SB 3.31.41 – Everything for Krishna’s Service

Giriraj Swami:

oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya

oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya

oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya

Reading from Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam Canto Three, Chapter Thirty-one, “The Movements of the Living Entities,”

TEXT 41

yāṁ manyate patiṁ mohān
man-māyām ṛṣabhāyatīm
strītvaṁ strī-saṅgataḥ prāpto
vittāpatya-gṛha-pradam

TRANSLATION

A living entity who, as a result of attachment to a woman in his previous life, has been endowed with the form of a woman, foolishly looks upon māyā in the form of a man, her husband, as the bestower of wealth, progeny, house, and other material assets.

PURPORT by Srila Prabhupada

From this verse it appears that a woman is also supposed to have been a man in his (her) previous life, and due to his attachment to his wife, he now has the body of a woman. Bhagavad-gītā confirms this: a man gets his next life’s birth according to what he thinks of at the time of death. If someone is too attached to his wife, naturally he thinks of his wife at the time of death, and in his next life he takes the body of a woman. Similarly, if a woman thinks of her husband at the time of death, naturally she gets the body of a man in the next life. In the Hindu scriptures, therefore, woman’s chastity and devotion to man is greatly emphasized. A woman’s attachment to her husband may elevate her to the body of a man in her next life, but a man’s attachment to a woman will degrade him, and in his next life he will get the body of a woman. We should always remember, as it is stated in Bhagavad-gītā, that both the gross and subtle material bodies are dresses; they are the shirt and coat of the living entity. To be either a woman or a man only involves one’s bodily dress. The soul in nature is actually the marginal energy of the Supreme Lord. Every living entity, being classified as energy, is supposed to be originally a woman, or one who is enjoyed. In the body of a man there is a greater opportunity to get out of the material clutches; there is less opportunity in the body of a woman. In this verse it is indicated that the body of a man should not be misused through forming an attachment to women and thus becoming too entangled in material enjoyment, which will result in getting the body of a woman in the next life. A woman is generally fond of household prosperity, ornaments, furniture, and dresses. She is satisfied when the husband supplies all these things sufficiently. The relationship between man and woman is very complicated, but the substance is that one who aspires to ascend to the transcendental stage of spiritual realization should be very careful in accepting the association of a woman. In the stage of Kṛṣṇa consciousness, however, such restriction of association may be slackened because if a man’s and woman’s attachment is not to each other but to Kṛṣṇa, then both of them are equally eligible to get out of the material entanglement and reach the abode of Kṛṣṇa. As it is confirmed in Bhagavad-gītā, anyone who seriously takes to Kṛṣṇa consciousness — whether in the lowest species of life or a woman or of the less intelligent classes, such as the mercantile or laborer class — will go back home, back to Godhead, and reach the abode of Kṛṣṇa. A man should not be attached to a woman, nor should a woman be attached to a man. Both man and woman should be attached to the service of the Lord. Then there is the possibility of liberation from material entanglement for both of them.

Giriraj Swami: So the whole process of Krishna consciousness is to transfer our attachment to Krishna.

mayy āsakta-manāḥ pārtha
yogaṁ yuñjan mad-āśrayaḥ [Bg. 7.1]

In the Seventh Chapter of the Bhagavad-gītā, where Krishna instructs that one should practice yoga with mind attached to Him. Every living entity has the tendency to become attached. The impersonalist tries to reduce our attachment to maya. But Srila Prabhupada explains we cannot become stones without an attachment. We are living beings and we will have attachments. So the whole process of Krishna consciousness is to transfer our attachment from maya to Krishna. And then our lives become successful. Earlier, in Kapiladeva’s instruction to Devahuti, he states that every learned person knows that attachment to the material is the greatest cause of bondage. So the same attachment and transfer to the self-realized devotee opens the door to liberation. So we have to transfer our attachment from maya to Krishna, from materialistic association to divine association. And therefore the association of devotees is so important, so that we can transfer the association of devotee into the service of the Lord.

