Good filmmaking is about making people stop and look deeply into their own hearts -- to turn each of them into a better person.

Team ISV: Learn how to distribute books the fun and easy way! When: Saturday, May 19th, 9am PST Where: www.mayapur.tv Read the rest of this entry »

By Bhakti Madhurya Govinda Goswami

After an evening class I was suddenly informed that a plane crash in Nepal had killed at least six devotees. I was stunned and dismayed on hearing this very sad news. I quickly checked web sites to see any details of the tragedy. I read the brief photo and devotional biography summaries of the "victims". They were all wonderful devotees, having distinguished themselves with glorious devotional service Read the rest of this entry »

By your servants at VIHE

VIHE is heartily inviting all the serious students to our transformational Bhakti-sastri course. Bhakti-sastri course is a systematic study of Srila Prabhupada's books. Srila Prabhupada wanted all of us to deeply study his books, so that we could be better preachers, teachers and, very importantly, achieve a clear understanding and application of the beautiful science of devotional service Read the rest of this entry »

Ortrun: Join us for a weekend of enlivening sanga, kirtan and katha with HH Radhanath Swami and HH Devamrita Swami. These two esteemed speakers will unfold and reveal the beautiful pastimes of Lord Caitanya and His intimate associates. Emulating the mood and flavor of the world famous Pune Yatra held yearly in India, there will be nonstop, free-flowing mellows of sweet, humble offerings of the heart during this weekend of joyful personal transformation Read the rest of this entry »

By Balaramkrishnadas

Situated in Kerala’s(India) scenic Vellani Mountain valley, a newly established Ayurvedic Wellness Center, Rayirath Heritage Ayurvedic Wellness also constructed a thatched shed beneath a walnut tree grove, an 80 seater with a stage, all fully lighted and finished to taste Read the rest of this entry »

Jessica: Since visiting a Hare Krishna temple for the first time and writing about it I have been inspired to look into the Hare Krishna faith more. I have been deeply inspired by Radhanath Swami and have recently listened to one of his lectures. I decided to write an article about one of his lectures on my blog Read the rest of this entry »

By Parasuram das

..." Funny story I went to the kitchen in Vrindavan and saw these massive pots, the head cook informed me that the pots were too big and they were sending them back to Agra to change them for smaller ones, that was it, it is what you call Krishnas arrangement." Read the rest of this entry »

In our modern, post-industrial society with its high division of labor and commercialized relationships based on an ethic of egalitarianism and “universal rights” (and corresponding lack of spontaneous emotional relationships based on “status”), to worship any human being seems a shocking and unusual thing. Everyone is reduced by modern leveling to the status of an equal bargaining partner or competitor.

In more “normal” societies (if I can use that word), it is quite common for people to understand that the reverence we feel for our superiors — priests, lieges, teachers, parents, sovereigns — is due to their being in some sense incarnations of God. Not that they are really the omniscient creators of the universe or anything like that, but that what they do for us in our relationship with them is a reflection of what God does for us.

Srila Prabhupada used to talk about how Russian Communists would tell and demonstrate to simple peasants how they get their daily bread from party apparatchiks and not from God, but Srila Prabhupada would say an intelligent person would ask, “So where did you get the bread, rascal?”

By focusing on the unique and rarely attained qualities of bona fide gurus, we lose something of this ability to see Krishna throughout His creation, in the different important and powerful people and teachers He sends to us: “Know that all opulent, beautiful and glorious creations spring from but a spark of My splendor.” (B.G. 10.41)

It is the quality of a bona fide spiritual master that he or she can teach us to realize this statement of Lord Krishna, to see how Krishna is everywhere and is acting throughout all our relationships. The tendency to think that Krishna only exists in the temple or in one’s own spiritual master (and to not know how to properly respect other devotees or deal appropriately with people in general) are symptoms of the materialistic, neophyte devotee.

I guess what I am saying is, although it is indeed important that a bona fide spiritual master is a qualified devotee who can teach by example and give proper advice and training in devotional service, who is versed in Vedic wisdom and fixed in transcendental realization, there is something superficial about approaching the guru problems in ISKCON by simply focusing on the guru side of the equation. It is a many-faceted issue. The way we, as disciples, treat our gurus and other devotees and their gurus, is an important consideration.

