seeing through the eyes of scriptures
philosophical deviations of Malati and Yamuna devi dasis
dear Basu Ghosh Prabhu
Please accept my humble obaisences
All glories to Srila Prabhupada
Malati is a lady GBC and dresses like a sannyasi too, what is this Kirtananandas mayavadi influence that women like Malati still thinks themselves a sannyasi though in a female body.The GBC should not make any females GBC otherwise there will be so much trouble.
your servant
Payonidhi das
PS The GBC is to blame for making her a "female sannyasi" GBC ...so many deviations ,she thinks she is a Prabhu and more than a Prabhu, it is all pratistha and not vedic..GBC endorsed...She had lots of Prabhupadas association but she is not an advanced devotee
Letter to a Godsister
BY: BASU GHOSH DAS (ACBSP)
Nov 18, BARODA, INDIA (SUN) —
Subject: It was brought to my attention
By a godsister...
Home Base: ISKCON-Baroda
Respected Mataji, Namonamaha. Jaya Srila Prabhupada! Received your message:
> Did you read this Basu Ghosh Prabhu?
Well, now I did! ;-) Of course, I'm aware that Malati Mataji is "pushing this line of thinking". Sadly, she and others, Vishakha, et. al, have "bought into" both "feminism" and "egalitarianism", which are ideologies.
In fact, at the recently concluded IRGB meeting at Puri, where a paper was presented "refuting" the GBC SAC's (SAC = "Shastra advisory committee") paper recommending "female diksha gurus", during the ensuing discussion, a sannyasi stated that "feminism is due to the abuse of women".
I responded that "feminism is an ideology" and that "feminism and egalitarianism" are popular ideologies in the West.
Here, from the Wikipedia on 'Feminism':
"The term Feminism can be used to describe a political, cultural or economic movement aimed at establishing more rights and legal protection for women. Feminism involves political and sociological theories and philosophies concerned with issues of gender difference, as well as a movement that advocates more gender-specific rights for women and campaigns for women's rights and interests.[1][2][3][4][5] Although the terms "feminism" and "feminist" did not gain widespread use until the 1970s, they were already being used in the public parlance much earlier; for instance, Katherine Hepburn speaks of the "feminist movement" in the 1942 film Woman of the Year."
and, from the Wikipedia on 'Egalitarianism':
"Egalitarianism (derived from the French word égal, meaning "equal"), has two distinct definitions in modern English.[1] It is defined either as a political doctrine that holds that all people should be treated as equals and have the same political, economic, social, and civil rights[2] or as a social philosophy advocating the removal of economic inequalities among people."
The "Vedic" concept is different from both of these ideologies. The Vedic concept is that everyone has a "svadharma", "his/her own duties", and those duties are divided according to the concept of "varna", or "caste" (which has become a pejorative term) or "category" and "ashrama", or "stage of life".
"Stridharma", the duties of women, are defined separately from the above, in "their own category".
What is the basis of these divisions? The Vedas themselves, the "purusha sukta" and other places, mention the "varnas" and "ashramas". In the Gita, as we both know, Lord Krishna says that he divided the society into "varnas" and "ashramas".
A more detailed study of duty, "dharma", is made in the "dharma shastras" like the Manu Samhita/Smriti. Srila Prabhupada called the "dharma shastras" "the lawbooks for humanity".
Srila Prabhupada wanted his Western disciples to reside for extended periods here in India to "learn Vedic/Vaishnava/Indian culture". Part of that learning is that there is "gender distinction" in daily dealings. This "gender distinction" is "innate" in all Indian languages, beginning with the "mother of all languages", Samskritam, where words (nouns) are ("declined" into) masculine, feminine and neuter.
Here, from the Wikipedia on 'Grammatical Gender':
"Many languages place each noun into one of three gender classes (or simply "genders"): Masculine gender includes most words that refer to males; Feminine gender includes most words that refer to females; Neuter gender includes mostly words that do not refer to males or females"
Sadly, Malati Mataji is ignoring both the teachings of the Vedas and the Gita, and the simple grammar lesson herein above. That doesn't mean that I disrespect her as a person. But what I understand is that she's misleading herself and those in her wider audience.
She's basing her arguments on two points. One, there are some letters that were signed by Srila Prabhupada wherein women are addressed as "prabhu", and two, Prabhupada may (or may not) have addressed some of his early women disciples as "prabhu".
