatma na socati na kanksati sama sarvesu bhutasu. Then there will be equality, fraternity, brotherhood. Otherwise it is all bogus, simply high-sounding words. There cannot be equality, fraternity, and so on without Krishna consciousness. Come to the spiritual platform; then you will see everyone equally." ( The Journey of Self Discovery 1.4. ) By western standards of civility, the back ground can be a humiliating, degrading place to be, but according to Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu, the key to self promotion is humility. In his own words He instructs: "One should be more humble than the straw on the street." But one may wonder: What is real humility, in fact? Let us explore what the great Acharyas have said about it: By example, Lord Caitanya in his Siksastakam recommends :"One who is humbler than the blade of grass, more tolerant than a tree, and ready to offer all respect to others without expecting anything in return can be constantly absorbed in Krsna-kirtana." All jiva souls, either in the body of a man or a woman, are an insignificant part of Krishna. All of us have fallen in this material world, therefore there is nothing to be proud of and ultimately there is no reason to distinguish between male and female. Therefore, with this understanding, one can relax his or her pride in the company of like minded devotees. But If we desire to make real advancement in Krishna Consciousness, it is also most beneficial for us to learn what is the real meaning of humility first, according to the previous acharyas. "Humility means that one should not be anxious to have the satisfaction of being honored by others. The material conception of life makes us very eager to receive honor from others, but from the point of view of a man in perfect knowledgeÑwho knows that he is not this body, anything, honor or dishonor, pertaining to this body is useless." (Bhagavad Gita as it is: 13. 8-12) In the Bhakti-rasamrita-sindhu, the word dainya (humility) is explained as follows: "When unhappiness, fearfulness and the sense of having offended combine, one feels condemned. This sense of condemnation is described as dinatŠ, humility". "When one fails to achieve his desired goal of life and repents for all his offenses, there is a state of regret called visada." The symptoms of visada are also explained: "One hankers to revive his original condition and inquires how to do so. " (CC Madya 2.35.) Humility is a quality acquired in the performance of devotional service as we surrender to guru and Krsna. Humility is not to be exhibited with materialists of course. Acting with humility with them is not beneficial, but serving the vaisnavas with humility- that is fundamental. Of course one may object that Lord Nityanada exhibited this very attitude with Jagai and Madai, and succeeded in liberating them with His display of incomparable humility. That is true. We can follow in His footsteps while we preach to materialists, but preaching is a transcendental activity and that is not what I mean. There is time and circumstances for the manifestation of humility with materialists, but with vaisnavas this attitude is always recommended. Therefore one must learn to use this humility in the service of the Lord exclusively. As we know very well our original position has nothing to do with our present position. But it might be useful for us to understand our present condition. An interesting angle is offered to us by one of Srila Prabhupada's God brothers who is in the stage of prema. He has said that a lot of devotees, who had a sahajiya conception in their past life, instead of obtaining the body of a gopi, obtained the body of a woman in their next life! (This would explain a lot of things!) Of course we are not saying this to be the case for all ladies. But by thinking that our female bodies might be the result of some mistake, this can help us realize a few things. Even if we are not treated the same as our God brothers, though we were raised in the belief that we are equal with them, all these apparent difficulties and injustices could help us cure a deeper disease. All excuses to become more humble should bring us closer to Lord Caitanya's teachings. Srimad Bhagavatam gives us a hopeful suggestion for all stages of life: blame yourself and no one else. " My dear Lord, one who earnestly waits for You to bestow Your causeless mercy upon him, all the while patiently suffering the reactions of his past misdeeds and offering You respectful obeisances with his heart, words and body, is surely eligible for liberation, for it has become his rightful claim." ( SB 10. 14. 8.) This advice of Srimad-Bhagavatam should be our guiding principle under all circumstances. Whatever is coming to us is under His sanction, under His eye, so it cannot be anything but good. Everything is perfect. The only imperfection is within us, and therefore we should try with all our energy to do our duty. In no time we shall find ourselves released from all troubles. That is the key advice of Srimad Bhagavatam. From humility comes surrender to guru and the proper service attitude. For us ladies, our position is like an ultimate sacrifice. Perhaps nobody will take notice of us, but we will have become an inspiration to the devotees. Ladies do live a life of sacrifice: they especially know how to sacrifice for their family. And they often accomplish this unnoticed and quietly. This is especially true of the mother taking care of her children. She does it without expecting anything in return. This same attitude can be used in the service of the Absolute. She can renounce all claim to this material world and perform devotional service in a quiet and almost invisible manner, according to her propensity. Srila Sridhar Maharaja teaches that " our environment is all friendly" . Our condition as females is part of our environment. It is part of our karma and it brings us a specific experience daily. This forms our