by Devaki Devi Dasi<\/p>\n
Within our spiritual practice and its culture we can find universal
\nprinciples and also details. The principles have to be preserved at all
\ncost. Unless we maintain the principles we can easily lose them, in the
\nname of reformation and modernizing. And as a result the purity and
\nspiritual potency will also be lost. This happened in all other spiritual
\ncultures, such as Christianity for example. Some hundred years ago we could
\nfind so many principles of spiritual culture present, but now they are all
\nlost and forgotten. And as a result Christianity has lost also in its
\nspiritual power. I remember two elderly matajis from Switzerland sharing
\nhow in their childhood men and women were sitting separately in the
\ncatholic church – on one side the men, on the other side the ladies. So even
\nin Christianity the clear understanding was there, that the attraction
\nbetween men and women distracts us from the Lord, and thus the genders
\nshould better be kept separately. Of course now, in the modern days, this
\nwould be an unimaginable practice.
\nSo the principles are universal and have to be preserved. But the details
\nmight vary according to time, place and circumstance.
\nIn our Vaisnava culture it is a clearly established principle that a woman
\nis considered contaminated when she has her menstruation. This is a
\nprinciple. The details of application was that in former days she would not
\neven leave the house. One reason for this was also, because there were no
\nsuitable toiletries available, and women were using rags and cotton wool
\ninstead. Of course, one could easily make a mess out of oneself, and thus
\none was not seen in public. These days we maintain the principle of
\nunderstanding, that she is not clean, but the detail of application might be
\ndifferent, and the ladies do move around, etc.
\nAnother principle is that a woman should be viewed as mother. Canakya Pandit
\nsays it, and Srila Prabhupada says it many times throughout the Bhagavatam
\nand in his lectures. The fact that Prabhupada addressed some of his lady
\ndisciples as ‘Prabhu’ is however a detail – according to time, place and
\ncircumstance. Unless we clearly distinguish between principles and details,
\nit can easily happen that we take a detail and try to establish it as a
\nprinciple. In this example it would mean that just because Prabhupada
\nsometimes addressed women in this way, we establish it as a universal
\nprinciple that every woman should be seen and addressed as Prabhu. But no –
\nthe more we have developed the recommended vision of seeing every woman as
\nmother, the more we want to address her in such way.<\/p>\n
Another such principle is that Sannyasis should not associate with women.
\nIn former days this was so strictly applied that a Sannyasi would not even
\nspeak with a woman. However, today Sannyasi Gurus accept women disciples,
\ngive darshan and write letters to women. They accept a conscious risk for
\nthe sake of preaching. Nevertheless, the principle of a Sannyasi not
\nallowing himself to internally be dependant on women and not enjoying
\nintimate dealings with women – even in a most subtle form – has to be
\nmaintained, otherwise the purity will be lost and fall-downs will take
\nplace. So again, the principle has to be preserved, whereas the details
\nmight differ according to time, place and circumstance.
\nThe same is there with the principle of woman’s protection by her father,
\nhusband and son. This principle has to be maintained, since it is Krsna’s
\nsystem for protection. Of course, the ultimate protector is Krsna and Srila
\nPrabhupada. Nevertheless, Krsna advises that a living man should protect a
\nwoman. If we dismiss this good advice, we cannot be surprised if so many
\nunwanted things will happen to us women. How exactly the principle of
\nprotection is lived might differ according to time, place and circumstances.
\nIn former days a woman would never travel alone, because traveling meant
\nwalking – there were no planes, trains or busses. So naturally a woman would
\nnever walk long distances without the protection of a man. Nowadays
\ntraveling looks a little different, and often it simply means that devotees
\ntake us to the airport, and devotees receive us at the destination. Although
\nrecently even flying has become more dangerous also.
\nThe protecting role of the father, husband and son might also be accepted
\nby spiritual fathers and sons, understanding ISKCON as our extended family.
\nIt is not always easy to distinguish between principles and details. It
\nrequires deep understanding of the topic, and maturity. And some details
\nmight maintain the principles more than others.<\/p>\n
For further information please visit www.therootsofspiritualculture.net<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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