Female Guru Paper FINAL

8/14/2019 Female Guru Paper FINAL

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Female Dk-gurus in ISKCON

A paper by the stric Advisory Council (SAC)

Members participating in the authorship of this paper: HH Suhotra

Svm!" #opipar$adhana %sa" %ruta&arm %sa" Mu&unda %atta%sa" 'r$acandra %sa" %evmta %sa

Introduction

*n the +,thof September -../" the Sastric Advisory Council (SAC)received a re0uest from the 12ecutive Committee (1C) of the #3Cre0uesting it to research the philosophical topic of possible futurefemale dk-gurusin 4S5C*6:

78e are a9are that the possibility of devotees 9anting ladies to

become gurusin 4S5C*6 is there" but so far no one has addressed thematter of ho9 correct or appropriate it may be in terms of r!la'rabhupdas statements" stra" the statements of previous cryas"or historical considerations 6o9 that ;rmils name has beenproposed as a guru9ithin 4S5C*6 it has brought the subai?$avas raised in 3hrata 9here one might 0uestion the propriety offemale devotees as gurusdue to cultural bac&ground


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SAC members decided to proceed by trying to gather evidence in thefollo9ing categories: (+) statements by r!la 'rabhupda (-)statements by other #au!ya >ai?$ava cryas(/) statements byother >ai?$ava cryas (B) statements from >ai?$ava smtisand ()

historical e2amples

8e also decided to broaden our vie9 and assist the #3C in theirdiscussions on cultural impact by conducting a limited survey ofleaders of #au!ya and other >ai?$ava sampradyasD Ehat 9ill bepresented separately 8e began our discussions on the Fth of May-..B Ehe results are found belo9

Negative Evidence(SAC comments in italics G essential points inbold italics)

1 Hari-bhakti-vilsa!11"#$% 0uotes from the Viu Pura(/+-/.) (regarding ho9 a ghasthashould 9or& in this 9orld):

yoito nvamanyeta na cs vivased budha na caiverur bhavet tsu ndhikuryt kadcana

7A 9ise man should never insult 9omen" nor should he trust them Heshould never become


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slaves Ehe demons have no9 neglected such in


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eighteen years or t9enty years" she becomes immediately victim Soaba'eva.1ven the 9oman is higher in age" still" she cannot protect!herefore woman re"uires protection. #oman re"uiresprotection.$ccording to %edic culture, woman has noindependence, because they cannot keep their independence.

4t is not possible A si2teenIyearIold boy can go safely all over the9orld" but a si2teenIyear girl cannot Ehat is not possible=

(* *ema'e devotees are to assume the ro'e o* spiritua' master, then thatro'e )ou'd be e8ecuted di**erent'y than a sannys!because )omenre4uire protection. /r'a Prabhupda continues9

73y nature" they are 9ea& So they re0uire protection And until shereaches youthIhood" she is protected by the father As soon as shereaches youthhood" she is given to a young man" her husband" to giveprotection And in old age" she is protected by the elderly sons Ehis is

the >edic culture Ehey have three phases of life: childhood" youthIhood" and old age 3ecause they are 9ea& n the #esterncountries, the women are given freedom like man, but that isunnatural. &nnatural.Eherefore these poor souls are beinge2ploited by the other section 4t is a great deficiency of the 8esternsociology 3ut the >edic culture is different from this 8oman is notgiven independence= (3hg ++-. lecture /. 6ovember +,/" A)

(* )omen accept the ro'e o* spiritua' master they shou'd not considerthat they )i'' be socia''y independent.

7Actually" %hruva Mahr


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1vyambhuva anu )ith ?hruva. &his pastime o* ?hruva )as enactedduring 1vyambhuva anu"s reign ;[email protected].

.ositive Evidence(SAC comments in italics G essential points inbold italics)

1 Hari-bhakti-vilsa!1"*11 0uotes from 2u'rava-tantra(+,):

svapna-'abdhe striy datte m'-mantre ca try-akare ekkare tath mantre siddhdn naiva odhayet

7*ne should not test a mantraattained in a dream" a mantragiven/( a )oman" a m'-mantraNmantraover -. syllablesO or mantrasofone or three syllables for siddha and so on= N6ote: Ehis is in

connection 9ith a discussion on ho9 to test the effect of mantrasbyvarious means Ehe author 9rites about mantrasnot needing testing"later stating that ka-mantrasare e2empt from testingO