I'm not saying that both aren't possibly true. The explanation however is simple enough. One, in the "very beginning" of Srila Prabhupada's preaching in the West, he may very well have addressed some female disciples as "prabhu".
He knew that in the English language, the nouns themselves are not "declined" according to gender - meaning they don't have suffixes (like in Samskritam) that categorize the nouns themselves as either "masculine, feminine or neuter". Therefore, it may have been that to make things simpler for the "American youth" (at the time), who were speaking a language without "declined nouns", he chose to address both males and females as "prabhu".
Later on, he obviously changed! There are innumerable references where Srila Prabhupada instructs his disciples to address women as "mother", i.e. "mata", "mataji" (Hindi/Bengali).
Malati Mataji's attempt is basically one that wishes to change the (Samskrita) language itself!
"Samskritam" can be translated as "culture", and the Samskrita language and literatures do much to preserve the ancient Vedic culture that Srila Prabhupada desired to propagate.
Rather than attempting to change the meanings of Samskrita words, and thus falling into/adopting "a feministic/egalitarian agenda", we should all -- Malati Mataji included -- try to learn Vedic culture and imbibe it.
Vedic culture is prevalent here in India in many ways, as we all know: food, dress, daily habits of early rising and cleanliness, spiritual sadhana, Deity worship, fire sacrifices, dealings with ones relatives (parents, brothers, cousins -- as seen in the words used in the Gita) etc., etc., etc.
Srila Prabhupada spent most of his time, and money, highlighting India to his disciples. The Mayapur, Vrindavan and Juhu projects, and the amount of time, energy and money Prabhupada spent in his last days promoting these projects are the strongest testimony there is to this!
Malati Mataji's efforts seem to be born of the desire to see ISKCON "go the way" of "Eckankar". [www.eckankar.org], where the "omkaar" has been forgotten, and the "spiritual leader" is "Harold Klemp", in "suit and tie"!
"Eckankar" forgot their "Punjabi Sikh" "roots" [to a great extent] ("ek omkaar" = "one om") and "morphed" into a "totally Western" "outfit". [The Punjabi word "sikh" itself is a mispronunciation of the samskrita "shishya" and so "guru shishya", "teacher and disciple", became "gursikh" in Punjab! In fact, the "Samskrita" (and hence "Vedic") roots of even the Muslim society of the "Pathaans" (of Afghanistan & Pakistan) are on display in the word "pakhtoonwali" ["code of the pashtuns/pathaans"] ("vaalaha" is the Samskritam of "waala", or "one who possesses something", i.e. "rickshawaala", "one who has a ricksaw", etc.)] And so it goes.
Srila Prabhupada wanted "cultural change & revolution"! Food, dress, nomenclature, religious belief, daily habits, etc. -- all of them, he had his disciples change!
One day we will all wake up and realize that our language ought to change as well! Like Israel, where they adopted the ancient language of the Bible as the "national language", Vaishnavas should adopt the "language of Vedic literatures", the "language of the Goswamis", the "language of the acharyas", Samskritam!
The statement "na mlecchati vai", in Patanjali's "Mahaabhaashya" commentary on Panini's "ashtaadhyaayi" (eight chapters describing Samskrita grammar, seen as the "definitive description" of the grammar of Samskritam) means "one should not mispronounce",
Samskrita words! "mleccha" means "inncorrect" and Samskritam, the "fully phonetic" "language of the cities of the devatas/demigods" ("devanaagari") stresses "ucchaaranam", ("pronunciation", the title of a book which HH) Lokanath Swami just published, to help Western devotees who grew up speaking "unphonetic" languages!
Sorry for the length of this message. I hope this helps to clear up the sad misconceptions regarding the Samskrita (masculine) word "prabhu" that are being propagated mistakenly.
Hope this meets you well.
das,
Basu Ghosh das
NA TP Forum
Dear Prabhuji's and Mataji's,
Hare Krishna. Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada. All glories to Sri Guru and Sri Gauranga.
The above, copied from a recent post, is the typical ISKCON style of address commonly used nowadays. However, please note that "Prabhu" is not a substitute or synonym for male or men. It was used by SP interchangeably for both men and women. The current ISKCON fashion seems unaware of instructions from SP where in he requests all his disciples address each other as Prabhu, as opposed to men only. He, in fact, also addressed his female disciples as Prabhu, both in letters and verbally. You will not find any evidence where he used the current termology in addressing his male/ female disciples.
