“But these women are not ordinary women. They are preachers. They are preachers. They are Vaiñëava. By their association, one becomes a Vaiñëava.” – Morning Walk, Bombay, March 27, 1974 To Çrématé Jähnavä-devé Did Çréla Prabhupäda Want Women Dékñä-gurus? Copyright: ©Eye of the Storm 2013 All quotations from Çréla Prabhupäda’s books, lectures, conversations and letters, as well as any illustration from BBT publications: © The Bhaktivedanta Book Trust International All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher. 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EYE of the STORM Contents 14 Preface 24 Did Çréla Prabhupäda Want Women Dékñä-gurus? 24 What Evidence Should We Take as Conclusive? 26 What Çréla Prabhupäda Said? 30 “Women Dékñä-gurus are Against Çästra” 34 “Çréla Prabhupäda’s Statements Saying that Women Can Become Gurus Should Be Taken as General Encouragements; They Are Not Meant to Be Taken Seriously or Followed” 38 “Sunéti Did Not Initiate Dhruva; Therefore Women Should Never Become Dékñä-gurus” 43 “But Books Are More Important than Other Sources” 48 “The Idea of Women Dékñä-guru Comes from Western Feminism and Should Be Rejected” 56 “Women Dékñä-gurus are Against Varëäçrama” 58 Gradations of Benefits 65 Varëäçrama in the Three Modes 68 Every Mother Should Deliver Her Dependents from Birth and Death 69 Mothers and Gurus Share the Same Broad Rasa 69 “Women Should Be Protected; Therefore They Should Not Become Dékñä-gurus” 72 “Cultured Indians Would Object to ISKCON’s Women Dékñä-gurus; Therefore Women Should Not Become Dékñä-gurus” 74 “Çréla Prabhupäda didn’t Allow Women Püjäré in India; Therefore Women Should Not Become Dékñä-gurus” 75 “Women Should Remain Shy and Submissive; Being Assertive Preachers is Against Their Dharma; Therefore Women Should Not Become Dékñä-gurus” 79 Initiating Goddesses – Examples of Superhuman Feminine Dékñä- Gurus 81 Primary Examples of Women Dékñä-gurus in Gauòéya Vaiñëavism 85 Secondary Examples of Women Dékñä-gurus in Gauòéya Vaiñëavism 91 The Dékñä Lineage of Çréla Bhaktivinoda Öhäkura 101 Had Çréla Prabhupäda Said… 103 “Women Are Inferior to Men; Therefore They Should Not Become Dékñä-gurus” 105 “The Woman’s Body is Impure; Therefore Women Should Not Become Dékñä-gurus” 107 “In Determining if Women Can Become Dékñä-guru or Not, We Should Not Consider What Çréla Prabhupäda Said” 110 “Women Dékñä-gurus were Rare; Therefore Women Should Not Become Dékñä-gurus” 111 “The Process of Initiation in Gauòéya Vaiñëavism Changed through the Centuries, and the Sacred Thread was Added; Therefore Women Should Not Become Dékñä-gurus” 116 Why Did Çréla Bhaktisiddhänta Sarasvaté Öhäkura Introduce the Sacred Thread? 120 “The SAC Paper Wasn’t 100% Perfect; Therefore Women Should Not Become Dékñä-gurus” 124 “Women Should Show to Be Transcendentally Situated Before They Can Become Dékñä-gurus” 128 “Çréla Prabhupäda Did Not Appoint Women Dékñä-gurus in 1977; Therefore Women Should Not Become Dékñä-gurus” 134 “No Woman is Included in the Disciplic Succession Printed at the Beginning of the Bhagavad-gétä; Therefore Women Should Not Become Dékñä-gurus” 134 “Women Initiating Men Would Create Unwanted Mingling; Therefore Women Dékñä-gurus Should Initiate Only Women” 137 “Women Can Become Çikñä-gurus but Not Dékñä-gurus” 139 “The Only Legitimate Role for Women is Inside the House; They Should Not Do Anything Outside (What to Speak of Becoming Dékñä-gurus!)” 143 “A Woman Dékñä-guru Might Feel Compelled to Act According to the Whims of the Less Advanced Relatives Maintaining Her; Therefore Women Should Not Become Dékñä-gurus” 146 “Women Could Become Dékñä-gurus, But They Should Initiate Only Outside India” 150 “Extensive Travel is Against the Dharma of Women; Therefore Women Should Not Become Dékñä-gurus” 152 “A Woman Should Not Be Given Freedom; Therefore Women Should Not Become Dékñä-gurus” 155 Çréla Prabhupäda and Shyama Ma 158 “Çréla Prabhupäda Never made any Woman Temple President; Therefore Women Should Not Become Dékñä-gurus” 159 “Women Cannot Become Brähmaëas; Therefore They Should Not Become Dékñä-gurus” 163 “Although Çréla Prabhupäda Gave the Brahma-gäyatré to Women, They Are Not Eligible to Chant It” 168 Did Çréla Prabhupäda Make a Compromise? 171 “Women Can Chant the Brahma-gäyatré and Can Initiate Others into Chanting It; But They Cannot Give the Sacred Thread to Their Male Disciples; Therefore Women Should Not Become Dékñä-gurus” 175 “No, no, no! Women Cannot Give the Sacred Thread to Their Male Disciples; Therefore Women Cannot Become Dékñä-gurus” 178 The Sacred Thread; “Symbolic Representation” or Essential Medium? 