&his verse points to the *act that, in the past, )omen sometimes gavemantras+ne cou'd then assume that )omen, on occasion, had actedas d!&?Igurus

*7 want that all of my spiritual sons and daughters willinherit this title of haktivednta" so that the familytranscendental diploma 9ill continue through the generations !hose

possessing the title of haktivednta will be allowed to initiatedisciples.Maybe by +," all of my disciples 9ill be allo9ed to initiateand increase the numbers of the generations Ehat is my program=(etter to HaPsadtaQos Angeles / %ecember" +JF)

/r'a Prabhupda"s statement is genera', but it does inc'ude *ema'ediscip'es. nd it is spoken in re*erence to (123+$.

+ 7Eherefore" 9e have begun 7hagavad-gt s (t (s.%ont try tobecome over spiritual master Ehen youll spoil Remain al9ays aservant of your spiritual master and present the thing as you have

heard ouTll be spiritual master Ehis is secret ou should &no9 it%onTt try to become overIintelligent Ehat 9ill spoil Bva parampar-prptam ima rCarayo viduN3g B-O So Caitanya Mahprabhusays" mra CDya guru haD tra ei deaEyre dekha, tre kaha,FkaF-upadeaNCc adhya,+-FO Lust see 4t is very nice ouTll findin 3aitanya-caritmta,no9 it is published Caitanya Mahprabhu saysQHe is the Supreme ord" 5?$aQHe says" mra CDya.U8hatever 4say" mra CDya,by My order" you become a spiritual master


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Caitanya Mahprabhu So one may be very illiterate" no education" orno scholarship" may not be born in brahmaafamily" or may not be asannys.Ehere are so many 0ualification 3ut one may not have allthese 0ualifications He may be rascal number one" but still" he canbecome spiritual master Ho9VGmra CDya.As 5?$a says" as

Caitanya Mahprabhu says" if you follo9" then you become spiritualmaster *ne may be rascal number one from material estimation" but ifhe simply strictly follo9s 9hatever is said by Caitanya Mahprabhu orHis representative spiritual master" then he becomes a guru.

7So it is not very difficult *ne may not thin& that U4 am not 0ualified tobecome guru. 6o" you are 0ualified if you follo9 strictly theparamparsystem Ehen you are 0ualified EhatTs allGmra CDyaguru haD...And 9hat is the difficultyV Caitanya Mahprabhu says"U%onTt feel any difficulty 3ecause as spiritual master" 9hat you haveto doV Hre dekha, tre kaha, FkaF-upadeaNCc adhya,+-FO

8homever you meet" you simply spea& to him the instruction 9hich5?$a gives 8hat 5?$a instruction givesV Ehat is also very easy8hat is thatV 5?$a says man-man bhava mad-bhakto mad-yC mnamaskuruN3g +FJO 5?$a says ULust become My devotee" al9aysthin& of Me" offer Me obeisances" and 9orship Me So here is 5?$a 4fyou simply thin& UHere is 5?$a" RdhI5?$a %eity" you may be foolnumber" rascal number one Ehat doesnTt matter 3ut you are gettingimpression of this RdhI5?$a" thin& of Him: U*h" ho9 nicely 5?$a isdecorated Ehis much 6o erudite scholarship Simply 5?$a says"man-man bhava mad-bhakto.Here is %eity 8orship Him nicely as itis regulated principle 1ven you are not 9orshiping" simply thin& of

5?$a" UHere is RdhI5?$a 4mpression 8hat is the difficultyV Assoon as you see RdhI5?$a" you get some impression Ehin& of thatimpression 8here is the difficultyV an-man bhava mad-bhakto.U8orship me 4f you have got opportunity" 9orship 4f you are initiated"9orship here *r you install %eity at homeW 'ractical an-manbhava mad-bhakto mad-yC m namaskuruN3g +FJO And if youcannot do anything" simply come and offer your obeisances: UMy dearord 5?$a" 4 am so poor" so unfortunate" 4 cannot do all these things"but 4 offer my humble obeisances unto our lotus feet Ehat muchalso 4f you do this" you become spiritual master

7So" simply by accepting this principle" and even if you are not learned"illiterate" you are hearing so much from 7hagavad-gt,you simplyrepeat that Simply repeat that Ehere is no 0uestion of becoming verylearned scholar #od has given you this ear 1ven if you are blind" youcannot read" you can hear So ka-upadea,9hat is 5?$aV Ehis iska-upadea.And at last" 5?$a says" sarva-dharmn parityaCyamm eka araa vraCaN3g +FJJO So if you simply preach this cult"