A few months ago we visited a gentleman who has hosted Srila Prabhupada at his home in Puri. And here I invited some friends over to meet me. And one of the friends asked the question, “Why are you spending so much money on temples and ashrams? Why don’t you spend money on something that you can benefit, like hospitals?” So the host, who is named Mr. Malocha, told the friend that he had asked the very same question to Srila Prabhupada twenty years earlier. And he proceeded to give his version of Srila Prabhupada answer, which may not be exactly correct in every detail, but which I believe in essence is accurate. Mr. Malocha had asked Srila Prabhupada the same question, “What is the use of spending money on building more temples? You are not spending money on something useful for the people, like hospitals.” Srila Prabhupada replied that, “Suppose you are a guest in Mr. Devdhar home, (Mr. Devdhar is a gracious man) and you spend some days with him and you get to know the family members. Then after some time, if you love his home, you are driving in his car and you see Mr. Devdhar grandson, who is sitting on the footpath in very poor condition, and just begging for some rupee that can get him some food. So when you see him, you have three choices what you can do. 1) you can just keep driving, there is no harm. 2) you can give him a hundred rupees, so he can buy some food, or 3) you can stop and approach the boy and say, “Oh I know you, you are Mr. Devdhar grandson, I know you. Why don’t you come with me to my place and I will wash you and give you nice clothes and feed you and we can spend some time together.”

So if one chooses the third alternative, then the boy will come home. And, as you said, you will give him a shower and give him fresh clothes and feed him nicely, give him a nice place to rest. And just shower him with a lot of love and affection and care and attention. And gradually, he will become attached to you. And after he is attached to you, then you can bring up the subject of what happened. Why did you leave your home? What went wrong? And then gradually, by him being attached to you, he will go along with you and ultimately convince him to trust that you are going to be like your grandfather, and he will come and take you home. And when you are at home, all of your problems will be solved. In fact, as [Unintelligible:00:31:14–00:31:29] 

So, we are all originally parts and parcels of Krishna. But somehow we have come into the material world completely forgetful of our eternal relationship with Krishna. So, the spiritual master, he establishes ashrams, which are like homes, and he invites the conditions souls. And he gives them lots of love and affection and care and attention, and makes them attach to him. And when they become attached to him, when they develop faith in him, he can ultimately help them to re-establish their relationship with Krishna. And that is the great value of having an ashram. So, we can see how Srila Prabhupada dealt with the devotees. And in the first impression at maṅgala-ārati on Sunday morning, Prabhupada stated how all the devotees are here for one reason; they all love Srila Prabhupada. And then throughout the day, in the video, I was struck by how Srila Prabhupada loved all his devotees. And then hearing the devotees speak about their real relationship with Srila Prabhupada, and participated in the evening ārati, I had the same real relationship. So Srila Prabhupada had unconditional love for us that attracted us to Krishna consciousness, and that we became Krishna consciousness. So, the association of devotees is so important. And of course, Srila Prabhupada is the best of all devotees. And he could make us the most attached to him and to him, to Krishna.

Once, His Holiness Tamal Krishna Goswami, was in Bombay, and he had a hernia. So, some doctors advised that he should have an operation. So he went to the hospital for the operation. In the meantime, Srila Prabhupada heard about the operation, and he was very concerned, because he didn’t have much faith in doctors and operations. So he wanted to go. First he said, we should phone the hospital, but we could not get through. So then he said, “I want to go and stop the operation.” So we all got in the cars and drove down from Juhu to Jaslok Hospital. And when we got there, we were too late to stop the operation. The operation was already completed, and Tamal Krishna Goswami was in his room. And he was just coming to consciousness, coming out of the effects of the anaesthesia. And, of course, he was very pleased to see Srila Prabhupada there. And he told Srila Prabhupada that he had just been dreaming about him, and he was in the anaesthesia. And then he proceeded to tell the dream. And in the dream, Srila Prabhupada had come before Krishna to give Him a report about service. And Srila Prabhupada was saying that the people on earth have no good qualities. They have no good culture; they have no good education. More or less, they are like animals, but they do have one good qualification. And that is that they can develop faith in the spiritual master, and become servants of the spiritual master. And by that one good qualification alone, they can be saved. So, after telling the dream to Srila Prabhupada, Goswami Maharaja looked at him, and Srila Prabhupada replied, “Yes, it is true.”

