Category:Our Women (Disciples of SP)
Theme Analysis
In many traditional and modern societies, the position of women is heavily dictated by material bodily designations, often leading to either exploitation or artificial struggles for material equality. Śrīla Prabhupāda introduces the absolute spiritual standard: the soul has no gender. He trains his disciples to understand that in the execution of bhakti-yoga, men and women possess equal rights and competence. Consequently, he strongly encouraged his female disciples to actively preach, distribute books, and perform Deity worship, rejecting any orthodox attempts to restrict their devotional service. Simultaneously, Śrīla Prabhupāda remained perfectly practical regarding the material body, mandating the strict separation of unmarried men and women to prevent the agitation of lust, and emphasizing the Vedic principle that women must be afforded utmost protection and care within society, marriage, and motherhood.
- Absolute Spiritual Equality: The spirit soul is transcendental to physical gender. Anyone genuinely engaged in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, whether male or female, operates on the spiritual platform and can achieve the highest perfection of life.
- Active Preaching and Worship: Rejecting discriminatory traditions, female disciples were fully empowered to lead kirtanas, deliver philosophical lectures, and worship the Deity, proving that spiritual competence is based on devotion, not bodily form.
- Practical Distinctions and Separation: Because the material world is driven by sex desire, maintaining a pure spiritual atmosphere requires the strict physical separation of unmarried men and women to protect both from falling down into material illusion.
- Protection and Motherhood: Following Vedic culture, women are meant to be constantly protected by fathers, husbands, or grown sons. Creating a peaceful, Kṛṣṇa conscious home and raising children is recognized as an invaluable service to the spiritual mission.
- Explore the synthesized essence of this category in this Vanipedia article: Prabhupāda Trains His Disciples on the Role of Women - Spiritual Equality and Protection.
Pages in category "Our Women (Disciples of SP)"
The following 67 pages are in this category, out of 67 total.
A
- A brahmacari can tolerate any inconvenience, but women and children cannot. They will have difficulty
- All women should be sent from Calcutta to Mayapur. No women should be in Calcutta. Woman is good and man is good, but if you combine them, then both become bad, unless there is regulation
- Another nice news is that all of you women are going out daily for preaching. Very good. Continue it whole heartedly
- Any god-brother's wife or any unmarried girl in our society should be always treated as mother and sister. Any married woman should be treated as mother
I
- I do not know why Kirtanananda Maharaja is encouraging our woman devotees not to go out on Sankirtana for book distribution. Everyone should go out
- I hope that all of you, men, women, boys and girls, become spiritual master and follow this principle. Spiritual master - simply, sincerely, follow the principles and speak to the general public
- I lost my mother when I was only 14 years old. So I didn't get much of my mother's affection in my childhood. But in my old age, Krishna has given me so many young mothers to take care of me
- I want to organize a women kirtana party singing the Gita Gan. Can you help me?
- I wish sincerely that except for husband and wife, everyone should live separately, man separate from woman, and woman separate from man
- If a woman can lecture nicely and to the point, we should hear her carefully. That is our philosophy. But if a man can speak better than a woman, the man should be given first preference
- If one is giving very important service, then even there is some faulty thing, excuse. Service is so important. So in the Western countries the woman can give very good service
- If you are feeling inconvenience being the only woman devotee in Mombasa you may move. I have invited you to attend the Mayapur festival, but if you cannot wait then you can move at once to the Nairobi temple, or you may come to India and stay at Mayapur
- If you can induce all the women of Los Angeles to place an altar in their homes and help their husbands have peaceful, happy home life in Krishna Consciousness, that will be very great service for you
- If you organize this kind of play, at least they'll be appreciated by the saintly order. The sannyasis also can see. But parts played by women, the sannyasis cannot see. That is strictly prohibited
- In Bhagavad-gita we find that women are also equally competent like the men in the matter of Krishna Consciousness Movement
- In Caitanya Mahaprabhu's Movement, everyone is preacher, whether man or woman it doesn't matter
- In India private talks with woman are immediately condemned. He is a good preacher, but it is very dangerous to close the door with woman, and then he becomes angry if anybody comes. Lust is so strong that if it is obstructed it turns into anger
- It is not ordinary singing, it is concert, many people are singing, so it is not bad. Just like Sankirtana, many voices are there, men and women, so it is the same thing, sankirtana. I approve of it
- It is very difficult to satisfy a woman by a person who has no good income, neither very good health. The woman as a class wants sufficient means to eat, and decorate and at the same time full satisfaction of sex
- It will be nice if Shakti Mata can take care of the girls in the Temple. She is a very able woman
L
- Let the man & woman combine together, live peacefully. The woman takes charge of the household affairs, the man may take charge of bringing money, & they meet together, have Deity at home, together chant Hare Krsna. Where is the difficulty? That is unity
- Let us cooperate in this (KC) movement very nicely; here in this spot, New Vrindaban, the woman's business will be to take care of the children, cooking cleansing, and churning butter. Those who have the knowledge of typing can help in typing also
- Looking on women is not an impediment to spiritual progress, but looking on women with a view of sense gratification is detrimental
N
- No one invited me. Even you boys and girls did not invite me. But, I came and I preached aggressively, and therefore you are now my disciples
- Now there should be one rule that unless they are husband-wife, man and woman should not worship together
- Now Yamuna has taken a very nice path. She has also become sannyasini. Although there is no sannyasini for women, but she has voluntarily taken
P
R
- Regarding lecturing by woman devotees: I have informed you that in the service of the Lord there is no distinction of caste or creed, color, or sex
- Regarding marriage, generally the man should be older than the woman. We have not had good experience with marriages when the woman is older. But everything must be done with reference to time, place and circumstance
- Regarding the disturbance made by the women devotees, they are also living beings. They also come to Krishna. So consciously I cannot deny them. If our male members, the brahmacaris and the sannyasis, if they become steady in KC, there is no problem
- Regarding the problem of how to be aggressive on Sankirtana and submissive in the temple, my request to you is that you should go on being aggressive on Sankirtana. I myself was aggressive in coming to your country
- Regarding the worship of our Gaura Nitai by women pujaris, we worship Lord Caitanya in His householder life when He was with His wife, and not as a sannyasi. So, it is alright for women to do this service
S
- She is expert in typing. Amongst the women, she is expert typist. She is expert in so many things. Only defect is that she is woman. But Krsna says, striyah sudras tatha vaisyah: "Never mind woman. If she is devotee, she also comes to Me."