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UMy dear friend" my dear brother" you surrender to 5?$a" you becomespiritual master ou become spiritual masterW

74mmediately" touch his feet 4mmediately" even if heTs enemy" heTll bea friend 1ven if heTs your enemy" it is so nice process Ea&e a grass on

your mouth and immediately fall on his feet" padayor nipetya" and 9ithfolded hands" much flatteringW All flattering 9ordsha bravmi.Soimmediately he 9ill agree" Ues" 9hat you say 4Tll hear 4Tll hear4mmediately" convert to hear you at least Lust see ho9 perfect processis UEhen 9hat is your purpose" sirV 8hy you are becoming so humble"mee&V 7And no9 say= Ues sir" 4Tll say 8hat is thatV :e sdhava,Uou are a great sdhu. Although he may be rascal number one Still"you call him" he sdhava.Ues" 4 am sdhu,yes 8hat is yourproposalV U6o9 &indly forget all nonsense" 9hatever you have learnedEhatTs all 4 am flattering you because 4 9ant that you forgeteverything" all theseyogsand this and that and that and meditation

'lease &ic& out all these UEhen 9hat 4 have to doV 3aitanya-candra-carae kurutnurgam.Lust adhere yourself to the lotus feet of ordCaitanya Mahprabhu Ehen you become spiritual master EhatTs all=

7So I &o'e t&at all o0 (ou men )omen /o(s and girls /ecomes'iritualmaster" and follo9 this principle Spiritual master" simply" sincerely"follo9 the principles and spea& to the general public Ehen 5?$aimmediately becomes your favorite 5?$a does not become yourfavoriteD youbecome 5?$aTs favorite 5?$a says in the 7hagavad-gt,na ca

tasmdmanuyeu kacin me priya-kttama9U*ne 9ho is doing this humbleservice ofpreaching 9or&" 5?$a consciousness" nobody is dearer than him toMe So ifyou 9ant to become recogniXed by 5?$a very 0uic&ly" you ta&e upthisprocess of becoming spiritual master" present the 7hagavad-gtas itisour life is perfect Ehan& you very much=

(>ysaIp


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, 2oman3Svm!

syu pp-yonaya I striyo !drs tath vaiy.Ehe first ismentioned" striya. 1triya !drs tath vaiy.Ehese classes areunderstood to be less intelligentQ9oman" !dra,and the vaiyas.3ut5?$a says" 76o" even for them it is open= 3ecause in the spiritualplatform there is no such distinction" man" 9oman" or blac&" 9hite" orbig or small 6o 1veryone is spirit soul PaJit sama-darinaN3g+FO Vidy-vinaya-sampanne brhmae gavi hastini uni caiva va-pke ca paJitN3g +FO" one 9ho is actually learned" he is sama-darina.He does not ma&e any distinction 3ut so far our materialbody is concerned" there must be some distinction for &eeping thesociety in order

2oman3Ehe 9omen could becomepaJitas,then

.ra/&u'da3*h" yes &e "pi ynti par gatim.6ot only come" shecan also attain perfection Ehere is no such restriction 5?$a said

2oman3%o you have anypaJitasin the 8estern movementV

.ra/&u'da3Ehere are so many 8estern 9oman" girls" in our societyEhey are chanting" dancing" ta&ing to 5?$a consciousness *f course"because superficially" bodily" there is some distinction" so 9e &eep

9omen separately from men" thats all *ther9ise" the rights are thesame

.ro0" O4Connell34s it possible" Svm!


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Indian man38ell" to understand 5?$a consciousness" do you notre0uire adhikraV

.ra/&u'da3dhikrameans he must agree to understand Ehat is

adhikra.3ut 9e do not agree Ehat is our fault (4ntervie9 9ith'rofessors *TConnell" Motilal and ShivaramQLune +F" +,J" Eoronto)

/r'a Prabhupda direct'y addresses the issue o* a )oman"s4ua'i*ication to be guru"and he says that i* she meets the standard4ua'i*ication mentioned in the stra, then she is 4ua'i*ied. Prabhupdaspeci*ica''y says that #he or she% can become gurui* they meet thestandard 4ua'i*ication. &here is no mention o* any specia' 4ua'i*ication*or )omen. &here is mention, ho)ever, that a'though men and )omenare e4ua' according to spiritua' identity, )omen may not be a''o)ed toassociate )ith men in the temp'e. 'though as spirit sou's they may be

4ua'i*ied, sti'', because o* the bodi'y di**erence, there is someseparation.