I am sure we could come up with a long list of valuable lessons we learned as a society from the problems of the 1980s. I remember reading one essay by Ravindra Swarupa Prabhu observed quite trenchantly that it was perhaps unusual that the reform we needed was one of furniture: we had to stop the practice of giving too much special distinction to the devotees serving as initiating gurus by seating them on high vyasasanas that were reserved only for initiating gurus.

But I think the narrative that focuses on the lack of qualification of the initial 11 (or at least those of them who fell down) draws our attention away from the lessons we needed to learn. It is an oversimplification to say our problem was to choose the wrong people to act as gurus, or to simply make the non-controversial observation that if we had ten or fifteen topmost paramahamsa devotees of the caliber of Rupa Goswami or Srila Prabhupada to serve as our acaryas, our problems would be solved.

Every child’s parents are gods to them, because of their complete dependence on their parents for food, shelter, protection, clothing, medicine, guidance, knowledge of all kinds, and life itself. Of course, some parents are better or more qualified than others, and some may be hardly worthy of the title “parents” at all, but it is a child’s duty to show gratitude and devotion to parents (as we recently observed on Sunday, which was “Mother’s Day, at least in the U.S.)

Similarly husband and wife are god and goddess to each other, at least in civilized society. With this reverence also comes great responsibility to fulfill one’s role as husband or wife, and there are reciprocal duties.

In feudal society there are also formal but emotional relationships of honor, loyalty, gratitude and responsibility between Lord and Vassal, King and Courtier, Master and Apprentice. In all these relationships there is an internalized understanding of corresponding duties. “Noblesse oblige” literally means that one who is in position of honor and nbility is obliged to conduct himself or herself with correspondingly noble qualities.

Of course, a bona fide spiritual master must actually *be* divine, in the sense of having transcendental thoughts, acts and words. All true devotees should be in that sense divine. But the corresponding duties of gratitude and obligation, of supplication and benediction, should not so unusual that they are reserved only for a small, unique elite…

I am sure Srila Prabhupada intended that the 11 disciples he appointed to perform “ritvik” initiations before his departure should go on as regular gurus afterwards.

It is foolish to try to understand the transcendental intentions of a great devotee like Srila Prabhupada, but that is the topic at hand and we must do so to the best of our ability, with reverence and humility.

I am sure Srila Prabhupada knew that if his disciples were not careful to act as humble postal workers honestly transmitting the message they received through parampara, that if they tried to enjoy the “post” of being worshipable acaryas and masters of others, making a show of being greater than they really were, they would fail. But I also assume he had every hope that they would succeed in acting as bona fide gurus in accordance with his many instructions on the subject.

I cannot imagine that he purposely picked unqualified disciples with some hidden motive, while passing over more qualified disciples. It seems far fetched and convoluted, as if he had some secret, byzantine plan. I think the reality is much more straightforward: He selected those he considered best suited, he knew they would face challenges (as would his whole society), that we would have lessons to learn and adjustments to make as things unfolded, but he had done his own duty well and the rest would be up to us, and Krishna would help us as long as we remained devoted and sincere.

Some of the lessons we have learned are: (1) a lot depends on the personal faith and relationship of guru and disciple, and it causes problems to expect everyone in a particular geographical region to take shelter of the institution’s appointee to that zone; (2) while a disciple’s duty is to revere and worship his or her guru, the guru should not demand or expect such treatment from devotees who are not his or her disciples, and should continue to set a good example of having healthy, humble relationships with friendly godbrothers and godsisters; (3) the spiritual authority a guru has over disciples should not be parlayed into political authority in managing the institution (being a spiritual master is not a managerial post, nor is it license to act as “despot” over non-disciples); (4) there is a danger that being over-revered can cause a careless, immature devotee to be corrupted or seduced into thinking he or she deserves such honor and can materially enjoy the position.

“This may answer the question of our friend Akruranatha Prabhu raised in Post 22…”

Dear Puskaraksa Prabhu, it seems to me you are missing the point of my comment #22. Probably I did not make it clearly enough.

Of course a spiritual master must be bona fide, but so must a disciple. I think in ISKCON we still may have a tendency to over-emphasize the external glorification of our respective spiritual masters while not taking seriously enough the duty of a disciple to actually get the real mercy of the spiritual master, by becoming properly submissive and receptive to understand his instructions about Lord Krishna.