So, the only way that we can become free from attachment to maya, is to become attached to Krishna. We don’t really know Krishna at the present moment. So we have to become attached to the self-realized devotee. We have to become attached to Srila Prabhupada. Then, when we can come in contact with the objects of the senses, either in the form of man, in the form of woman, in the form of money, in the form of followers, in the form of opulence, we won’t think of using them for sense satisfaction. We won’t even be using the objects of the senses for sense gratification. But we will think of using them in the service of the Lord. Because we are conditioned to thinking that we are the enjoyer, we are the controller, we are the proprietor. When we come in contact with the objects of the senses, when we come in contact with money, we are prone to engage in the old mentality of wanting to exploit and enjoy. But when we actually become attached to the spiritual master and Krishna, then when we come in contact with the objects of the senses, we will think, how can we engage them in the service of the Lord. And this is a fundamental difference between the devotee and the Mayavadi. A Mayavadi sees that everything is maya, and therefore he tries to withdraw from everything. So the devotee sees that even maya, in the sense of being the energy of the Lord, he belongs to Krishna, and therefore he is meant to be engaged in Krishna’s service. And unless we understand the principle of yukta-vairāgya, that everything is Krishna’s energy, and therefore everything should be used in Krishna’s service, if it is favorable for Krishna’s service, is the basic principle in the life of a devotee. And it is the principle which enables a devotee to preach and spread Krishna consciousness.

Srila Prabhupada gives the example that when he was in Delhi, he used to go to the market and buy paper. He used to go to the printers. When the books were published, he used to go to the cafes to sell them. So he apparently engaging in the same activities that any materialistic person would engage in. But the difference is that he is engaged in it for Krishna, whereas a materialistic person would do it for sense gratification. So although the relationship between man and woman is very complicated, as Srila Prabhupada says, but if the man and the woman both are attached to the service of the Lord, then they can associate with each other according to the Vedic principles for the sake of rendering service to the Lord. But we have to be very careful. Because Srila Rupa Gosvami says, anāsaktasya viṣayān, that one who is not attached to the objects of the senses, but who uses the objects of the senses in the service of the Lord, is still engaged in appropriate renunciation or yukta-vairāgya. And one who does not see the relationship between the objects of the senses and Krishna, and who therefore rejects the service of the Lord [Break in audio 00:42:00]. Prabhupada refers to a river in Bihar that looks like a dry bed of sand, but actually under the sand is a whole river. So impersonalists, who are engaged in artificial renunciation, they look like they are very renounced, but under the surface there is a strong current of material desire. And when the opportunity arises, the desires will come out. And then, in the mist of that, the devotee is more attached to the service of the Lord than to the objects of the senses. And therefore, even if some material facility comes to him, he will use it in the service of the Lord, not for sense gratification.

As Srila Prabhupada said the example of how to use everything in the service of Krishna, in the service of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. But we also saw that after Srila Prabhupada left, some disciples tried to imitate him, accepting the same type of material facility, the same type of worship as Srila Prabhupada. They were not actually as powerful as Srila Prabhupada to accept such offerings and engage in service of Krishna. So we have to be honest with ourselves and assess two things. 1) can the objects really be used in the service of the Lord? And 2) am I capable of engaging that object in Krishna service? Some things really are not favorable for Krishna service, are enormously favorable for Krishna service. For so many years Srila Prabhupada didn’t had a car. And the devotees started to have cars; the temple devotees started to have several cars. So the devotee thought, we all have cars but Srila Prabhupada doesn’t, we should get one for Srila Prabhupada. So the devotees found a car. So they phoned Srila Prabhupada in Bombay. They asked if they could get it for him. So they described it as a Cadillac. And when Srila Prabhupada asked how much would it cost, and the devotee said, ten thousand dollars. Srila Prabhupada said, “Ten thousand dollars. That is too much.” So Srila Prabhupada didn’t go for that. So we cannot say that the car is not used in Krishna service. But Srila Prabhupada, under the circumstances, felt that the money could be better used for printing books, and that such an expensive car is not needed.

So we also can use the theory to preach Krishna consciousness that if we pay more than we actually needed, then we will become implicated. But at the same time, apparently, some of the leaders were competing with each other, to decide more capital, to decide bigger capital. And, of course, the whole idea was to use the cash to preach Krishna consciousness. But if there is some ulterior motive involved, then we will actually get something in the name of preaching Krishna consciousness which is not actually favorable for preaching Krishna consciousness, and which again will entangle us and make us attached materially. So there is a fine line. We don’t want to reject things that can be used in the Krishna’s service. But we also don’t want to accept things in the name of Krishna’s service and use them for sense gratification. So the strongest attachment in the material world is the attachment between man and woman. And therefore when man and woman come together, then it is even more likely that the mentality of enjoying will contaminate the relationship and that they will fall down. But still, we do not reject the relationship either. And we endeavor to become gradually more attached to Krishna than to anything else, so that even in the relationship between man and woman, the central point will be Krishna’s service. And then there will be difficulties.