:e adds, #not so many.% &hat cou'd be because o* t)o reasons9 ;=> the4ua'i*ication *or men and )omen is the same K)hich is c'ear'y statedL,but not so many )omen as men can attain that 4ua'i*ication, or ;M>)omen and men can both attain the 4ua'i*ication in *air'y evennumbers, but there are other *actors that cause )omen to becomegurusin 'esser numbers. Bither )ay, there is no higher 'eve' o*4ua'i*ication re4uired *or )omen as compared to men.

1omeone may argue that here /r'a Prabhupda is conversing )ithsecu'ar scho'ars and is thus speaking some)hat dip'omatica''y topaci*y them. 7ut that )as not his habit. :e spoke the truth to)homever he metNscho'ars, scientists or reporters. (n terms o*)omenFs issues particu'ar'y, he )as very direct and had no *ear o*pub'ic opinion, as can be seen in his many conversations.(t shou'd a'sobe mentioned that t)o (ndian pro*essors )ere present during thisconversation. &here*ore it cou'd be conc'uded that /r'a Prabhupda)as not considering a di**erent approach among (ndians.

Oina''y, in this conversation, Prabhupda a'so provides a stric

re*erence and emp'oys systematic reasoning )ith a 'ogica' ana'ogy tosupport his statement. &here*ore this statement shou'd be accepted assigni*icant evidence.

.ra/&u'da3So a craXy manTs statement is not accepted ChildTsstatement" craXy manTs statement" unauthoriXed personTs statement"blind manTs statement" 9e cannot accept


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5tre(a 6i3A 9omanTs statementV

.ra/&u'da3HuhV

5tre(a 6i3A 9omanTsW

.ra/&u'da34f a 9oman is perfect in 5?$a consciousnessW Lust li&eLhnav %ev!"ord 6itynandaTs 9ife" she 9as crya.She 9as crya.She 9ascontrolling the 9hole >ai?$ava community

5tre(a 6i3ord 6itynandaV

.ra/&u'da38ife Lhnav %ev! She 9as controlling the 9hole#au!ya >ai?$ava community

5tre(a 6i3%o you have references about that in any of your boo&s"r!la 'rabhupdaV

.ra/&u'da34 donTt thin& 3ut there are many cryas.Maybesome9here 4 might have mentioned 4t is not that 9oman cannot becrya.#enerally" they do not become 4n very special case 3utLhnav %ev! 9as accepted as" but she did not declare

5omen can be cryas"but it is rareNon'y in specia' cases. +nemeaning o* this statement cou'd be that not many )omen have been4ua'i*ied to become an cryanother may be that even though

many )omen )ere 4ua'i*ied, sti'' very *e) have assumed the serviceo* initiating discip'es *or other reasons, e.g. socia' reasons. (n conte8t,the comment, #7ut there are many cryas% indicates that there )eremany *ema'e gurus&he conversation continues.

5tre(a 6i38omen todayW" there is a very popular topic amongst9omen Ehey spea& of liberation And their desire to be liberated issane" but they do not understand And they ob


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1ven cats and dogs" they have got the same spirit soul So a learnedscholar 9ill see from the spiritual platform Ehen there is e0uality(Room Conversation: - Lune +,- San %iego)

B4ua'ity is based on the sou' being e4ua'. &hat is the spiritua' p'at*orm.

:ere Prabhupda repeats the idea that there is no di**erence bet)eengenders or even bet)een di**erent species )hen one is above thebodi'y concept.

7kib vipra, kib nys(, 12dra kene naya 3 yei k/0a-tattva-vett, sei 4guru+ haya

78hether one is a brhmaa,a sannysor a !draQregardless of9hat he isQhe can become a spiritual master if he &no9s the scienceof 5?$a= N3aitanya-caritmtaadhyaF+-FO

