unanswered question

[Guest guest]

At 5:22 AM -0500 11/26/99, Loladd1 (AT) aol (DOT) com wrote:

 

>It

>truly is important to include all of Srila Prabhupada's teachings in the

>future of the movement. You present some of them.

 

Would you or someone please enlighten me/us as to which of Prabhupada's

instructions support/sanction women (including widows and/or divorcees)

being GBC. I asked the GBC EC (and my Guru Maharaja) a year ago about their

decision to put women on the GBC but was never informed of the sastric

reasoning behind it.

 

"You have to accept anything from the authorized source. So according to

Vedic civilization, all knowledge is received from the Vedas, perfect

authorized source. Sruti-pramana, evidence from the sruti, from the Vedas,

that is perfect. Therefore, according to Vedic civilization, if you want to

establish something you have to quote the section or the injunction from

the Vedas. Then it is perfect." (Bhagavad-gita Lecture 16.9 Hawaii,

February 5, 1975)

 

Your servant, Sita dd

[Guest guest]

In a message dated 11/26/99 7:10:20 PM Eastern Standard Time,

btb (AT) georgian (DOT) net writes:

 

<<

Would you or someone please enlighten me/us as to which of Prabhupada's

instructions support/sanction women (including widows and/or divorcees)

being GBC. I asked the GBC EC (and my Guru Maharaja) a year ago about their

decision to put women on the GBC but was never informed of the sastric

reasoning behind it. >>

 

Govinda dasi tells me that Srila Prabhupada offered she and Yamuna Prabhu a

shared seat on the GBC, but neither was so inclined at that time.

 

At a recent conference amongst Doctors of Religion a paper was shared about

Shree Adwaita's wife's being a guru.

 

Your Servant, Kusha mata

[Guest guest]

In a message dated 11/26/99 7:10:20 PM Eastern Standard Time,

btb (AT) georgian (DOT) net writes:

 

<<

Would you or someone please enlighten me/us as to which of Prabhupada's

instructions support/sanction women (including widows and/or divorcees)

being GBC. I asked the GBC EC (and my Guru Maharaja) a year ago about their

decision to put women on the GBC but was never informed of the sastric

reasoning behind it. >>

 

Govinda dasi tells me that Srila Prabhupada offered she and Yamuna Prabhu a

shared seat on the GBC, but neither was so inclined at that time.

 

At a recent conference amongst Doctors of Religion a paper was shared about

Shree Adwaita's wife's being a guru.

 

Your Servant, Kusha mata

[Guest guest]

At 10:41 AM -0500 11/29/99, Vrinda (AT) aol (DOT) com (Kusha Mata) wrote:

 

>Govinda dasi tells me that Srila Prabhupada offered she and Yamuna Prabhu a

>shared seat on the GBC, but neither was so inclined at that time.

 

In 1969 or 1970? Why are there no other "evidences" from 1971-1977 of women

being asked by Prabhupada to be GBC? This account from Govinda Dasi doesn't

prove anything. Tamal Krsna Maharaja's recollection explains Prabhupada's

ultimate decision NOT to put Yamuna as GBC.

 

>At a recent conference amongst Doctors of Religion a paper was shared about

>Shree Adwaita's wife's being a guru.

 

Sure, anything's possible for the wives of the incarnations of Maha Visnu

and Lord Balarama. But what does that prove? Prahlad was a child guru so

does that mean ISKCON should allow children to take disciples of their own?

 

As my husband recently wrote:

 

>Bhaktivinda

>Thakura says in his Bhaktyaloka p.85:

>

>"General rules are not changed because something happens to a particular

>person in a special situation. Sri Dhruva Maharaja went to Dhruva loka in

>his material body; seeing that, should one waste time hoping for the same?

>The general rule is a living entity gives up his material body and goes to

>Vaikuntha in his spiritual body. General rules should be accepted by

>people in general."

>

>And what is the general rule?

>

>Suniti, however, being a woman, and specifically his mother, could not

>become Dhruva Maharaja's diska-guru. (SB 4.12.32)

>

>Like Bhaktivinoda Thakura, Srila Prabhupada, the perfect acarya, who lives

>and breathes according to sastra, reconciles what our imperfect senses

>consider contradictions by saying:

>

> "t is not that woman cannot be acarya. Generally, they do not become.

>In very special case. (From transcript of original tape of SP dictating

>BGAII intro. 660219BG.NY)

>

>Just like in very special cases someone can go back to Godhead in his

>material body. But *generally*, you'd better not count on it!

The following may also be of interest. It is from Jyotirmayi's paper:

>SP: Woman is to help her husband.

>JM: So the duty of the brahmana is to preach. It is to learn the philosophy.

>SP: Yes, to learn and to preach.

>JM: And to teach the philosophy. So in our movement, the women have always

>preached philosophy, given classes, given lectures.

>SP: Oh yes, oh yes. With the husband. She is always helping hand to hand the

>husband.... Assistant.

>JM: Does that mean that the girls should not give lectures and not give

>classes?

>SP: Why not? If she is a brahmana's wife, she can give lecture.

>JM: Jadurani, for example, now she is no longer with her husband anymore.,

>but she is giving classes, she is giving lectures. So is that good?

>SP: Yes, yes. Why not? This varnashrama dharma, woman is according to the

>husband. That's all. Jadurani is suppose to be a brahmana's wife, her

>husband has taken sanyasa, so she can preach.

>JM: So women can preach. They can give classes. They can give lectures.

>SP: Oh yes.

Who did Prabhupada say could give class? Wives of brahmanas. But the WM

says that ANY woman should be allowed to give class anywhere at any time,

and to anyone. The WM say that ANY woman can should be allowed to become

gbc or diksa guru. Such is simply NOT supported by Srila Prabhupada's words

or example. Why did our GBC allow this to happen?!

Ys, Sita dd