Woman touched Srila Prabhupada's feet!

[Guest guest]

> "She offered her respect unto me just like her Spiritual Master, several

> times she touched my feet,..."

> from Srila Prabhupada's Letter to: Yamuna -- Hawaii 13 March, 1969.

 

To continue the discussion in my humble opinion this activity cannot be

imitated by ordinary persons or persons who have not reached the platform of

pure unalloyed devotion like Shrila Prabhupada. This is verified by the

quotes given below:

 

SB 10.33.29

sri-suka uvaca

dharma-vyatikramo drsta isvaranam ca sahasam

tejiyasam na dosaya vahneh sarva-bhujo yatha

 

Sukadeva Gosvami said: The status of powerful controllers is not harmed by

any apparently audacious transgression of morality we may see in them, for

they are just like fire, which devours everything fed into it and remains

unpolluted.

 

PURPORT

Great, potent personalities are not ruined by an apparent transgression of

moral principles. Sridhara Svami mentions the examples of Brahma, Indra,

Soma, Visvamitra and others. A fire devours all that is fed into it but the

fire does not change its nature. Similarly, a great personality does not

fall from his position by an irregularity in behavior. In the following

verse, however, Sukadeva Gosvami makes it clear that if we try to imitate

the great personalities ruling the universe, the result will be

catastrophic.

 

SB 10.33.31

isvaranam vacah satyam tathaivacaritam kvacit

tesam yat sva-vaco-yuktam buddhimams tat samacaret

 

The statements of the Lord's empowered servants are always true, and the

acts they perform are exemplary when consistent with those statements.

Therefore one who is intelligent should carry out their instructions.

 

Purport by Tridandi Bhikshu Bhaktiratna Sadhu:

 

One should follow Shrila Prabhupada's universal instructions given in his

books rather than simply try to imitate his activities or justifying our

anti-shastric actions by saying that I can do it because Prabhupada did it.

Those of Shrila Prabhupada's transcendental activities which do not confirm

to his own instructions in his books or guru, sadhu and shastra are to be

worshiped by us but cannot be imitated according to the above verse. Because

an eternally liberated associate of the Lord like Prabhupada is not bound to

follow the rules of this material world but we are not eternally liberated

souls and thus we cannot do the same. Infact great empowered associates of

the Lord like Shrila Prabhupada or the Lord himself sometimes engage in

activities which are not in confirmation with the scriptures just to show

that they are fully transcendental to the rules and injunctions of the

scriptures (menat for the conditioned souls) and cannot be brought down to

the material level.

 

FOR A RENUNCIANT TOUCHING A WOMAN MEANS DEATH.

 

"My dear Govinda," He said, "you have saved My life. If I had touched the

body of a woman, I would certainly have died. (Cc Antya 13.85)

 

NO RENOUNCED PERSON SHOULD TOUCH A WOMAN

 

SB 11.8.13

padapi yuvatim bhiksur, na sprsed daravim api

sprsan kariva badhyeta, karinya anga-sangatah

 

A saintly person should never touch a young girl. In fact, he should not

even let his foot touch a wooden doll in the shape of a woman. By bodily

contact with a woman he will surely be captured by illusion, just as the

elephant is captured by the she-elephant due to his desire to touch her

body.

 

PURPORT

 

Elephants are captured in the jungle in the following way. A large hole is

dug and then covered over with grass, leaves, mud and so on. Then a

she-elephant is exhibited in front of the male elephant, who chases after

her with lusty desire, falls into the hole and is captured. The lesson to be

learned from the elephant is that the desire to relish the touch sensation

is certainly the cause of ruining one's life. An intelligent person, noting

the elephant's great propensity to sport with the she-elephant, will take

this excellent example to heart. Therefore, somehow or other one should

avoid being cheated by allurement to the sensuous form of woman. One should

not allow one's mind to be lost in lusty dreams of sex pleasure. There are

various types of sense gratification to be enjoyed between men and women,

including speaking, contemplating, touching, sexual intercourse, etc., and

all of these constitute the network of illusion by which one is helplessly

bound like an animal. Somehow or other one should remain aloof from sense

gratification in the form of sex pleasure; otherwise, there is no

possibility of understanding the spiritual world.

 

WOMEN CANNOT COME CLOSE TO A RENUNCIANT WHAT TO SPEAK OF TOUCHING HIM

 

>From SB Intro: "No woman could approach the Lord even to offer respects.

Women's seats were accommodated far away from the Lord. As an ideal teacher

and acarya, He was very strict in the routine work of a sannyasi."

 

Cc Antya 5.36-37: A RENUNCIANT UNDERGOES CHANGES IN HIS MIND & BODY AND

CANNOT REMAIN UNAFFECTED.

 

"I am a sannyasi," He said, "and I certainly consider Myself renounced. But

what to speak of seeing a woman, if I even hear the name of a woman, I feel

changes in My mind and body. Therefore who could remain unmoved by the sight

of a woman? It is very difficult.

 

SB 10.33.30

naitat samacarej jatu manasapi hy anisvarah

vinasyaty acaran maudhyad yatharudro 'bdhi-jam visam

 

One who is not a great controller should never imitate the behavior of

ruling personalities, even mentally. If out of foolishness an ordinary

person does imitate such behavior, he will simply destroy himself, just as a

person who is not Rudra would destroy himself if he tried to drink an ocean

of poison.

 

PURPORT

Lord Siva, or Rudra, once drank an ocean of poison, and the result was that

an attractive blue mark appeared on his neck. But if we were to drink even a

drop of such poison, we would die immediately. Just as we should not imitate

this pastime of Siva's, we should not imitate Lord Krsna's activities with

the gopis. We should clearly understand that while Lord Krsna certainly

descends to demonstrate religious principles, He also descends to

demonstrate that He is God and we are not. That also must be demonstrated.

The Lord enjoys with His internal potency and thus attracts us to the

spiritual platform. We should not try to imitate Krsna (or his pure

devotees), for we will suffer severely.

 

SB 10.33.32

kusalacaritenaisam iha svartho na vidyate

viparyayena vanartho nirahankarinam prabho

 

My dear Prabhu, when these great persons who are free from false ego act

piously in this world, they have no selfish motives to fulfill, and even

when they act in apparent contradiction to the laws of piety, they are not

subject to sinful reactions.