';R'*RE

7Ehis verse is very important to the 5?$a consciousness movement4n hismta-pravha-bhya,r!la 3ha&tivinoda Yh&ura e2plainsthat one should not thin& that because r! Caitanya Mahprabhu 9asborn a brhmaaand 9as situated in the topmost spiritual order as asannys,it 9as improper for Him to receive instructions from r!laRmnanda Rya" 9ho belonged to the !dracaste Eo clarify thismatter" r! Caitanya Mahprabhu informed Rmnanda Rya that&no9ledge of 5?$a consciousness is more important than caste 4nthe system of varrama-dharmathere are various duties for thebrhmaas, katriyas, vaiyasand !dras.Actually the brhmaais

supposed to be the spiritual master of all other varas,or classes" butas far as /0a consciousness is concerned, everyone iscapable of becoming a spiritual master because knowledge in/0a consciousness is on the platform of the spirit soul.Eospread 5?$a consciousness" one need only be cogniXant of thescience of the spirit soul 4t does not matter 9hether one is abrhmaa, katriya, vaiya, !dra, sannys, ghasthaor 9hatever fone simply understands this science, he can become a spiritualmaster.

74t is stated in the :ari-bhakti-vi'sathat one should not accept

initiation from a person 9ho is not in the brahminical order if there is afit person in the brahminical order present Ehis instruction is meantfor those 9ho are overly dependent on the mundane social order andis suitable for those 9ho 9ant to remain in mundane lifef one understands the truth of /0a consciousness andseriously desires to attain transcendental knowledge for theperfection of life, he can accept a spiritual master from anysocial status, provided the spiritual master is fully conversant


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with the science of /0a.r!la 3ha&tisiddhnta Sarasvat!Yh&ura also states that although one is situated as a brhmaa,katriya, vaiya, !dra, brahmacr, vnaprastha, ghasthaorsannys,if he is conversant in the science of 5?$a he can become aspiritual master as vartma-pradaraka-guru, dk-guruor ik-guru.

Ehe spiritual master 9ho first gives information about spiritual life iscalled the vartma-pradaraka-guru,the spiritual master 9ho initiatesaccording to the regulations of the strasis called the dk-guru,and the spiritual master 9ho gives instructions for elevation is calledthe ik-guru.5actually the "ualifications of a spiritual masterdepend on his knowledge of the science of /0a. t does notmatter whether he is a /r&ma8a katri(a sann(s or 9:dra"

74f one becomes a guru,he is automatically a brhmaa.Sometimes acaste gurusays thatye ka-tattva-vett, sei guru hayameans thatone 9ho is not a brhmaamay become a ik-guruor a vartma-

pradaraka-gurubut not an initiator guru.According to such castegurus,birth and family ties are considered foremost Ho9ever" thehereditary consideration is not acceptable to >ai?$avas !he wordguru is e"ually applicable to the vartma-pradar1aka-guru,1ik/-guru and d(k/-guru.;nless 9e accept the principleenunciated by r! Caitanya Mahprabhu" this 5?$a consciousnessmovement cannot spread all over the 9orld= N3aitanya-caritmtaadhyaF+-F verse Z purportO

&his is on'y one o* many p'aces )herein /r'a Prabhupda presentsthe proper vision o* our phi'osophy on the topic o* e'igibi'ity to become

a Vaiava guru:there cannot be p'aced any materia' prohibition onthe post o* guruNit is transcendenta' being based on one"s devotion.(n his purport he *ocuses on varnaKramaconsiderations, but he 4uotedthis verse in his conversation )ith Pro*. +"3onne'', indicating thatgender is a'so a consideration to be discarded in Cudging a guruse'igibi'ity.

/r'a Prabhupda a'so e8p'ains that there are instructions in Vaiava'iterature *or those )ho are over'y dependent on mundane socia'order. 7ut there are higher 'eve' instructions *or those )ith a deeperunderstanding9 #Ehe can accept a spiritua' master *rom any socia'

status, provided the spiritua' master is *u''y conversant )ith thescience o* 2a.% :e speci*ica''y states that this princip'e app'ies toa'' gurusinc'uding d!&?Igurus

# Devotee3Can 9omen become guruV

;"


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6itynanda 'rabhu" she began e2tensively this spiritual movementAnd there are many others

Devotee3Must you be in the renounced order of lifeV

;"


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policies Ehis is not a criticism of 9omen but a practical study of theirnature=

5omen on the bodi'y p'at*orm are se'*ish and shou'd there*ore beprotected not on'y *rom 'usty ma'e predators but *rom their o)n 'o)er

natures as )e''. &his is c'ear. &he rest o* the purport be'o), ho)ever,makes an important distinction.