As his followers and representatives, we should be aware of this and try to emulate his example and instructions. At least, we should not bypass his example.
Attached is evidence to substantiate this point which is well known and still followed by senior devotees of both genders.
Thank you. yr servant,
Malati dd
This is from:http://www.iskcon.com/icj/8_1/yamuna.html
So Yamuna says she is not a less intelligent woman and it was ok to leave her husband and consider herself a sannyasisini you be the judge : (Srila Prabhupada did not want divorce) but all glories to her service but philosophically she is of
Srila Prabhupada's Transcendental Sweetness and Beauty
Presentation by Yamuna Devi Dasi
What a week of Vaisnava sadhu-satsanga this has been! I leave the richer, having exchanged with my family members, old and new, Godbrothers, Godsisters, nephews and nieces. While I feel most unqualified to speak to you today, I am honoured and privileged to join my Godsisters in voicing my concerns as a woman in ISKCON.
As the GBC body, all of you are responsible for establishing Srila Prabhupada's legacy, which, in these difficult and turbulent times, is at stake. One realm of that legacy - the rapport Srila Prabhupada established with his Vaisnavi disciples - is the topic of our discussion today, because over the years since his disappearance it has been largely forgotten. Perhaps my personal service and association with him, along with his later guidance and instructions, offer some insights in this area.
As a strong and independent young woman I met Srila Prabhupada in 1966 and took initiation in 1967. Had Srila Prabhupada demanded conformity to orthodox roles for women as a condition of surrender, I, along with many of my Godsisters, would probably not have joined ISKCON. That he did not is testament to his spiritual vision. He lovingly encouraged and engaged us in the service of the sankirtana movement, and he consistently revealed himself to be panditah sama-darsinah - equal to all.
In both men and women, Srila Prabhupada observed our propensities and expertly dovetailed them in his preaching mission. For many years, in different countries and circumstances, I had the good fortune to render personal service to him. He trained me, urged me to accept more and more responsibility, and regularly asked me to lead kirtanas, give classes, arrange programmes, manage departments, provide comforts for visiting devotees, meet with leaders, and actively promulgate Krsna consciousness. In ISKCON India, where previously no women were allowed, he sent me to various temples to learn cooking and Deity worship, and he repeatedly asked me to train others in the same.
It would take much longer than the limited time I have here to give you a glimpse into the numerous exchanges that illustrate Srila Prabhupada's demeanour and mood. However, one such exchange is what I call the Canakya Pandita episodes. I was present on four occasions when Srila Prabhupada repeated the Canakya adage: 'Never trust a woman or a politician.' On each occasion Srila Prabhupada looked me in the eye to see my response. On the last occasion, in Bombay in 1973, he quoted the saying, heartily laughing in front of a small group of men. Then he said: 'What do you think, Yamuna?' Immediately I retorted: 'Of course it is true, Srila Prabhupada,' whereupon he became grave, looked at me with great feeling, and said, 'But you are not a woman, you are a Vaisnava.'
Another series of exchanges centred on leading kirtana. Srila Prabhupada often had me lead the first kirtana before he spoke at a programme, whether in front of twenty people or ten thousand people. There were occasions when I felt uncomfortable with this. At the Jaipur pandal at Radha Govinda temple, I refused to lead kirtana. Srila Prabhupada called me over and said, 'Lead kirtana.' I said, 'I can't. My throat hurts.' He said, 'No. Lead kirtana.' So, croaking like a frog, I led kirtana.
In late 1974, not long after I had left my householder asrama, Srila Prabhupada pronounced it 'good that you have left your husband', and encouraged me to become a 'sannyasini'. Although I was not in the traditional role of being protected by my father, husband or son, in both his personal darsanas and written instructions, Srila Prabhupada offered me unfettered encouragement and astonished me with unexpected answers to my questions.