In the early days, if you saw a priest in the old city, and he was taking, or when he was taking medicine, the man asked Srila Prabhupada, what is maya? He heard the word maya. He asked Srila Prabhupada, what is maya? And Srila Prabhupada explained that maya is the energy of Krishna, and actually the man was there with his wife. Srila Prabhupada said that, “For example, if I know that this lady is your wife, then I can deal with her properly in the difficulties. If I don’t know that she is your wife, then I may deal with her in another way and get into difficulties.” So the way we lead us everything and everyone, including our wife or our husband, belongs to Krishna. They are meant for Krishna pleasure and not for my pleasure. So we can treat everyone as devotee of Krishna. Once in Srila Prabhupada’s room, in Vrindavan, and he is suffering, and the others, they are also suffering. But if a woman comes, you should not think that, Oh, the woman has come, let me slay her. You should think, Oh, the woman has come to serve Krishna, let me help her. And Srila Prabhupada says, he will talk to you about that. And Srila Prabhupada has himself engaged women in devotional service, and they did wonderful service. But you have to be careful. And Srila Prabhupada mentioned, things that whatever one is attached to, they will remember it at the time of death. And [Unintelligible 00:51:26], he was driving a car across the train track, and the car stalled. So he was trying to get the car to start, and he came aboard and tried to get the car to start, and he didn’t notice that the train was coming down the track, and was just bearing down upon him. So he was just trying to get the car to start, because he didn’t want to lose the car. And he looked up and saw that the train was just about to hit the car. He started to chant,

Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare
Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare

The train hit the car; and after the train hit the car, just for a moment, the devotee thought, what will happen to my wife? And then he became unconscious. [Unintelligible 00:52:28], But, it is quite a disturbing fact that, when you are ready for the final death, ready to chant the Hare Krishna, when the actual moment comes, and the panic of whatever, and the fear of whatever is most dear to us, and if it is our wife, and we might think it of our wife. So we have to really become attached to Krishna. And that, as we discussed, requires very strict sadhana, and also very deep commitment to what Srila Prabhupada’s mission. Because really, only by Srila Prabhupada’s mercy, do we have any hope? Only our attachment to Srila Prabhupada can save us, from our attachment to maya. And the way to become attach to Srila Prabhupada of course, [Unintelligible 00:53:45] hear about him, to talk about him, to remember him, to know him, to know his qualities his activities. And the other way is to serve his instructions; to serve His instruction on how to become Krishna conscious, and to serve his instruction on how to stay Krishna conscious. And staying Krishna conscious is very much part of becoming Krishna conscious. So we really have to be very serious about it, and being focal point of our association with each other, the service of Srila Prabhupada, and that will help us. And as far as the basis of Srila Prabhupada ‘s made available in purport, the lady disciple of Srila Prabhupada ‘s asked Srila Prabhupada, “Is it true that it is harder for women to make spiritual advancement?” and Srila Prabhupada replied, “Yes, if you think you are woman, it is very hard to make spiritual advances.

Vrindavan dhāma ki jaya!

Srila Prabhupada ki jaya!

Are there any questions or comments?

Devotee: [Unintelligible 00:55:10] is that accurate?

Giriraj Swami: Well, what I heard was that if we chant sixteen rounds, follow the regulative principles, and try our best to spread Krishna consciousness, then we will go back home back to Godhead. Now, we generally chant sixteen rounds, but how attentively; how carefully we following the regulated principles but how strictly. We are learning to spread Krishna consciousness, but are we really trying our best or could we do more? So, I think if we become [Unintelligible 00:56:31] on chanting sixteen rounds, on following the four principles, and [Unintelligible 00:56:36] taking it back to Godhead. We may have less chance. We may be going chanting, but I am not really chanting very hard. That is the chance that we are going to follow, and then we will be following that straight way, and then we will be following it better. I am glad to hear you are concerned with this, but that can give you a lot more service, and I think that will help us more.

Devotee: Maharaja, [Unintelligible 00:57:09], So, what Prabhupada say about the part where men are attached to men, women are attached to women, and all that becomes a question of image.

Giriraj Swami: Does anyone know? [Unintelligible 00:57:35],

But by nature the relationship, man is attracted to woman and woman is attracted to man, and the relationship can be dovetailed in Krishna service, like the children being raised in Krishna consciousness. Whereas the attraction of man to man and woman to woman is unnatural, and there is no arrangement. In the scriptures it doesn’t come together. There is no way for the attraction, or the relationship to be dovetailed in Krishna service.