7Such natural instincts of a 9oman or a man are manifested only in thebodily conception of life 8hen either a man or a 9oman is advancedin spiritual consciousness" the bodily conception of life practicallyvanishes=

(7hg.J+FB- purport)

5hen the bodi'y concept o* 'i*e vanishes, the materia' 4ua'ities o*one"s 'o)er nature are transcended. &he conc'usion must be,

there*ore, that i* a *ema'e devotee is actua''y advanced, above thebodi'y p'at*orm, she may assume the post o* a spiritua' master.:ere is a suggestion in re'ation to the above point9 &he bodi'y concepto* 'i*e is transcended, a'ong )ith the modes o* nature, at the stage o*bhvaIbha&ti7ut at the 'eve' o* ni?[hthe residua' anarthasare on'yremnants that not 'onger obstruct one"s progress (See adhurya-kdambin,chapter B). &here*ore, )e recommend that at 'east thesymptoms o* ni?[hshou'd be seen in d!&?Igurucandidates,)hether ma'e or *ema'e.

% @istorical EAam'les o0 Female Bau(a Dk-gurus

a) St &kur8QEhe 9ife of Advaita 'rabhu According to thePrema-vi'sa(vi'sa-B) of 6itynanda %sa" S!t Yh&ur$! gavedk(ka-mantra) to her t9o servants 6andin! and L\gal! Ehevaikuha-svar!pasof 6andin! and L\gal! are the 9ellI&no9ngate&eepers Laya and >i


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7r!la 3ha&tisiddhnta Sarasvat! Yh&ura 9rites in hisnubhya,U>!rabhadra#os]i 9as the direct son of r!la 6itynanda 'rabhu and a disci'le o0 &navDev= (3aitanya-caritmtaGdi-''++F purport)

7adunandana ^cryaTs 9ife" a&?m!" 9as a very humble and submissive lady Shehad t9o beautiful daughters named r!mat! and 6rya$! 3y the arrangement of

r! _Kvar! (Lhnav %ev!)" these t9o girls became the fortunate 9ives of>!racandra 'rabhu *n the day of the 9edding" adunandana too& initiation from>!racandra" and =r &nav &a''il( acce'ted =rmat and Nr(a8 as &erdisci'les= (7hakti-ratnkara" ch +/)

She is also confirmed as a dk-guruboth in the 0auJya-vaiavaabhidhna (pg +-BJIB,) and in the Prema-vi'saof 6itynanda %sa(vi'sas+ Z -.)

c) @emalat &kur8I Ehe eldest daughter of r!nivsa ^cryaHemalat Yh&ur$!" a contemporary of Lhnav" 9as one of theprominent leaders of the tradition at her time Among her disciples"

adunandana" the author of 2arnandais particularly 9ellI&no9n(see 2arnandaNch- Z/O and the introduction Npg +-O to 2a-karmta by 1ambidnanda ?s Ph.?> She also had a 9ay9arddisciple named Rpa 5avirallavadasa of the #osvami family" and adunandana>aidya dasa of Malihati village 9ere all disciples of Sri 4svari 5anurama Cha&ravartiand his t9o servants %arpanayana and Candi" Ramacarana" Madhu Mis9as" andRadha 5anta >aidya 9ere other disciples of Hemalata Lagadisa 5avira

d) Baurga-'ri(Dev` Ehe second 9ife and disciple of r!nivsa^crya (0auJya-vaiava abhidhnapg +--B) She 9as from aCa&ravart! brhmaafamily" her father being Raghuntha Ca&ravart!"a resident of 8est #oplapura She initiated a number of disciples" onebeing #urucara$a %sa" 9ho 9rote a boo& at her behest calledPremmta9hich is based on the Prema-vi'sa(0auJya-vaiavaabhidhnapg +-./)

7r!nivsa ^cryas first9ife" r!mat! _Kvar! Yh&ur$!"9asahighly devotionallady #aur\gaIpriy"his second 9ife" alsopossessed e2alted devotional 0ualities4nduecourse of time many persons became disciples of r!nivsa ^crya and his9ives=;2arnanda, ch.M>


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e) Bagmt BosvminI A disciple of Haridsa 'a$ita #osvm!"the sevaite of #ovinda