After settling in Oregon with my Godsister Dinatarine, Srila Prabhupada, while pronouncing us 'independent' to a concerned Godbrother, at the same time twice rebuked us when we approached him to leave. 'You westerners are so restless,' he admonished. 'Why can't you remain in the same place? Stay where you are.' We questioned, 'But Srila Prabhupada, they are saying that if we aren't in ISKCON, we lose your blessings and cannot make advancement.' Prabhupada replied, 'ISKCON is where you are chanting the holy name - that is ISKCON.' We rejoined: 'They are saying we don't have any association here and are therefore in maya.' He replied: 'Association can be two or two hundred. If you are two and compatible, you can become perfect in Krsna consciousness. If you are 200 and are not, then no one will make advancement.'
To conclude, Srila Prabhupada trained me to be concerned about his movement, and at this time I am deeply concerned. Now more than ever, it is time to revive and imbibe Srila Prabhupada's mood with his disciples. If we neglect this, an aspect of his greatness will remain unknown to future generations.
I appeal to the GBC that along with the laudable projects you are managing and those you are contemplating - especially the magnificent temple that will arise here in Sridhama Mayapura - consider that the behaviour of the ISKCON devotees who participate in these projects must also be magnificent. Any other behaviour will make the projects less than worthy of Srila Prabhupada's name. This grave responsibility falls on you. In other words, let us instil in every person who comes into contact with Srila Prabhupada's movement the healthy spiritual relationships that he had with his followers - his mood of encouragement, protection and kindness.
The closer we come to individually appreciating and honouring Srila Prabhupada's personal dealings with his disciples, the closer we will come to his sense of completeness in Krsna consciousness, to his joyfulness, to his transcendentally attractive nature.
With great care, our service is to create a devotional environment where men, women and children can thrive in Krsna consciousness, rendering service according to their desire and inclination. Our service is to empower rather than inhibit the service propensity in others.
Finally, let us search our intelligence and hearts for ways to help the women who are sincerely looking for spiritual life. Without properly nurturing them, we as a society have no future. Women in Krsna consciousness are an intricate, essential part of Srila Prabhupada's legacy. In our effort to move forward, let us not put Srila Prabhupada's example behind us, but in front of us - our divine beacon - to guide us together towards the lotus feet of Sri Sri Gaura-Nitai and Sri Sri Radha-Krsn
Please accept my humble obaisences
All glories to Srila Prabhupada
Malati is a lady GBC and dresses like a sannyasi too, what is this Kirtananandas mayavadi influence that women like Malati still thinks themselves a sannyasi though in a female body.The GBC should not make any females GBC otherwise there will be so much trouble.
your servant
Payonidhi das
PS The GBC is to blame for making her a "female sannyasi" GBC ...so many deviations ,she thinks she is a Prabhu and more than a Prabhu, it is all pratistha and not vedic..GBC endorsed...She had lots of Prabhupadas association but she is not an advanced devotee
Letter to a Godsister
BY: BASU GHOSH DAS (ACBSP)
Nov 18, BARODA, INDIA (SUN) —
Subject: It was brought to my attention
By a godsister...
Home Base: ISKCON-Baroda
Respected Mataji, Namonamaha. Jaya Srila Prabhupada! Received your message:
> Did you read this Basu Ghosh Prabhu?
Well, now I did! ;-) Of course, I'm aware that Malati Mataji is "pushing this line of thinking". Sadly, she and others, Vishakha, et. al, have "bought into" both "feminism" and "egalitarianism", which are ideologies.
In fact, at the recently concluded IRGB meeting at Puri, where a paper was presented "refuting" the GBC SAC's (SAC = "Shastra advisory committee") paper recommending "female diksha gurus", during the ensuing discussion, a sannyasi stated that "feminism is due to the abuse of women".
I responded that "feminism is an ideology" and that "feminism and egalitarianism" are popular ideologies in the West.
Here, from the Wikipedia on 'Feminism':
"The term Feminism can be used to describe a political, cultural or economic movement aimed at establishing more rights and legal protection for women. Feminism involves political and sociological theories and philosophies concerned with issues of gender difference, as well as a movement that advocates more gender-specific rights for women and campaigns for women's rights and interests.[1][2][3][4][5] Although the terms "feminism" and "feminist" did not gain widespread use until the 1970s, they were already being used in the public parlance much earlier; for instance, Katherine Hepburn speaks of the "feminist movement" in the 1942 film Woman of the Year."
and, from the Wikipedia on 'Egalitarianism':
"Egalitarianism (derived from the French word égal, meaning "equal"), has two distinct definitions in modern English.[1] It is defined either as a political doctrine that holds that all people should be treated as equals and have the same political, economic, social, and civil rights[2] or as a social philosophy advocating the removal of economic inequalities among people."
