Prabhupada on women: Why does he call modern women "prostitutes"?
This is the third part of a series about Prabhupada's statements on women. In this third part, we will talk about the many statements where Prabhupada uses the word "prostitute".
This is the third part of a series about Prabhupada's statements on women. If you are interested in the topic, you can check the previous parts:
» Why did Prabhupada say women are less intelligent?
» Do women like men who are expert at rape?
In this third part, we will talk about the many statements where Prabhupada uses the word "prostitute". Take this passage, for example:
"Woman given freedom means prostitute. Free woman means prostitute." (Room Conversation, April 5, 1977, Bombay)
To many, this passage may sound quite offensive, since we usually associate the word “prostitute” with a woman who sells her body, but this is not the only meaning for the term. The Merriam-Webster dictionary, for example, also lists "a person (such as a writer or painter) who deliberately debases their talents (as for money)" and "to devote to corrupt or unworthy purposes".
When we observe the way Prabhupada uses the term, we can see that he uses it in an even broader way. In some passages, he says the apsarās in the heavenly planets are prostitutes, for example, although obviously, they are not in the business of sex for money. How does it work?
The point is that Vedic culture has different moral standards from most contemporaneous societies. The moral standards are much more rigid, and there is a much greater focus on families and social order. There is a much greater emphasis on chastity, for example. Liberals may be quick to condemn this system, but the truth is that it is a social system that allowed society to prosper for millions of years, while liberal societies are showing signs of disintegration after just three generations.
The idea of "prostitute" in Vedic societies is very different from what is commonly used today, and this reflects in the way Srila Prabhupada uses the term. In most cases, when the term "prostitute" is used, it doesn't necessarily mean someone who sells her body for money, but rather a woman who has affairs with one or more men outside of marriage.
This explains why the term is used in connection with the apsarās, as in the previous example. Apsarās are celestial society girls who are free to associate with men outside of the constricts of matrimony. Not only do they associate freely with different classes of demigods, but they also sometimes come to our planet to associate with kings and other handsome men, or even on missions from the demigods of seducing sages who threaten their positions by dint of their austerities. It is not considered condemnable for the apsarās to do that (they operate under a different set of morals), but according to the standard of morality prescribed in the Vedas for our planet, this would be considered prostitution.
Similarly, many women mentioned in different pastimes are described as prostitutes. Some are really selling their bodies for money, like in the case of Pingala, but others are just widows or young girls who would have affairs with different men for different reasons, often out of necessity. In other words, the term "prostitute" is frequently used in the sense of a "free woman", in opposition to a woman who gets married to a qualified man and performs her duties within family life.
We can see the term used in this sense in the description of the "prostitutes" of Dvaraka in the first canto of Srimad Bhagavatam, for example. These are artists, dancers, and other unmarried women who have affairs with different men who temporarily maintain them or give them gifts. As Srila Prabhupada points out in his purports, such a class of women has its function in society, although this path is not recommended.
This is probably one of the reasons Srila Prabhupada was also condemning the women's liberation movement, since it is strongly based on the idea of women being free to have affairs with men as they please. Under the spiritual perspective, this is not considered something positive, and as the spiritual master, Prabhupada has the duty to alert to this fact, which he does. It's up to us to take it into consideration or not.
The term "prostitute" is also used to describe a woman of loose character. For example, the woman Ajāmila got involved with is described as a prostitute, although there is no indication that she was selling her body. She was having an affair with a sudra man when Ajāmila saw her for the first time, and as Ajāmila started giving her gifts and money, she quickly went to him. Although it's described that they got married, she is still described as a prostitute because she was staying with Ajāmila mainly because of the money.
The term "prostitution" is sometimes even used in connection with family life. There are instances where Prabhupada calls married life "legal prostitution". This applies to marriages where the main goal is just sex life. Such unions are just a union of convenience that is easily broken as soon as there is dissatisfaction. When this happens, both the man and women go for new partners, resulting in cases of people already in their 6th or 9th "marriage". Such unions are just based on mutual pleasure and facilities for sense gratification, different from a true marriage that is based on responsibility, fidelity, commitment, and self-sacrifice.
These are different points that may sound difficult to understand because we may identify with different values, but it is interesting to understand this rationale in order to better understand the books from Srila Prabhupada and maybe eventually be able to live up to these elevated standards.
If we go back to the first quote, "Woman given freedom means prostitute. Free woman means prostitute.", we can see that this is based on the idea of women having affairs with different men instead of entering family life, as is common nowadays. This idea gained force in the 1960s with the sexual revolution, women's liberation, etc., and Prabhupada felt the need to oppose these ideas on several occasions.
The point is that most women have the necessity of an affective relationship, just as practically all men. The problem is that without a good system for boys and girls being trained to be dutiful wives and husbands, the only other option is that people go from one partner to the other, having girlfriends, boyfriends, and sex buddies, as it is the norm nowadays. We may call it normal, but this is not such a great idea from a spiritual perspective.
What about the men? Prabhupada also refers to men who prefer to have affairs with different women instead of becoming responsible and accepting responsibility for a wife in many passages, using derogatory terms such as "debauchee", "woman-hunter", "drunkard", "rascal", etc. Such attacks against men are more common than passages criticizing women in Prabhupada's books; it is just that men usually don't get very much offended by it.
The bottom line is that although the usage of the word “prostitute” in several passages from Prabhupada is used to criticize the loose moral standards many of us have nowadays, just as “debauchee” or “rascal”, this is also not a disqualification in the spiritual path. The “prostitutes” of Dvaraka were all great devotees, and the “prostitute” with whom Bilvamangala Thakura was haging out in his young life gave him a valuable spiritual instruction that ultimately saved him from a life of debauchery. The spiritual process offered by Lord Caitanya is so powerful that anyone who sincerely chants can get free of all bad habits and attain spiritual perfection, regardless of one’s previous habits and standards.