Srila Prabhupada repeatedly emphasized the most important quality of a bona fide guru as that of being a faithful disciple, who does not manufacture anything but carries the message of Krishna just like a humble postal peon carries the mail. That is why the spiritual master is honored as being “directly Hari”: because of his freedom from false ego that allows him to represent Hari transparently.

Of course, Srila Prabhupada famously mentions that it is best to select a spiritual master from among the uttama adhikaris (again, those who are so free from false ego that they have no propensity to criticize others), but he also mentions that an intermediate devotee or even a neophyte may serve as a spiritual master. The important thing is that the spiritual master remain faithful, both in how he acts and how he speaks, and that the disciple takes shelter sincerely, without ulterior motive, and learns how to properly discharge devotional service and chant the mantras given by the guru with all attention and sincerity.

Becoming a bona fide disciple makes one a proper receptacle to understand and transmit the message of Krishna, the same Bhagavatam that has been handed down from acarya to acarya for generations.

I am not sure why you quoted the July 9th letter in full (as if we were not familiar with it?) Perhaps you can explain more?

There is one common narrative, that Srila Prabhupada appointed these 11 senior disciples to serve as his representatives during his illness, but they were the wrong choices to go on as the first group of initiating gurus after his departure. Either Srila Prabhupada chose the wrong people (one version goes), or else the whole idea that he wanted them to serve as regular initiating gurus was a mistake.

I think the above approach is mistaken and needs to be examined….

Hare Krishna. Dandavats. All Glories to Srila Prabhupada. There is a typo in the above article. The reference given is actually SB: 7.10.7 and NOT 7.10.70. Please take a note of it.

ys,
Ramgiri

This Brahma, mahajana; Lord Siva, mahajana; Kumara, mahajana. Laksmidevi is the potency, spiritual potency of Lord Visnu, Laksmi-Narayana, Narayana’s potency, and she’s always engaged in massaging the lotus feet of Narayana. You have seen the picture. Sri-sampradaya. Sri. She is known as Sri. Sri means opulence, fortune, beauty. So she is the reservoir of all these things. So she has got… It is called Sri-sampradaya. The Ramanuja-sampradaya, they are called Sri-sampradaya. They worship Laksmi-Narayana. Everyone worships the Lord and His potency, spiritual potency. Just like we worship Radha-Krsna, similarly, the Ramanuja-sampradaya, they worship Laksmi-Narayana or Sita-Rama. So we should follow the sampradaya. Sampradaya-vihina ye mantras te viphala matah.

So here Prahlada Maharaja said that… Prahlada Maharaja is also mahajana because he follows mahajana. He says, virinca-gitah: “I’ll enjoy. I shall relish tava lila-kathah, Your pastime, the narration of Your pastime.”

…/…

Therefore Prahlada Maharaja is giving warning that “I shall recite the narration of Your pastime which is composed by Brahma.” Virinci. Virinci means… Siva-virinci-nutam [SB 11.5.33]. That is the secret of success. You cannot compose by whimsical way. No. That is not. That will not be possible. Therefore the next word is very important, when he says, pada-yugalaya-hamsa-sangah. Pada-yugalaya-hamsa-sangah. This is possible when we associate, sangah… Sangah means association. Whose association? Pada-yugalaya-hamsa. One who is… Because Krsna’s feet is compared as lotus — “lotus feet,” we say — so where there is lotus, there is hamsa, swan. Swan, you’ll find. …/…”

Hence, we should aspire to follow in the footsteps of Srila Bhaktisiddantha Sarasvati Thakur Maharaja Prabhupada and glorify our whole Parampara…

Das dasanudasa
Puskaraksa das

The point is that each spiritual master of any sampradaya, is for ever the servant of his own spiritual master, and subsequently of all the spiritual masters who have appeared before him.

This principle applies both while he is acting as guru on earth, as well as while performing his nitya seva in the spiritual world.

Hence, offering proper respect to all the previous acaryas should be an essential aspect of our daily devotional practice, and should be an inherent part of vandanam, offering prayers and reciting their pranam mantra. This should all the more be a golden rule for anyone acting as guru (or even meant to act as guru in the future), as no one can be legitimately occupying such a position and filling such a role, without the mercy and the guidance of all the previous acaryas in our Parampara.