The "Vedic" concept is different from both of these ideologies. The Vedic concept is that everyone has a "svadharma", "his/her own duties", and those duties are divided according to the concept of "varna", or "caste" (which has become a pejorative term) or "category" and "ashrama", or "stage of life".
"Stridharma", the duties of women, are defined separately from the above, in "their own category".
What is the basis of these divisions? The Vedas themselves, the "purusha sukta" and other places, mention the "varnas" and "ashramas". In the Gita, as we both know, Lord Krishna says that he divided the society into "varnas" and "ashramas".
A more detailed study of duty, "dharma", is made in the "dharma shastras" like the Manu Samhita/Smriti. Srila Prabhupada called the "dharma shastras" "the lawbooks for humanity".
Srila Prabhupada wanted his Western disciples to reside for extended periods here in India to "learn Vedic/Vaishnava/Indian culture". Part of that learning is that there is "gender distinction" in daily dealings. This "gender distinction" is "innate" in all Indian languages, beginning with the "mother of all languages", Samskritam, where words (nouns) are ("declined" into) masculine, feminine and neuter.
Here, from the Wikipedia on 'Grammatical Gender':
"Many languages place each noun into one of three gender classes (or simply "genders"): Masculine gender includes most words that refer to males; Feminine gender includes most words that refer to females; Neuter gender includes mostly words that do not refer to males or females"
Sadly, Malati Mataji is ignoring both the teachings of the Vedas and the Gita, and the simple grammar lesson herein above. That doesn't mean that I disrespect her as a person. But what I understand is that she's misleading herself and those in her wider audience.
She's basing her arguments on two points. One, there are some letters that were signed by Srila Prabhupada wherein women are addressed as "prabhu", and two, Prabhupada may (or may not) have addressed some of his early women disciples as "prabhu".
I'm not saying that both aren't possibly true. The explanation however is simple enough. One, in the "very beginning" of Srila Prabhupada's preaching in the West, he may very well have addressed some female disciples as "prabhu".
He knew that in the English language, the nouns themselves are not "declined" according to gender - meaning they don't have suffixes (like in Samskritam) that categorize the nouns themselves as either "masculine, feminine or neuter". Therefore, it may have been that to make things simpler for the "American youth" (at the time), who were speaking a language without "declined nouns", he chose to address both males and females as "prabhu".
Later on, he obviously changed! There are innumerable references where Srila Prabhupada instructs his disciples to address women as "mother", i.e. "mata", "mataji" (Hindi/Bengali).
Malati Mataji's attempt is basically one that wishes to change the (Samskrita) language itself!
"Samskritam" can be translated as "culture", and the Samskrita language and literatures do much to preserve the ancient Vedic culture that Srila Prabhupada desired to propagate.
Rather than attempting to change the meanings of Samskrita words, and thus falling into/adopting "a feministic/egalitarian agenda", we should all -- Malati Mataji included -- try to learn Vedic culture and imbibe it.
Vedic culture is prevalent here in India in many ways, as we all know: food, dress, daily habits of early rising and cleanliness, spiritual sadhana, Deity worship, fire sacrifices, dealings with ones relatives (parents, brothers, cousins -- as seen in the words used in the Gita) etc., etc., etc.
Srila Prabhupada spent most of his time, and money, highlighting India to his disciples. The Mayapur, Vrindavan and Juhu projects, and the amount of time, energy and money Prabhupada spent in his last days promoting these projects are the strongest testimony there is to this!
Malati Mataji's efforts seem to be born of the desire to see ISKCON "go the way" of "Eckankar". [www.eckankar.org], where the "omkaar" has been forgotten, and the "spiritual leader" is "Harold Klemp", in "suit and tie"!
"Eckankar" forgot their "Punjabi Sikh" "roots" [to a great extent] ("ek omkaar" = "one om") and "morphed" into a "totally Western" "outfit". [The Punjabi word "sikh" itself is a mispronunciation of the samskrita "shishya" and so "guru shishya", "teacher and disciple", became "gursikh" in Punjab! In fact, the "Samskrita" (and hence "Vedic") roots of even the Muslim society of the "Pathaans" (of Afghanistan & Pakistan) are on display in the word "pakhtoonwali" ["code of the pashtuns/pathaans"] ("vaalaha" is the Samskritam of "waala", or "one who possesses something", i.e. "rickshawaala", "one who has a ricksaw", etc.)] And so it goes.
