Fwd: Prabhu for women, Mataji for men

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Kantidasi (AT) aol (DOT) com

Full-name: Kantidasi

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Fri, 26 Sep 2003 14:44:40 EDT

Re: "Prabhu" for women, "Mataji" for men

krishna_kirti (AT) hotmail (DOT) com

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In a message dated 09/26/2003 2:00:26 PM Eastern Daylight Time,

krishna_kirti (AT) hotmail (DOT) com writes:

 

> >If we are all supposed to be lower than the straw in the street, what

> >difference does it make in the long run who calls who prabhu?

>

> Mahajano yena gatah sa pantah. We must follow in the footsteps of the

> acharyas and act by their orders. If Srila Prabhupada insisted that his

> disciples address women as "Mother," but we instead say it doesn't matter

or

>

> it is unimportant, then how is that humble?

>

 

Please accept my humble obeisances prabhu, all glories to Srila Prabhupada.

Fortunately for all concerned, that is a question of the heart. Krsna knows

mine and He knows yours, I am comfortable with that, I hope you are as well.

yhs,

Kanti

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> In a message dated 09/26/2003 2:00:26 PM Eastern Daylight Time,

> krishna_kirti (AT) hotmail (DOT) com writes:

>

> > >If we are all supposed to be lower than the straw in the street, what

> > >difference does it make in the long run who calls who prabhu?

> >

> > Mahajano yena gatah sa pantah. We must follow in the footsteps of the

> > acharyas and act by their orders. If Srila Prabhupada insisted that

> > his disciples address women as "Mother," but we instead say it doesn't

> > matter

> or

> >

> > it is unimportant, then how is that humble?

> >

>

> Please accept my humble obeisances prabhu, all glories to Srila

> Prabhupada. Fortunately for all concerned, that is a question of the

> heart. Krsna knows mine and He knows yours, I am comfortable with that, I

> hope you are as well. yhs,

> Kanti

 

Bhakti Vikas Maharaj makes a very pertinent point (below) in connection with

the "feelings" of "the heart" made by Kanti Mataji above.

 

Her - Kanti Mataji's - comments stike me as something similar to what the

late mayavadi Swami Chinmayananda of the Chinmaya Mission said in a lecture

he gave at Ahmedabad back in 1982 that I attended for the sake of hearing

just exactly what he was saying.

 

He said that we'll take what we want from Bhagavad-gita, and what we don't

want we won't take, to paraphrase what he said.

 

Our respected godsister seems to be advocating a similiar line of thinking

vis a vis the obvious teachings, which see doesn't want to confront even a

word of (or so it seems) of Srila Prahbhupada in this regard.

 

> Text PAMHO:7290906 (26 lines)

> Bhakti Vikasa Swami

> 27-Sep-03 10:58 +0400

> Sivarama Swami [48078]

> Shyamasundara (das) ACBSP (Vedic Astrologer) (USA) [22215]

> "Krishna-kirti das (HDG)" <krishna_kirti (AT) hotmail (DOT) com> (sent:

> 27-Sep-03 09:00 +0200)

> Praghosa (das) SDG (IRL) [26421]

> Cc: Prabhupada Disciples [5554]

> Cc: "sita dasi" <sitadasi (AT) sympatico (DOT) ca> (sent: 27-Sep-03 09:00

> +0200) Cc: vrishni (AT) barak-online (DOT) net (sent: 27-Sep-03 09:00 +0200)

> Cc-For: ISKCON India (news & discussion)

> Cc: ISKCON India (news & discussion)

> Reference: Text PAMHO:7286921 by Praharana (dasi) ACBSP (Toronto - CA)

> "Prabhu" for women, "Mataji" for men

> ---------------------------

> Praharana Mataji wrote:

>

> > So what does it matter what term one uses? Srila

> > Prabhupada used both. It is the attitude towards the other devotee that

> > matters.

>

> It also matters what Srila Prabhupada told us to do.

>

> If Srila Prabhupada had instructed to call women Prabhu then we should do

> so.

>

> But he didn't. He repeatedly instructed to call Mother.

>

> Taking the exception and attempting to establish it as the rule suggests

> that we are not trying to understand and implement Srila Prabhupada's

> instructions, but rather trying to implement our own ideas by citing Srila

> Prabhupada.

>

> Probably on every topic we could seek through all of Srila Prabhupada's

> practice and precepts and find something that fits with what seems best to

> us. We could even justify meat eating like that. But that is not the

> proper way to accept a spiritual master.

>

> So this apparently trivial issue has far-reaching implications. Do we

> follow Srila Prabhupada's clear, repeated instructions, or do we adjust

> Srila Prabhupada's instructions to fit our own ideas?

> (Text PAMHO:7290906) ------