For instance, Srila Prabhupada gave a class in Sri Mayapura Dham on Feb. 25, 1976, which started as follows:

so ‘ham priyasya suhrdah paradevataya
lila-kathas tava nrsimha virinca-gitah
anjas titarmy anugrnan guna-vipramukto
durgani te pada-yugalaya-hamsa-sangah

“O my Lord Nrsimha, in this way, just being engaged in Your transcendental loving service, I shall be able to associate with devotees who are liberated souls, hamsas, and thus being completely uncontaminated by the association of three modes of material nature, it will be possible for me to chant the glories of Your Lordship, who is so dear to me. I shall chant Your glories, fully following the footprints of Lord Brahma and his disciplic succession. In this way it will be possible without any doubt that I shall cross over the ocean of nescience.” Srimad Bhagavatam 7.9.18

Srila Prabhupada:

So in this verse two words are very important. One is virinca-gita. Virinca means Lord Brahma and the followers. Just like we, Gaudiya-sampradaya, means we belong to the Brahma-sampradaya. Our sampradaya begins from Lord Brahma. There are similarly other sampradayas, just like Rudra-sampradaya, then Kumara-sampradaya, and there is Laksmi-sampradaya, Ramanuja-sampradaya. So there are four sampradayas. Brahma-sampradaya, Rudra-sampradaya, Kumara-sampradaya and Laksmi-sampradaya. And if we do not take either of these sampradayas in disciplic succession, then our attempt to advance in spiritual life will be failure. Sampradaya-vihina ye mantras te viphala matah. You cannot manufacture your own prayers unless you follow the footprints of mahajanas. They are mahajanas. …/…

I am speaking as one who has spent a good deal of their life in the material education system. I am Pusta Krishna das, formerly Pusta Krishna Swami, and now a physician-orthopedic surgeon for decades. I want to help sort out this question of material education in three ways.
First, many of the bhaktas who later left the confines of the ashram and later had to earn a living for themselves relied upon a paucity of skills. Some ended up selling petty things like stickers to make a living. Some would call this “doing the pick”. It reflected their lack of skills and their aversion to regular work. It may also, in some cases, have enabled them to work for a boss which they didn’t like.
Second, when I was a sannyasi and still attached to education, I was transcribing Srila Prabhupad’s translations each morning as his personal secretary. I had learned how to read the Devanagari and I was one of those early sannyasis who liked to quote sanskrit slokas. In those days, Hridayananda Maharaj was number 1 in this, and perhaps I was number 2, having a good memory, and a great interest in logical and scholarly lectures. In any case, I asked Srila Prabhupad if I could study the sankrit language in the university. Srila Prabhupad did not like the idea. Later when I too left the confines of ISKCON, I attended the University of California, Berkeley and did earn an MA in Sanskrit, Hindi/Medieval Hindi, and Indian history. It was a substantial study. I then went on to Medical School. So, at least for me, slightly rebellious as I was, Srila Prabhupad did not approve of material education, even when it involved deepening my understanding. Certainly, I think anyone who understands the Bengali language must have a richer appreciation, if they are Vaishnavas, of the exhaustive Bengali bhajans we have.
Third, I heard one person who lived in Hawaii and had a number of daughters ask Srila Govinda Maharaj, another respected acharya, whether it was ok to send his daughters to college. His answer was interesting. He said, ‘it is like receiving a grant.’ If you received a grant you have a responsibility to pay it back. In other words, it is good for the devotees to realize that if they receive education, they have a responsibility to Krishna to pay it back with service.
I hope this helps to clarify some issues. Everything is not an open and shut case.
Pusta Krishna das

This is the activity of Yoga-maya, Paurnamasi. Oh, so wonderful that even Krsna cannot understand, then how can others understand? *

* Note: Maybe our most intelligent friend, Sita Rama Prabhu?

All glories to Srila Prabhupada
All glories to the pure devotees in his line of disciplic succession

Yours in service

Das dasanudasa
Puskaraksa das

…/…

So in the meantime, Lalita has gone to Radharani and said that a sannyasi thakura has come. “He is singing a very nice song. He knows how to calculate Your fate.”