182 The Woman to Whom Çréla Prabhupäda Told to Perform the Second Initiation Ceremony 186 “Çréla Prabhupäda Never Gave Sannyäsa to Women; Therefore They Should Not Become Dékñä-gurus” 189 “A Woman Dékñä-guru cannot Give Sannyäsa to Her Disciples; Therefore Women Should Not Become Dékñä-gurus” 189 “Women Dékñä-gurus Would Be Bad Examples for Other Women” 190 “What if a Woman Dékñä-guru Ends Up with a Widowed Son and a Crippled Grandchild? Therefore Women Should Not Become Dékñä- guru” 191 “Something Could Go Wrong; Therefore Women Should Not Become Dékñä-gurus” 197 “A Woman Willing to Become Dékñä-guru Must Have Bad Motivations; Therefore Women Should Not Become Dékñä-gurus” 202 An Attempt to Overturn the ISKCON Law Authorizing Women Dékñä-gurus; a Formal GBC Proposal is Submitted 206 The Mysterious, All-encompassing (but Imaginary) “Rule” 214 The Ride of the Sahajiyä Valkyries 219 Seeing Mirages in the Desert; Imagining Instructions in the Sunéti and Dhruva Story 221 Are Such Fears of Spiritual Ruination Justified? 226 Conclusion 232 Appendix One – The Sacred Thread, an Eternal Male Monopoly? 243 Appendix Two – What Do You Mean by Feminism? 244 Feminism in the Three Modes 247 Physical Differences and Spiritual Equality 252 “I Was Married When My Wife Was Only Eleven Years Old” 258 Transcending the Need for Early Marriage 260 Female Killing Fields 267 What Kind of Society Treats Women Best? 271 “Taking Consideration of the Place, Audience and Time” 275 Equal Rights Facilitate Spreading Kåñëa Consciousness 279 “If There Is First-class Man, Then Whole Question Is Solved” 282 “By Violence You Cannot Force a Woman, Agree to Love You” 283 Following the Husband Indiscriminately? 285 Feminism in the Bhägavatam? 290 Let Men and Women Serve to the Best of Their Ability 292 Acknowledgements Did Çréla Prabhupäda Want Women Dékñä-gurus? Preface Among Vaiñëavas there may be some difference of opinion due to everyone’s personal identity, but despite all personal differences, the cult of Kåñëa consciousness must go on. – Çrémad-Bhägavatam 4.28.31, purport What’s the eye of the storm? It’s the area of calm at the center of a cyclone; a place of peace in the midst of raging turmoil. Turbulence and confrontation show up without an invitation; even among devotees. The hearts and minds of the contestants get absorbed in the fight. Alliances are formed and lines are drawn. Bystanders and fence-sitters may experience perplexity, confusion; even despair. For the opponents winning becomes paramount; but the debris from the battle affects everyone. Relations are strained; the atmosphere turns tense. In a thousand years though, who will remember the feelings, the pressure, the uncertainty and the fear? But, while it’s taking place, the thunderstorm of debate captures the imagination and stirs the emotions. 14 Did Çréla Prabhupäda Want Women Dékñä-gurus? It’s entirely expected to witness a variety of views and of conflicting conceptions; especially within a worldwide movement. We all carry our baggage, our cultural influences; our psychological imprints from this and from previous lives. These color and filter our reactions to people and ideas; our perceptions and leanings are shaped by our exposure to the guëas – the modes of nature – and the company we keep. Thus we become predisposed towards certain attitudes, certain opinions; certain points of view within the spectrum of possible beliefs. Thus even within a spiritual movement we find “conservatives” and “liberals”; “traditionalists” and “progressives”; “purists” and ““revisionists”; “rightists” and “leftists,” “hawks” and “doves.” This phenomenon is inevitable and, at least in ISKCON, it has positive features; it allows us to attract and engage individuals from different backgrounds and mindsets. Differences are symptoms of a vibrant organization; they show that people care about the issues and the direction of the movement. After all, having differences of opinion is intrinsic to our being individuals; as Çréla Prabhupäda explained in a lecture on The Nectar of Devotion on 31 October 1972, in Våndävana: Kåñëa is not alone. Kåñëa is not niräkära. Kåñëa is not impersonal, because He has got so many personal associates. Nityo nityänäm. All these personal associates, they’re individual persons. We are all person. You are person, I am person. We are all individual. I have got my individual opinion; you have got your individual opinion. Oneness means when these individual opinions are coincided in the matter of surrendering to Kåñëa; that is oneness. Oneness does not mean that all these individuals become one, homogeneous. No. They keep their individuality, but they become one in the service of Kåñëa. That is oneness. Kåñëa consciousness 15 Did Çréla Prabhupäda Want Women Dékñä-gurus? means all persons agree to work for the satisfaction of Kåñëa.