dasi o devi dasi

[Guest guest]

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

Srila Prabhupada's Birthcity, Calcutta Rathayatra Procession, INDIA

 

My Dear Spiritual Daughter Sridhari dd,

 

Please accept my blessings. All glories to Srila Prabhupada!

Thankyou for your letter cited below with my comments. I have noted the

contents carefully.

 

> Dear Gurudev:

> Please accept my humble obeisances. All the glories to Srila

> Prabhupada.

>

> I wander why do some vaisnavis change her devi dasi for dasi, when they

> sign an e-mail, or any letter. Is there any difference? Even I heard that

> some Spiritual Master just give the name without the 'devi'.

 

Well Srila Prabhupada gave some female disciples names like Govinda Dasi.

Since Govinda is a masculine name to make it feminine Dasi needed to be

added. Govinda Devi doesn't make sense.

 

> What does exactly mean the devi dasi after the spiritual name?

 

Devi means goddess or a person with very exalted qualities. Traditionally

respectable ladies in Vedic culture are given the honor to be called a devi.

In comparison Men are not called "Devas". Women are gentle and have nice

tender qualities so are given this respect. All women are commonly

addressed as Devi's unless they are of bad character. The woman is man's

"better half" or "Ardhangini" in vedic usage. The Dasi means servitor of

Lord Sri Krishna. So an initiated vaisnavi is both a Devi and a Dasi.

 

> Can be consider offensive if someone takes the 'devi' off when signing or

> answering when ask about wich is her name?

 

If you have to interact with persons who don't understand anything and for

preaching simplifying is useful then i don't see any problem, but within the

Society of devotees using ones full name is nice. Why change it since

devotees will understand.

 

> your always gratefull and eternal servant,

> Sridhari devi dasi

>

> Sridhari (AT) lanet (DOT) com.ar

> Sridhari.jps (AT) bbt (DOT) se

> phone: +54 - 261 - 4221806

> Mendoza - Argentina

 

I have answered from my experience. I didn't find time to search for

quotations from Srila Prabhupada on the topic. If someone has a quote i

don't mind if they suggest it to me.

 

I hope that this finds you in good health.

 

Your ever well wisher,

 

Jayapataka Swami