Then Visakha takes the sannyasi into the kunja. She requested Krsna, “Will You please again sing that nice song You were singing before?”

Then Krsna sang that song in glorification of Radha. “Today Kanu is a bhikari, He is a beggar, moving from door to door begging radha-prema.” When Radharani heard that last line, She said,

aslisya va pada-ratam pinastu mam
adarsanan marma-hatam karotu va
yatha tatha va vidadhatu lampato
mat-prana-nathas tu sa eva naparah

Radharani said the last verse of Siksastskam. “That debauchee, lampatah, whatever He likes He may do. He may do. He may embrace Me or kick Me, or crush Me with His feet or put Me in this condition of acute pangs of separation. Such painful condition, not giving Me darsana. Whatever He likes He may do, that debauchee. But He is the Lord of My heart, no one else.”

…/…

So this is how Krsna has to cry and has to become a sannyasi begging for radha-prema. Radharani was crying and Visakha stated, “One day You’ll have to cry like that!” And so He’s crying in the form of Mahaprabhu.

sri-radhayah pranaya-mahima kidrso vanayaiva
svadyo yenabhuta-madhurima kidrso va madiyah
saukhyam casya mad-anubhavatah kidrsam veti lobhat
tad-bhavadhyah samajani sai-garbha-sinadau harinduh
(Sri Caitanya caritamrta, Adi 1.6)

What is Radharani’s love? Now Krsna is a beggar of that. Radha-prema-bhikari. He came in a sannyasi form, as a beggar, begging radha-prema. In a completely different form–no three places curved, no curling hair–shaved head. Now His yellow garment is saffron colour and He’s begging for radha-prema. That is radha-bhava. He came in this sannyasi form, otherwise He cannot pay back the debt. Krsna has become indebted. In this way, Krsna paid back the debt. So Radharani’s sulkiness vanished. That is why Krsna became sannyasi, He became Mahaprabhu.

He (Krsna) came to understand these three things: “What is Radharani’s love? What is My beauty that Radharani relishes? What happiness and pleasure does Radharani get relishing My beauty, how can I know?” In order to fulfill these three types of greed and desires Krsna appeared as Mahaprabhu, from the womb of Sacimata, sai garbha-sindau harinduh. In order to understand these three things is why He became a sannyasi. This is so wonderful–Krsna became amazed.

Dear Sita Rama Prabhu

PAMHO AGTSP AGTSG & SG

“Saralatā ei vaiṣṇavata”: Simplicity is Vaishnavism

As a gift, the following, from “Why Krsna Became Gauranga Mahaprabhu” by Sri Srimad Gour Govinda Swami Maharaja:

…/… Approaching Krsna, she said, “I am Vrnda. I have come here under the direction of Paurnamasi. I understand that there is no means how you will be able to meet Radharani and console Her, to break Her sulkiness. No other means is there, but one thing is there. If you do what I say, then there is hope.”

Krsna says, “All right. I must do whatever you say. I cannot understand what to do. I am bewildered, I can’t think of what to do.”

Vrnda said, “All right. You should give up this gopa-vesa (dress of a cowherd boy). You have to give up this thing. Such nice curling hair on Your head–but you have to shave your head. Yes. And give up the flute. Give up your peacock feather. And don’t be in these three places bent, tri-bhanga. Give up all these things and this blackish body. No! These are all things You have to give up. You have to shave Your head and You have have to become a sannyasi and give up all these things. I will teach You one song. You have to sing that song. And take one khanjani, a musical instrument. You have to play and sing that song in that sannyasi form, then there is hope.”

When Vrnda said this, immediately that form appeared there. Krsna became that sannyasi form–shaved head, and His complexion is of molten gold. No peacock feather, no flute, no three places curved form. In yogi, sannyasi form He immediately appeared there. Then Vrnda devi sang a song, that is glorification of Radha,

srimate radhe bada abhimani
bamya bhave siromani-syama sari ange
achadana tava tapta-kancana varana
eto dina chile pagalani raye
kanu preme prana sampi
sarve rupe guneogo gandharvike
kanu mana kari curi aji radha prema
bhika mage kanu phere dware dware hai