Srila Prabhupada wanted "cultural change & revolution"! Food, dress, nomenclature, religious belief, daily habits, etc. -- all of them, he had his disciples change!
One day we will all wake up and realize that our language ought to change as well! Like Israel, where they adopted the ancient language of the Bible as the "national language", Vaishnavas should adopt the "language of Vedic literatures", the "language of the Goswamis", the "language of the acharyas", Samskritam!
The statement "na mlecchati vai", in Patanjali's "Mahaabhaashya" commentary on Panini's "ashtaadhyaayi" (eight chapters describing Samskrita grammar, seen as the "definitive description" of the grammar of Samskritam) means "one should not mispronounce",
Samskrita words! "mleccha" means "inncorrect" and Samskritam, the "fully phonetic" "language of the cities of the devatas/demigods" ("devanaagari") stresses "ucchaaranam", ("pronunciation", the title of a book which HH) Lokanath Swami just published, to help Western devotees who grew up speaking "unphonetic" languages!
Sorry for the length of this message. I hope this helps to clear up the sad misconceptions regarding the Samskrita (masculine) word "prabhu" that are being propagated mistakenly.
Hope this meets you well.
das,
Basu Ghosh das
NA TP Forum
Dear Prabhuji's and Mataji's,
Hare Krishna. Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada. All glories to Sri Guru and Sri Gauranga.
The above, copied from a recent post, is the typical ISKCON style of address commonly used nowadays. However, please note that "Prabhu" is not a substitute or synonym for male or men. It was used by SP interchangeably for both men and women. The current ISKCON fashion seems unaware of instructions from SP where in he requests all his disciples address each other as Prabhu, as opposed to men only. He, in fact, also addressed his female disciples as Prabhu, both in letters and verbally. You will not find any evidence where he used the current termology in addressing his male/ female disciples.
As his followers and representatives, we should be aware of this and try to emulate his example and instructions. At least, we should not bypass his example.
Attached is evidence to substantiate this point which is well known and still followed by senior devotees of both genders.
Thank you. yr servant,
Malati dd
This is from:http://www.iskcon.com/icj/8_1/yamuna.html
So Yamuna says she is not a less intelligent woman and it was ok to leave her husband and consider herself a sannyasisini you be the judge : (Srila Prabhupada did not want divorce) but all glories to her service but philosophically she is of
Srila Prabhupada's Transcendental Sweetness and Beauty
Presentation by Yamuna Devi Dasi
What a week of Vaisnava sadhu-satsanga this has been! I leave the richer, having exchanged with my family members, old and new, Godbrothers, Godsisters, nephews and nieces. While I feel most unqualified to speak to you today, I am honoured and privileged to join my Godsisters in voicing my concerns as a woman in ISKCON.
As the GBC body, all of you are responsible for establishing Srila Prabhupada's legacy, which, in these difficult and turbulent times, is at stake. One realm of that legacy - the rapport Srila Prabhupada established with his Vaisnavi disciples - is the topic of our discussion today, because over the years since his disappearance it has been largely forgotten. Perhaps my personal service and association with him, along with his later guidance and instructions, offer some insights in this area.
As a strong and independent young woman I met Srila Prabhupada in 1966 and took initiation in 1967. Had Srila Prabhupada demanded conformity to orthodox roles for women as a condition of surrender, I, along with many of my Godsisters, would probably not have joined ISKCON. That he did not is testament to his spiritual vision. He lovingly encouraged and engaged us in the service of the sankirtana movement, and he consistently revealed himself to be panditah sama-darsinah - equal to all.
In both men and women, Srila Prabhupada observed our propensities and expertly dovetailed them in his preaching mission. For many years, in different countries and circumstances, I had the good fortune to render personal service to him. He trained me, urged me to accept more and more responsibility, and regularly asked me to lead kirtanas, give classes, arrange programmes, manage departments, provide comforts for visiting devotees, meet with leaders, and actively promulgate Krsna consciousness. In ISKCON India, where previously no women were allowed, he sent me to various temples to learn cooking and Deity worship, and he repeatedly asked me to train others in the same.