Devotee: [Unintelligible 01:00:08]

Giriraj Swami: Well, the first definition in two cases. When the couple is not Krishna conscious, and when the couple is Krishna conscious. So when the couple is not Krishna conscious, then attachment to the woman by the man is bad because he runs the risk of becoming a woman in the next life. And attachment to the man by the woman is convenient because then she has the chance to become a man in the next life. But Srila Prabhupada explained that if one does not identify with the body either as man or woman. One understands that he is a marginal potency of Krishna, and therefore is meant to serve Krishna, and the relationship will be convenient for both. Because the relationship can be salvaged in service to Krishna.

Devotee: [Unintelligible 01:02:30] how to deal with that constructively in a way that would support her Krishna consciousness.

Giriraj Swami: Well, just to maybe amplify what I just said; when Srila Prabhupada was in Chicago, he was speaking on the subject of women being less intelligent than men. And he was saying that men have sixty-four-ounce brains, and women have thirty-two-ounce brains. It is a newspaper report. And women were getting completely outraged. And actually my parents were living in Chicago, so they cut some of the newspaper articles and send to me in India. So the headline of the article was, “No Man is Superior in His Religion.” So, Srila Prabhupada knew very well that it was arguably the beginning of the women’s liberation movement, [Unintelligible 01:04:16].

So, even at the airport, When Srila Prabhupada was about to leave, some reporters came to interview, as we heard on Sunday. And, again, men have sixty-four-ounce brains, and women have thirty-two-ounce brains. And then we saw at the airport that one of his lady disciples was distributing books. And he was very pleased. He was very, very pleased. And then he said, but my lady disciples they have sixty-four-ounce brains. So, we are just coming back to the same point that the man identifies with the body, we are in illusion. And the man identifies with the body, “I am a man,” he is in illusion. And if the women identify with the body, “I am a woman,” she is in illusion. And we are not meant to engage in such an illusion. We are supposed to see ourselves as spirit souls; part and parcel of Krishna. We are meant to be engaged in Krishna service. And, I would say, and this is just my own subjective opinion, that Srila Prabhupada poking at women, and he poked at everyone. He poked at scientists, he poked at politicians, he poked at materialists, and he poked at impersonalists. But his poking at women is to encourage a woman not to identify as women. And, just my personal opinion, that if you don’t identify so strongly with being a woman, you won’t be bothered. You are attracted to Krishna consciousness and you are coming. And you still have this idea that you are a woman, but the point of this, [Unintelligible 01:06:38]. And we should feel uncomfortable. And if we give up the self-identification with the body, we may feel completely different. We may take things in a different way.

Devotee: [Unintelligible 01:07:05]

Giriraj Swami: But I do agree. See, there are two sides to everything. Outside of here, it is true. People will treat you the same way they treat a man. And you don’t feel so much that you are a woman. But the other side of it is that outside of here, everyone is very familiar with everyone. And the result of being familiar usually ends up in exploitation. So, in a Vedic civilization, the woman is meant to be protected. The idea is not that the woman is inferior. The idea is that the woman is meant to be protected by the man and not exploited by the man. And, having lived in India, maybe I have had the opportunity to see good examples, and the women feel very natural in their position as women being protected. And the men feel very natural in their position protecting the women. And in her way, the woman serves the man. But in his way, the man also serves the woman. And in practice, there is really no problem.

Devotee: Well, I don’t have a problem with that. I appreciate that discrimination. If I have a medium of power to protect her and protect us, then we enjoy her, and we enjoy it. Because it seems that women being defined in the Vedic scriptures as to enjoy unless a discernment is made about the energies, and that even a woman, to be enjoyed, should be in the position of a man, that women would actually be in a place to be more easily contaminated because of being enjoyed by men. So, I would think that, as I always mention how easy it is for men to fall or be contaminated in their association for women, that, both way, I think it is easier for women to be contaminated in their association for men

Giriraj Swami: I agree with you. And today’s verse agrees with you. Were you here from the beginning? A living entity who has been endowed with the form of a woman foolishly takes upon mind the form of a man, the husband. I agree with you, actually. Thank you for expressing your difficulty.

