Guest guest Posted May 14, 2002 Report Share Posted May 14, 2002 > Srila Prabhupada once told Jadurani mataji that "If you keep thinking that > you are a woman, where is the question of making spiritual advancement?" > > So we are here to forget that we are the bodies and we associate with > devotees to help us forget that we are these bodies. > > It will be very encouraging to all if everyone was reminded of their > spiritual potential rather than the plus and minuses of their bodies. This is so true. There are several reasons why I got myself into this conversation. One is that some devotees, especially in the west, think that we are all transcendental and we need not very strictly follow Sastric injunctions and Vedic culture. But the reality is that until we are very firmly situated on the transcendental plane, in order to be successful, we must follow. Sastra all the time makes difference between sexes, casts, ashrams and so on, and as long as we are not truly transcendental we should follow the instructions and execute our responsibilities according to our material designation. We have seen in the past many "big" devotees falling down because of not being careful enough. Srila Prabhupada writes in one purport that: "no one should think of himself as a liberated person immune to the influence of maya. Everyone should very cautiously execute devotional service by rigidly following regulative principles". Please very carefully read the quote produced below. He also says that due to inattentiveness in the transcendental position one gets captivated by maya and therefore one should, even when liberated, rigidly follow regulative principles. Not only does the illusory energy of the Supreme Personality of Godhead act on the conditioned soul within this material world, but sometimes it also acts on the most advanced learned scholars, who factually know the constitutional position of this material world through realization. As soon as someone thinks, "I am this material body (aham mameti [sB 5.5.8]) and everything in relationship with this material body is mine," he is in illusion (moha). This illusion caused by the material energy acts especially on the conditioned souls, but it sometimes also acts on liberated souls as well. A liberated soul is a person who has sufficient knowledge of this material world and is therefore unattached to the bodily conception of life. But because of association with the modes of material nature for a very long time, even liberated souls sometimes become captivated by the illusory energy due to inattentiveness in the transcendental position. Therefore Lord Krsna says in Bhagavad-gita (7.14), mam eva ye prapadyante mayam etam taranti te: "Only those who surrender unto Me can overcome the influence of the material energy." Therefore no one should think of himself as a liberated person immune to the influence of maya. Everyone should very cautiously execute devotional service by rigidly following regulative principles. >>> Ref. VedaBase => SB 5.18.4 We have seen in the past how many imitated Srila Prabhupada, but after some time they got influenced by the material energy and fell down. Conclusion: If Sastra makes differences between sexes better we accept that and perform our duty with great care and attention. This is a common misconception in the West that we can make it without developing Vedic culture in or society. Your servant, Mahat-tattva dasa > > Your humble servant, > Prema Padmini dd Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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