“Oh Srimate Radharani, You have developed a sulky mood. You are the crest jewel of the leftisty mood. Your whole body is covered with a bluish sari. The complexion of Your body is that of molten gold. Up to now Radharani was mad for Kanu (Krsna) prema. She was stealing the mind of Krsna. O Gandarvike, You were stealing the mind of Kanu, Krsna, enchanting Him with Your beautiful form and qualities. But today Kanu, Krsna, is moving from door to door begging radha-prema, radha-prema, radha-prema”

…/…

Nartaka Gopala dasi: Attached please find our media release and poster for the 4th Annual Festival of the Chariots and Ratha Yatra Parade in Daytona Beach on Saturday, May 26, 2012 Read the rest of this entry »

Nartaka Gopala dasi: Attached please find our media release and poster for the 8th Annual Festival of the Chariots and Ratha Yatra Parade in Jacksonville Beach on Saturday, May 19, 2012 Read the rest of this entry »

The site, www.safetemple.org, helps both adults and children understand what abuse is, and tells them what steps to take if they’re concerned about child abuse or neglect

Hare Krishna Varaharupa Mataji,

Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupad.

I did not know that your wonderful devotee father His Grace Vishnu Murti Prabhu has left this world, I came to know through your article, thanks for that.

He was a genuine Vaishnav, and met with the devotees always with a smile on his face. We saw him many many times in Vrindavan during Kartik and other times as well. He was very broad-hearted person and gave many times donations to the temple/Vraj Mandal Parikrama and sponsored the feasts. We are going to miss him.

All glories to Vishnu Murti Prabhu, HARE KRISHNA.

yours servant,
Raktak Das

In Modruma Dvipa Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura obtained darshan of Surya, he has described this in his Navadvipa Bhava Taranga:

120 Crossing over the river Viraja and bypassing the town of Brahmani Nagar, I will climb on top of the hill called Arka Tila(The hill of the sun god). sitting there in solitude and worshipping Lord Gaurahari, I will become intoxicated with sweet nectar-mellow of the holy name by singing it with great relish.

121 Arka-deva, the sun god, will mercifully appear to me - with red-hued complexion, long arms, wearing pinkish cloth and Tulasi beads, with sandalwood paste spread over all his limbs, the name of Gaurahari constantly on his tongue, and tears flowing from his eyes.

122 He will speak to me, “Dear child, I have appeared before you because you are the devotee of Gauranga. We demigods, although powerful directors of material affairs, are also servants of Gauranga’s lotus feet. In my mind, I simply aspire to be the servant of the servant of Gaura.”

123 “By my blessings, you will get Krsna-bhakti, and you will have the spiritual strength to live in the Dhama and sing the Lord’s pure holy name. But please come here from time to time, singing the nectar-smeared name of Krsna for my satisfaction.”

124 Falling down like a rod to offer obeisances at Surya-deva’s feet, I will then proceed onward to the town of Mahatpur. This Mahatpur is non different from the forest of Kamyavan, a place of Krsna’s pastimes in Braja. Here the devotees of Lord Gaura raise a tumultuous sound in chanting the name and glories of Sri Krsna

…/…

“Sometimes our Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is criticized for mingling men and women, but Kṛṣṇa consciousness is meant for anyone. Whether one is a man or woman does not matter. Lord Kṛṣṇa personally says, striyo vaiśyās tathā śūdrās te ‘pi yānti parāḿ gatim: whether one is a woman, śūdra or vaiśya, not to speak of being a brāhmaṇa or kṣatriya, everyone is fit to return home, back to Godhead, if he strictly follows the instructions of the spiritual master and śāstra. We therefore request all the members of the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement — both men and women — not to be attracted by bodily features but only to be attracted by Kṛṣṇa. Then everything will be all right. Otherwise there will be danger.”