environment. In the case of devotees this environment is controlled by Sri Krsna, who has the devotee's welfare in mind. This is what Sriddhar maharaja means by "all friendly". Krsna is our Friend and He makes sure we get closer to Him day by day. Srila Sridhar Maharaja also says: "Misconception: Maya means "What is not" (mriyate anaya). When everything is measured from the standpoint of selfishness and not universal interest, that is the cause of all troubles. We must gradually realize, " My angle of vision was guided by selfish, not absolute, consideration. So I am suffering. But now I have come to understand that my interest is included in the absolute interest." So either we accept to serve the Lord and we are under his protection or we are under Maya's influence in a selfish position, the environment will teach us what we need to know. We can accept our condition peacefully and understand our legacy: servant of the servant of the servant of all vaisnavas. " Our appreciation should especially be for Krsna and his devotees, and then gradually everyone else. He has not given anyone the authority to harm us. If it appears that way, it is only superficial and misleading. It is only true on the superficial plane. Of course, this does not condone harming others or ignoring oppression, but from the absolute standpoint there is no harm. When we reach the highest stage of devotion, we shall see that everything is friendly and that our apprehension was wrong. It was a misconception." (B.R.Sriddhar Maharaja, Loving search for a lost servant.) As they progress, women should view their natural position in the background as an advantage. They can gradually realize that rather than an encumbrance, this quality of humility is essential to the development of Bhakti. In fact, according to Lord Krsna in the Bhagavad Gita, those who possess humility have real knowledge. (Bhagavad Gita 13. 8) " The most important quality of a devotee is that he serves Krsna, indifferent to what or whom is superior in this material world. The scriptures state that devotees of Krsna are the most elevated members of society, whereas non-devotees are degraded, regardless of their social position. In order to worship and serve Krsna, material qualifications are not necessary; everyone is eligible." (The heart of Krsna by Bhakti Promode Puri Maharaja.) In the same manner, we can exhibit some sort of humility and simplicity, which is a natural quality of women, and cultivate our Krsna Consciousness. In conclusion, the reason for this woman's body in Krishna consciousness is not an accident. It allows us to practice without the burden of a big ego. We maybe more submissive and more humble ( in other words, more simple) by nature than the male section in general. That very nature is our key to experience real freedom. And from this humility real detachment will come. By example, the simplicity of the wives of the brahmanas, carried them much further than their learned husbands: "Just see the unlimited love these women have developed for Lord Krishna, the spiritual master of the entire universe! This love has broken for them the very bonds of death, their attachment to family life." (SB canto11-Folio). "Once the devotee is able to feel himself (or herself ) to be an insignificant servant, then nothing will divert him (or her) from the path of suddha-bhakti (pure devotion). His (or her) heart will always shine with humility and there will be no room for the darkness of deceit. To feel pride internally while making a show of humility is dishonest and absolutely foreign to a pure devotee." (The heart of Krsna by Bhakti Promode Puri Maharaja.) Being humble however has nothing to do with cowardice. There is a major difference between humility and cowardice, for one will lead us to surrender to Krsna and the other will just put us under the influence of the modes of nature. All those points are subtle and can only be revealed and experienced as we make progress in Krishna consciousness. By example Srila Prabhupada writes in his nectar of devotion: "When one presents himself as ignorant, his attitude is called humility, and when there is absence of enthusiasm it is called cowardice. Therefore, in humility, there is sometimes cowardice also " In a sense we can say that woman's cowardice manifests itself when she desires a high position among her godbrothers and at the same time she claims that she needs protection from them. She does need protection in a section of her life which is the external one, but ultimately she must come to realize that she needs only Krsna's protection. As she practices saddhana bhakti, she will naturally come to minimize her identification with the body. Meanwhile she can realize that her natural feminine qualities of submission and humility are her best assets which can help her attain the ideals of Gaudiya vaisnavas in harmony with her material position. She must become free to practice this Krishna Consciousness without the encumbrance of her mundane education. This is real freedom. (It must be noted here that by this statement, we do not condone women's independence as it goes against all scriptures. Women should be protected at all stages of life, but this is external, as we are talking about her endeavor to make spiritual advancement. The true protection she needs comes from Krsna. And this very understanding will free her from this material world. ) And in Srila Sridhar maharaja's words "So everything is alright with the infinite and the environment. We have only to correct ourselves, to adjust ourselves. This is the conclusion- "Try to adjust yourself; everything is alright with the environment. We must leave everything to the Supreme Lord and conduct ourselves accordingly". That will bring us real peace and progressive realization in spiritual life." Comment on this story | Contact VNN about this story | Send this story to a friend
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