Devotee: Sometimes this issue confuses me as well. [Unintelligible 01:11:12] my understanding which is very imperfect, it that essentially we are all women or entities enjoyed by Krishna, and that it seems that the most intimate relationships with Krishna were the relationships of the gopīs, for example, which again were women. And so it seems that women should have a very strong position in Krishna consciousness. That is the verse, anyway. But the idea is, if it is a matter of like women trying to be men or something like that, so it is almost as if, it is not such a great deal having a man’s body either. But anyway, so I have this confusion, perhaps you can help me understand it a little better.

Giriraj Swami: Male material body is really a good deal. We have to make best deal of bad bargain. and use the material body in Krishna’s service. The material world is a perverted reflection of the spiritual world. And in the spiritual world, women, but they are not women in the sense that they don’t have a material body; they are not men or women. They don’t have the material body of a man or a woman. But they have feminine forms, and they are the highest. And the material world is a perverted reflection of the spiritual world. So the thing that is higher in the spiritual world, when it is perverted reflectively, reflected perverted, becomes lower. But that is only materially. Spiritually, everyone is equal. Everyone has equal right to become Krishna conscious. Everyone has equal chance to become Krishna conscious. And it may be true that too much discussion of such topics is not healthy, because instead of putting each other in spirit souls and in the bodies, we become preoccupied with thinking in terms of men and women, which is not really healthy.

But it is also not healthy to imitate a liberated soul as if he didn’t do any different, when he is still conditioned. Because if someone deals with the opposite sex, or is just about recovery, but is really not freeing the soul, he still does have some attachment to the bodily covering, and there can be problems. So we have certain etiquette. And we should observe the etiquette. And there are faiths in the scriptures, there are things in Srila Prabhupada’s books that are difficult to accept. It is just a fact. But Srila Prabhupada was so surrendered to Krishna, and had so much faith in scripture, that he has presented it as it is. He has presented it as it is. And Srila Prabhupada, when he wrote the Fifth Canto about the structure of the universe, he said that some devotees will read this one when they read the Fifth Canto. He said when the Fifth Canto says, what the modern scientists say is so different. And he knows that they wouldn’t believe the scientists more than the Bhāgavatam and as they lose sight in Krishna consciousness it can go away. But that did not stop Srila Prabhupada from presenting the scripture as it is. And that is the way Srila Prabhupada was, and that is the way Srila Prabhupada wants us to be. And that is ISKCON. And if someone who is reading the scripture, then, then that person has trouble. But it is our duty; it is our business to repeat.

Thank you for your question. Thank you for tolerating.

Devotee: I was feeling that maybe this angle of vision would be helpful to somebody who is having problems with this, that Krishna consciousness philosophy is not one way to one being, and you can’t start to grasp it with one being level. And the challenge of understanding that something can be separate, and at the same time equal, is a challenge for some of us. Because usually in the material world, if something is separated by segregation, it means that there is inequality. In Krishna consciousness, we are emphasizing separation, but equality at the same time. And that type of non-linear thinking of something whole and is something that we have to apply to Krishna consciousness, because we have both. We have both, and we have Krishna. So this is an extension of this type of thinking, that we are both separate, the sacred being remains separate, but equal. And we can tell you a culture like that, that the separation is not that we have intrinsic inequality attached to it, that we have a perception of this as equality.

Devotee: But I think that is true. And I appreciate that, that nonlinear women are very conscious to nonlinear thinking. But mostly, I think what she is suggesting is that, I don’t know if I want to argue here, but I will just say this. I really assume you won’t. What I need to keep saying is that so much has been said from the Occitan that feels like it is not intended, but it feels liberating. And I don’t feel like women are necessarily equal in these moments. It is just that a lot of the things that maybe should break into her voice, and I understand that we have to at least honor her voice, but just on behalf of her, because I know her so well, I think that she is simply saying that it doesn’t occur the way that she was spoken. (That is exactly what I am trying to say.) The way she spoke is that it was spoken from the Occitan, from that place. And I think that we can feel that, because we can feel a lot of things that are being discussed every day. And many times, things that are spoken aren’t necessarily what is being felt or experienced in the silence. And I know that in the Vedic culture, so much happens in the silence, in the unsaid. But I also don’t appreciate the implications on asking a question and then for it to be spoken at, a logical mundane. I really hope we are getting something now, because I don’t feel there is a great level of caring or compassion about this issue at all. And I don’t feel like my logic is mundane anymore.

Giriraj Swami: Okay, I will say, from the vyāsāsana, that all the men should see the women as mothers. A mother is respectable and worshipable by the men. And we should not misunderstand the [Unintelligible 01:19:14].

Now we are going to end.

Srila Prabhupada ki jaya!