Hoping this finds you all well,
I remain

Yours in the service of Srila Prabbhupada and of his faithful servants

Das dasanudasa
Puskaraksa das

PURPORT
Woman is now depicted very well from the materialistic point of view by Kaśyapa Muni. Women are generally known as the fair sex, and especially in youth, at the age of sixteen or seventeen, women are very attractive to men. Therefore a woman’s face is compared to a blooming lotus flower in autumn. Just as a lotus is extremely beautiful in autumn, a woman at the threshold of youthful beauty is extremely attractive. In Sanskrit a woman’s voice is called nārī-svara because women generally sing and their singing is very attractive. At the present moment, cinema artists, especially female singers, are especially welcome. Some of them earn fabulous amounts of money simply by singing. Therefore, as taught by Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, a woman’s singing is dangerous because it can make a sannyāsī fall a victim to the woman. Sannyāsa means giving up the company of women, but if a sannyāsī hears the voice of a woman and sees her beautiful face, he certainly becomes attracted and is sure to fall down. There have been many examples. Even the great sage Viśvāmitra fell a victim to Menakā. Therefore a person desiring to advance in spiritual consciousness must be especially careful not to see a woman’s face or hear a woman’s voice. To see a woman’s face and appreciate its beauty or to hear a woman’s voice and appreciate her singing as very nice is a subtle falldown for a brahmacārī or sannyāsī. Thus the description of a woman’s features by Kaśyapa Muni is very instructive.

When a woman’s bodily features are attractive, when her face is beautiful and when her voice is sweet, she is naturally a trap for a man. The śāstras advise that when such a woman comes to serve a man, she should be considered to be like a dark well covered by grass. In the fields there are many such wells, and a man who does not know about them drops through the grass and falls down. Thus there are many such instructions. Since the attraction of the material world is based on attraction for women, Kaśyapa Muni thought, “Under the circumstances, who can understand the heart of a woman?” Cāṇakya Paṇḍita has also advised, viśvāso naiva kartavyaḥ strīṣu rāja-kuleṣu ca: “There are two persons one should not trust — a politician and a woman.” These, of course, are authoritative śāstric injunctions, and we should therefore be very careful in our dealings with women. …/…

…/…

“The similarity in the quality of the soul and the Supersoul, however, does not make them equal in quantity, for the individual soul is present only in that particular body whereas the Paramātmā is present in each and every body. A Kṛṣṇa conscious person has full knowledge of this, and therefore he is truly learned and has equal vision. The similar characteristics of the soul and Supersoul are that they are both conscious, eternal and blissful. But the difference is that the individual soul is conscious within the limited jurisdiction of the body whereas the Supersoul is conscious of all bodies. The Supersoul is present in all bodies without distinction.” S.P. Purport

This tends to establish the fact that, on the transcendental platform, one is not agitated anymore by the opposite sex, as one is established in one’s siddha deha and nitya svarupa…

The lilas of Ramananda Raya are a good example of that. Yet, Lord Caitanya said:

“Although I am in the renounced order of life, still My mind is sometimes disturbed even upon seeing a wooden form of a woman. But Ramananda Raya is greater than Me. For he always remains undisturbed even when he touches a young woman.”

Of course, even in dreams, no one should attempt to imitate the extraordinary behavior of Sri Ramananda Raya. He was teaching young girls, the devi-dasis, to portray his dramas by dancing in the temple for Lord Jagannatha’s pleasure. He would also bathe, massage, and dress the bodies of the beautiful girls. In all of creation, only Ramananda Raya possesses this quality of total self-control and absolute detachment.”

Therefore, one shouldn’t become over optimistic and infatuated while witnessing the premises of detachment rise within himself and should remain on his guard.

As it is:

śarat-padmotsavaḿ vaktraḿ
vacaś ca śravaṇāmṛtam
hṛdayaḿ kṣura-dhārābhaḿ
strīṇāḿ ko veda ceṣṭitam

A woman’s face is as attractive and beautiful as a blossoming lotus flower during autumn. Her words are very sweet, and they give pleasure to the ear, but if we study a woman’s heart, we can understand it to be extremely sharp, like the blade of a razor. Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 6.18

Even though one should establish a distinction in between a materialistic woman and a lady devotee, still Srila Prabhupada warns us while commenting this verse:

…/…

“He does not see, in the material world, someone as higher and someone as lower; higher and lower positions are ephemeral, and a devotee has nothing to do with ephemeral appearances or disappearances. For him stone and gold are of equal value. This is the brahma-bhuta stage, and this stage is attained very easily by the pure devotee. In that stage of existence, the idea of becoming one with the Supreme Brahman and annihilating one’s individuality becomes hellish, the idea of attaining the heavenly kingdom becomes phantasmagoria, and the senses are like serpents’ teeth that are broken. As there is no fear of a serpent with broken teeth, there is no fear from the senses when they are automatically controlled. The world is miserable for the materially infected person, but for a devotee the entire world is as good as Vaikuntha, or the spiritual sky. ” S.P. Purport

