From the Governing Body Commission of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness
(Editor’s note: This is the 312 of the 2014 GBC resolutions. You can find the Minutes Of The 2014 Annual General Meeting in our archives section or directly here)
Whereas in ISKCON men had generally been taught to see all women other than their wives as mother;
Whereas in more recent times a practice has gained momentum that women should not be called “Mataji,” but “Prabhu;”
Whereas the word “Prabhu” is traditionally used to address men;
Whereas one section of ISKCON considers addressing women as “Prabhu” to have no cultural or
linguistic backing, or any evidentiary or experiential support from Srila Prabhupada’s teachings;
Whereas another section of ISKCON cites conversational or correspondence-based evidence that Srila Prabhupada addressed female disciples as “Prabhu;”
Whereas there is increasing discord among the proponents of these two opinions;
Whereas all initiated women also have the title “Devi” as part of their spiritual name, an address that could also apply to the non-initiated
RESOLVED:
That the Sastric Advisory Committee is requested to research the evidence for women being called “Mataji”, “Prabhu” or “Devi” and give a conclusive directive as to which of these terms should and should not be used by members of ISKCON.