4n 7hagavad-gt,ord 5?$a saysyad yad carati rehas tat tadevetaro Cana Isa yat prama kurute 'okas tad anuvartate Ehe people in generalfollo9 the e2ample set by great personalities ord 5?$a gave this asa reason 9hy He Himself follo9ed the la9s of religion" because if Hedid not" others 9ould follo9 His e2ample 4n this 9ay" one might saythat ord 5?$a functioned as an crya,one 9ho teaches by His o9ne2ample 3ut in some cases" it is not correct for an ordinary person tofollo9 the e2ample of the Supreme ord" as in His dancing 9ith thegops.Ehe same is true of the great >ai?$avas: Sometimes theirbehavior is meant to be follo9ed by ordinary persons" and sometimes

not So ho9 do 9e &no9 9hich actions of the Supreme ord and greatdevotees are to be follo9ed by us and 9hich actions are not to befollo9edV

@or e2ample" in the fe9 9ellIdocumented cases offered above forfemale gurus in #au!ya >ai?$avism" 9e have presented personalitiessuch as Lhnav %ev!" the 9ife of ord 6itynanda 4s her becoming agurua case to be follo9ed as e2emplary" or a case not to be imitatedby usV *ne guide is the general scriptural 9arning to follo9 theinstructions of the ord and great devotees instead of imitating theiractivities Ehat should ma&e us cautious

Another guide is the indications from sdhuand guru.@or e2ample"r!la 'rabhupda 9as as&ed by a professor if 9omen could becomegurusin our movement r!la 'rabhupda ans9ered that they could"and he provided Lhnav %ev! as an e2ample 3ecause our founderIcryaclearly indicated that the behavior of Lhnav %ev! could be aguide for us on the 0uestion of 9hether or not 9omen can becomegurusin 4S5C*6" it is not 9rong for us to follo9 that indication


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8e have not found any statement by r!la 'rabhupda that thee2ample of Lhnav %ev! is not e2emplary Eherefore 9e can ta&e here2ample as one of the cases in 9hich it is proper to follo9 thee2ample 3ut r!la 'rabhupda also gave some cautionary remar&s in

this connection" indicating that it 9as rare for 9omen to becomegurus,and that should also be ta&en into account

2eig&ing t&e Evidence and Concluding

Ehe one significant negative statementQ7Sun!ti" ho9ever" being a9oman" and specifically his mother" could not become %hruvaMahrasudh %ev!" did not initiate her o9nson" >!racandra" but r! Lhnav %ev! did so 4n any case" r!la'rabhupda is referring to an incident at a specific time in the distantpast" and his other statements dealing 9ith the present time(conversations 9ith 'rofessor *TConnell or 9ith ^treya ?i %sa)" andspecifically 9ithin 4S5C*6" are more valuable aspramasin thisdiscussion

Additionally" the vaidikasystem 9as operating during the SatyaIyuga;nder that system" 9omen did not generally receive initiation

Eherefore" logically" they also could not give it ;nder the more recentpaDcartrikasystem" ho9ever" 0ualified 9omen can accept and offerinitiation

8e have also presented statements" on the one hand" demanding thesocial dependency and protection of 9omen and" on the other"statements declaring that in spiritual matters such considerations maybe transcended

8hen 9e loo& at all of r!la 'rabhupdas statements 9e see that hehad the conception of female gurusin the future" ie if they could

meet the standard" and that there 9ere female gurusin the past 9homr!la 'rabhupda cited as evidence for his position 3ut he did say thatthey 9ere rare" and so 9e should follo9 that indication

5eighing the phi'osophica' evidence, the 13 team conc'udes that*ema'e devotees, i* 4ua'i*ied, shou'd be a''o)ed to give initiation in(123+$.


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4t seems unsupportable on the basis of guru" sdhuand strato havea policy that asserts that there can never be femaleIgurus in 4S5C*6Ehe #3C" ho9ever" may choose to not have femaleIgurusat present onthe basis of time" place and circumstance or cultural considerations3ut then there 9ould have to be some ai?$av! should normally have spiritual support in the form ofat least one or more ik-gurusor senior mentors from 9hich she canta&e assistance

2&( s&ould relative conditions /e 'laced on 0emale gurucandidatesG

8omen have a different psychoIphysical nature than men Eherefore"9hile still in the sdhanastages of bhakti,a femaleIgurucandidate9ould do 9ell to have some relative support @urthermore" it is rare tofind e2amples of their ta&ing the role of guru.Ehis is clearly stated byr!la 'rabhupda and others in the above cited conversations Eheserelative prere0uisites are simple measures to safeguard and supportfuture female gurus9ithout burdening prospective candidates 9ithunnecessary bureaucracy


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end

Female Guru Paper FINAL

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