Similarly, Sri Krishna states in Bhagavad-gītā 5.18:

vidyā-vinaya-sampanne
brāhmaṇe gavi hastini
śuni caiva śva-pāke ca
paṇḍitāḥ sama-darśinaḥ

The humble sages, by virtue of true knowledge, see with equal vision a learned and gentle brāhmaṇa, a cow, an elephant, a dog and a dog-eater [outcaste].

PURPORT BY HIS DIVINE GRACE SRILA PRABHUPADA
“A Kṛṣṇa conscious person does not make any distinction between species or castes. The brāhmaṇa and the outcaste may be different from the social point of view, or a dog, a cow, and an elephant may be different from the point of view of species, but these differences of body are meaningless from the viewpoint of a learned transcendentalist. This is due to their relationship to the Supreme, for the Supreme Lord, by His plenary portion as Paramātmā, is present in everyone’s heart. Such an understanding of the Supreme is real knowledge. As far as the bodies are concerned in different castes or different species of life, the Lord is equally kind to everyone because He treats every living being as a friend yet maintains Himself as Paramātmā regardless of the circumstances of the living entities. The Lord as Paramātmā is present both in the outcaste and in the brāhmaṇa, although the body of a brāhmaṇa and that of an outcaste are not the same. The bodies are material productions of different modes of material nature, but the soul and the Supersoul within the body are of the same spiritual quality.” …/….

Without willing to get involved in this type of controversy, I would just like to highlight the fact that in my humble opinion, both presentations and approaches are valid. It just depends from which angle of vision one places oneself from…

Brahmacaris and brahmacarinis, as openly and honestly explained by our dear Pusta Krishna Prabhu are generally struggling to drive their mind and senses away from the object of the senses, i.e. the opposite sex.

However, Srila Prabhupada once stated that all of his female disciples should marry and that all his male disciples should remain celibate… Thereby, we have an intrinseque contradiction!

Hence, the grihasta ashrama is to be understood to be a compromise, in which the husband is meant to be a brahmacari grihasta.

In this way, relationships between men and women, besides the natural relationship between husband and wife, still have to be restricted. Therefore, a married man should, for instance, still refrain from talking to any woman privately, besides his own wife.

However, one should understand that the goal is to transcend this duality in between attraction and aversion, which is often the syndrom of a neophite devotee. The goal is to establish oneself on the transcendental platform:

brahma-bhutah prasannatma
na socati na kankshati
samah sarveshu bhuteshu
mad-bhaktim labhate param

One who is thus transcendentally situated at once realizes the Supreme Brahman and becomes fully joyful. He never laments or desires to have anything. He is equally disposed toward every living entity. In that state he attains pure devotional service unto Me. (B.g. 18.54)

In his purport, Srila Prabhupada states:

“In the material concept of life, when one works for sense gratification, there is misery, but in the absolute world, when one is engaged in pure devotional service, there is no misery. The devotee in Krishna consciousness has nothing for which to lament or desire. Since God is full, a living entity who is engaged in God’s service, in Krishna consciousness, becomes also full in himself. He is just like a river cleansed of all dirty water. Because a pure devotee has no thought other than Krishna, he is naturally always joyful. He does not lament for any material loss or aspire for gain, because he is full in the service of the Lord. He has no desire for material enjoyment, because he knows that every living entity is a fragmental part and parcel of the Supreme Lord and therefore eternally a servant.” …/….

Dear Puskaraksa Prabhu
Please accept my humble obeisances.
All glories to Srila Prabhupada.
With the utmost seriousness, I want to say, I enjoy reading you comments, your sincerity shines through.
I would like to add, It seems to me you are saying: We need an on-going, reassessment, of caliber differentiation that facilitates role adjustment through the appropriate integration of a consensus of the authoritative facts within our unique societal structure.
My suggestion is we formulate a perceptual maturation process encompassing instructional guidance resources, interfaced with a developmental orientation toward creative cultural articulation.
I am sure we are on the same page with these decisive means to overcome a divisive issue.