- Show the women of the community how to help their husbands and children to perfect their home life
- Since there is no sacred thread for the women, they may have already heard the mantra. In any case there are enclosed three mantra sheets, one for each of them
- So far your question regarding women, I have always accepted the service of women without any discrimination, so I have no objection if Yamuna devi contributes her ideas on this construction project. Nothing should be done without group consultation
- So you please continue your devotional service, cooking etc, and you can also keep giving Bhagavatam class if you like. Women in our movement can also preach very nicely. Actually male and female bodies, these are just outward designations
- Spiritual cultivation is not exactly meant for the sannyasi’s or vanaprastha's it is meant for everyone. Everybody, just like our spiritual method we are also, we are women, children, men but the purpose is different
- Spiritually everyone is equal. But materially a woman cannot be given Sannyasa. But you should not be bothered because you are serving on the spiritual platform
T
- Take my advice that women, girls, until married, must be under the guidance and protection of the father. That is Vedic civilization. Under the circumstances, I request you both to go back to your father immediately
- The girls, the women, they like to be more beautiful. So if by dressing in other way they look beautiful, why should you ask them not to do it?
- The idea of a woman's asrama is good. Those not married, if there is not provision for separate living quarters for them in the temples, they can go there
- The nursery school program is very good. That is good that the mothers are being freed to increase their devotional service. It is not that women should only produce children, but they are meant for advancing in devotion
- The policy should be that all the women are given the utmost protection
- The sort of marriage where they are not satisfied cannot be allowed. Nor can women with child strictly she cannot marry again
- The spirit soul is equal in either a man or woman. One who is actually engaged in the service of Krishna, there is no such distinction as man or woman
- The system of the country, the women and men, they intermingle. How can I check it? Then the women, shall I not give them any chance for chanting Hare Krsna? No, I shall do this chance, I shall give this chance to woman even at the risk
- The women are doing nicely, so why are they being changed from the pujari to the Sankirtana? These things should be done by the President. These are internal things, and you should not interfere. I do not approve of your changing the women
- The young men and women at the ISKCON temple are giving everything they have for giving others a chance to come and worship at an authorized Radha-Krishna temple
- There are now ten devotees with me here and I expect 20 more men and women from the U.S. and Europe to come within a month
- They (our women in Krsna consciousness) never say that "I have to go to Japan for preaching like Prabhupada." They never say. This is artificial
- They are chanting, dancing, taking to Krsna consciousness. Of course, because superficially, bodily, there is some distinction, so we keep women separately from men, that's all. Otherwise, the rights are the same
- They avoid that trap, they avoid association of women. But these women are not ordinary women. They are preachers. They are preachers. They are Vaisnava. By their association, one becomes a Vaisnava
W
- We worship Lord Caitanya in His householder life when He was with His wife, and not as a sannyasi. So, it is alright for women to do this service. But, besides this, service is spiritual and there can be no material designation
- Well, she is also an woman. She has no much intelligence. But here, to manage Krsna's affairs, is also Krsna's work. Don't take it otherwise. We must be engaged in Krsna's business
- Who has introduced these things, that women cannot have chanting japa in the temple, they cannot perform the arati and so many things? If they become agitated, then let the brahmacaris go to the forest, I have never introduced these things
- Women when not with husband must live very very humbly and simple life
- Women, it is only possible in our Vaisnava bhakti-yoga - women and men can be given equal right. There is no other system
Y
- You ask about marriage, yes, actually I want that every woman in the Society should be married. But what is this training to become wives and mothers? No school is required for that, simply association
- You leaders see that the Krsna Conscious standards in regard to initiation, cleanliness, dress and activities of the devotees, the restriction of association between men and women, all be strictly followed. Devotional service cannot be done whimsically
- You say that the women with children make their schedules around their children. That is the difficulty for family men, their first worshipable object becomes the children. What can be done?