Śrīla Prabhupāda on Women: Preface
There are passages in Prabhupāda’s teachings that can be hard to process, like his statements about women being less intelligent, more lustful, less trustworthy, and so on. How to understand them?
Preface
Through his translations and purports, Śrīla Prabhupāda brought Kṛṣṇa consciousness into modern society with a force and clarity never seen before, making the philosophy of Kṛṣṇa consciousness accessible to people of different countries, languages, and backgrounds. More than half a billion of his books have been distributed, and we will probably never understand the full impact they had on society.
At the same time, however, there are a number of passages in Prabhupāda’s teachings that can be hard to process. Among them are his statements about women being less intelligent than men, more lustful, less trustworthy, and so on. For some, these statements are distressing. For others, they appear to conflict with the deep respect, affection, and opportunities that Prabhupāda personally extended to his female disciples. Others simply try to avoid the discussion altogether, either by dismissing the statements as irrelevant or by trying to fanatically impose their view of them as absolute truth. Some become apologetic; others treat it as a public relations issue that has to be managed.
In this book, we try to avoid all these reactions. Rather, the purpose is to examine what Śrīla Prabhupāda actually said, what the purpose of such statements was, what kind of philosophical conclusions are behind them, and how they fit into his teachings.
The central idea of this study is that Śrīla Prabhupāda’s statements about women cannot be understood properly when we separate them from his broader teachings. He repeatedly taught that every living being is an eternal servant of Kṛṣṇa, beyond the temporary designations of male and female. On the spiritual platform, the soul is neither man nor woman. The real identity of every living being is spiritual, and we all have the same ultimate opportunity to revive our eternal connection with Kṛṣṇa.
At the same time, Śrīla Prabhupāda did not deny the reality of material conditioning. In one sense, the material world is temporary and illusory, but in another, we are here, and our actions in this life determine our destination. To go somewhere, we have to understand the vehicle we are using. Prabhupāda often spoke about the influence of the body, mind, senses, social habits, family responsibilities, and the different psychological tendencies of men and women. The fact that we are souls does not automatically cancel all physical, mental, and social implications.
This book is not meant to justify abuse or subjugation; we have already had more than enough in the history of our movement. It is, however, also not meant to support artificial independence. The goal is simply to remain faithful to Śrīla Prabhupāda’s teachings, explaining some of his most controversial passages in light of the philosophy he consistently taught.
Read the whole book:
+ Why does Prabhupāda say that women should not be given independence at any stage?
+ In what sense are women nine times more lusty?
+ Women like men who are “expert at rape”?
+ Are women, vaiśyas, and śūdras of lower birth?
+ A woman should follow a husband who is not fallen
+ Why did Prabhupāda say women are less intelligent?
+ Why does Prabhupāda use the word “prostitute”?
+ “These women are not ordinary women”
+ The social implications of life in the material world
+ Women are also called Prabhu
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