It would take much longer than the limited time I have here to give you a glimpse into the numerous exchanges that illustrate Srila Prabhupada's demeanour and mood. However, one such exchange is what I call the Canakya Pandita episodes. I was present on four occasions when Srila Prabhupada repeated the Canakya adage: 'Never trust a woman or a politician.' On each occasion Srila Prabhupada looked me in the eye to see my response. On the last occasion, in Bombay in 1973, he quoted the saying, heartily laughing in front of a small group of men. Then he said: 'What do you think, Yamuna?' Immediately I retorted: 'Of course it is true, Srila Prabhupada,' whereupon he became grave, looked at me with great feeling, and said, 'But you are not a woman, you are a Vaisnava.'
Another series of exchanges centred on leading kirtana. Srila Prabhupada often had me lead the first kirtana before he spoke at a programme, whether in front of twenty people or ten thousand people. There were occasions when I felt uncomfortable with this. At the Jaipur pandal at Radha Govinda temple, I refused to lead kirtana. Srila Prabhupada called me over and said, 'Lead kirtana.' I said, 'I can't. My throat hurts.' He said, 'No. Lead kirtana.' So, croaking like a frog, I led kirtana.
In late 1974, not long after I had left my householder asrama, Srila Prabhupada pronounced it 'good that you have left your husband', and encouraged me to become a 'sannyasini'. Although I was not in the traditional role of being protected by my father, husband or son, in both his personal darsanas and written instructions, Srila Prabhupada offered me unfettered encouragement and astonished me with unexpected answers to my questions.
After settling in Oregon with my Godsister Dinatarine, Srila Prabhupada, while pronouncing us 'independent' to a concerned Godbrother, at the same time twice rebuked us when we approached him to leave. 'You westerners are so restless,' he admonished. 'Why can't you remain in the same place? Stay where you are.' We questioned, 'But Srila Prabhupada, they are saying that if we aren't in ISKCON, we lose your blessings and cannot make advancement.' Prabhupada replied, 'ISKCON is where you are chanting the holy name - that is ISKCON.' We rejoined: 'They are saying we don't have any association here and are therefore in maya.' He replied: 'Association can be two or two hundred. If you are two and compatible, you can become perfect in Krsna consciousness. If you are 200 and are not, then no one will make advancement.'
To conclude, Srila Prabhupada trained me to be concerned about his movement, and at this time I am deeply concerned. Now more than ever, it is time to revive and imbibe Srila Prabhupada's mood with his disciples. If we neglect this, an aspect of his greatness will remain unknown to future generations.
I appeal to the GBC that along with the laudable projects you are managing and those you are contemplating - especially the magnificent temple that will arise here in Sridhama Mayapura - consider that the behaviour of the ISKCON devotees who participate in these projects must also be magnificent. Any other behaviour will make the projects less than worthy of Srila Prabhupada's name. This grave responsibility falls on you. In other words, let us instil in every person who comes into contact with Srila Prabhupada's movement the healthy spiritual relationships that he had with his followers - his mood of encouragement, protection and kindness.
The closer we come to individually appreciating and honouring Srila Prabhupada's personal dealings with his disciples, the closer we will come to his sense of completeness in Krsna consciousness, to his joyfulness, to his transcendentally attractive nature.
With great care, our service is to create a devotional environment where men, women and children can thrive in Krsna consciousness, rendering service according to their desire and inclination. Our service is to empower rather than inhibit the service propensity in others.
Finally, let us search our intelligence and hearts for ways to help the women who are sincerely looking for spiritual life. Without properly nurturing them, we as a society have no future. Women in Krsna consciousness are an intricate, essential part of Srila Prabhupada's legacy. In our effort to move forward, let us not put Srila Prabhupada's example behind us, but in front of us - our divine beacon - to guide us together towards the lotus feet of Sri Sri Gaura-Nitai and Sri Sri Radha-Krsn
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Comment by Paramananda das on November 19, 2009 at 2:54pm
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Yamuna and Malati has love for Srila Prabhupada and he liked them so I persoanlly overlook their faults in this but it should be known philosofically they are of
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these early disciples would have set a good example by staying married , in this they have failed Srila Prabhupada
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having seen Yamuna and Malati glorify Srila Prabhupada all week in ISKCON London I personally see their good sides
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