Prabhu, Mataji, Mother

[Guest guest]

Home Base: Sri Mayapur Candrodaya Mandir, Navadwip Dhama, Nadia, WB, INDIA

Current Camp: ISKCON Krishna-Balaram Mandir, Bangalore, Karnataka, India.

 

My Dear Spiritual Daughter Sridhari dd,

 

Please accept my blessings. All glories to Srila Prabhupada!

Thankyou for your question cited below with my comments.

 

> Mendoza - Argentina

>

> agtSSGN, agtSP, agtHDG,JPS

>

> Dear Gurudev.

> Please accept my most humble obeisances at your lotus feet:

>

> I have a question about if it is wrong to call mother or mataji, from a

> female devote to another female devotee, it seems that I have been

> offending some female devotees by calling them Mataji, because they

> argue

> to me that I just have to call a female devotee mataji if I am a woman

> who

> feel atraction to another woman, because His Holiness Srila Prabhupada

> said that. I feel confuse about it and if you feel to help me to

> understand it

> I will feel fine. I called them Mataji understanding that this a nice way

> of respect

> another devotee, and this is the way I been taught.

 

I am not sure where this comes from. Srila Prabhupada used to quote how a

man sees all women as his mother (Mataji) except his wife. So if someone

sees women as Mother or Mataji it is supposed to me a respectful form of

address.

 

Srila Prabhupada used to address his male disciples as "My Dear Spiritual

Son" and female disciples as "My Dear Spiritual Daughter". So Srila

Prabhupada used to address according to Gender and certainly that was quite

natural otherwise Srila Prabhupada wouldn't have done it.

 

> For other side, is it correct to call Prabhu to a female devotee?,

> doesn't

> make some confusion to know if for ex.: Devaki Prabhu can be a male or

> female devotee, because there lots of male devotees with female names

> and

> female devotees with male names.

 

Usually Prabhu is masculine just like Devi is feminine. I am not a sanskrit

scholar so I am not the right person to ask technical questions about

sanskrit Grammar. You could ask Bhanu Swami or one of the sanskrit scholars

for questions on the idiom.

 

> May be this is not a very trascendental question, but I need to

> understand it.

>

> Your eternal servant,

>

> Sridhari devi dasi

 

I hope that this finds you in good health.

 

Your ever well wisher,

 

Jayapataka Swami