The questions and answers below pertain mostly to women’s roles in daiva-varṇāśrama society.[1] They have become a primary issue in the implementation of varṇāśrama by some followers of Prabhupāda.

I am going to argue that they are important but secondary.

Women’s roles are certainly a part of the traditional culture, but they are not the main part. When devotees make them into a fail or succeed issue, they not only misunderstand our paramparā’s daiva-varṇāśrama, but they also do a disservice to its implementation.

Of primary importance is to push on with varṇāśrama regardless of how imperfectly. At the same time, both women and men must become mature and wise while making their best efforts to resist the influence of asuric society.

First, the main goal of daiva-varṇāśrama is to establish an intimate link between daiva-varṇāśrama and saṅkīrtana-yajña,[2] because yajña has always been the heart of varṇāśrama society since it was originally created from the body of Virāṭ Puruṣa.[3]

The second goal is liberation from sense gratification, which may also be called material life or material enjoyment. That is done by the cooperation of all varṇas and āśramas for yajña or saṅkīrtana-yajña[4] as well as implementing regulative principles (yama, niyama).[5]

Third is establishing a farm-based economy and cow protection.[6]

Fourth is implementing education for both spiritual life and the roles of the four varṇas and āśramas.[7] It could also be argued that education goes hand in hand with the first three.

Fifth is to implement traditional Vaiṣṇava or Vedic culture. There are three items that are part of any successful community: responsibility, good relationships, and cooperation.

Everything is based on responsibility or duty (dharma). For the individual, family, and community, dharma is acting dutifully or responsibly.

In any community, there may be some who are highly responsible and saintly and some who are irresponsible. Everyone else is in between. The goal is to collect a few saintly people and mostly responsible people. Too many irresponsible people will spoil the community.

Next are good relationships. Relationships must be based on affection and as much as possible on honesty and trust. There may be strictness and enforcement of rules, but it must be through example and affection.[8]

In general, people should not receive too much money. Instead, as much as possible, it should be used for yajña or worship of Viṣṇu.[9] And relationships form a part of the payment.[10] The ideal is that brāhmaṇas receive money mostly through charity,[11] vaiśyas as landlords and business owners, kṣatriyas by taxation and gifts. Only śūdras receive a salary for some sense gratification, but not too much.[12]

Cooperation is based on the above two, responsibility and relationships. The brāhmaṇas, kṣatriyas, vaiśyas, and śūdras work together to organize a community that cooperates for the primary goal, saṅkīrtana-yajña,[13] and the other spiritual, economic, and social objectives.

Now let me address the questions here:

People are conditioned by modern global culture; how can they adjust?

We adjust to daiva-varṇāśrama in the same way we have done since the inception of ISKCON. We do our best to shrug off the asuric influences of the culture we live in. Some individuals, families, and communities do better than others. And some worse. But we all struggle to give up asuric life and achieve daivic life, hence the name daiva-varṇāśrama.

Sarvopādhi-vinirmuktam.[14] Also, we try to become free from material designations like black, white, man, woman, etc. Although we may be categorized in one of four varṇas or one of two genders, we must understand that we are souls or else we will not be satisfied with our lot in life.[15]

Some can do better than others. Some are heavily influenced by sense gratification, but they have love for Kṛṣṇa and guru. Kubjā was a prostitute, but she loved Kṛṣṇa, and He graced her. Haridāsa Ṭhākura was rejected by varṇāśrama society, but Mahāprabhu accepted him.

Kṛṣṇa created the four varṇas, but we do not necessarily fall neatly into those ideals. We cannot fall neatly into anything in this material world, especially as modern global society becomes more and more asuric.[16]

Therefore, regardless of designation, we must depend on our relationships, first with Prabhupāda and guru, then community authorities, community members, and family members.[17]

Again, the answer is that we move forward and do the best we can. Prabhupāda demanded quality service from us, so we strive to give it to him.

How can women be encouraged to have a subordinate role to men when they are maintaining themselves independently, some even becoming CEOs and heads of state?

This question addresses a complex situation. When building daiva-varṇāśrama communities that are self-sufficient and have an agrarian-based economy, it is probably a good idea to request women to adopt traditional roles.[18] The theme of those villages is to live simply according to traditional values.

But taking a step back, let us first consider that the goals of modern society are different from Vaiṣṇava culture. The society that surrounds us is hell-bent on material comforts and the freedom to flaunt traditional roles.

Nevertheless, we can turn to Rūpa Gosvāmī to address this issue. Regardless of the differences of the two cultures, he urges us to be practical. He explains that things that can be used in Kṛṣṇa’s service should be accepted as long as one can do so without being attached to the sense objects. In modern language, that means that we must teach others to use their money, power, beauty, or knowledge for Kṛṣṇa and not for comforts beyond necessities.[19]

If we use airplanes and cars to preach, then surely we can engage important people in Kṛṣṇa’s service. They are worth far more than those inanimate objects.

Thus, if a woman is a CEO or head of state, we may simply keep in mind that Rūpa Gosvāmī’s principle is renunciation of the fruits of labor, the money, etc. for Kṛṣṇa’s service. Such a person may not fit in a simple varṇāśrama village; however, in the Vedic era there were also cities like Mathurā. And cities are always more complex than villages.

Thus, while establishing villages, we are not neglecting the cities. We should keep in mind that the issue of women’s roles should not be considered more important than preaching. In other words, we should skillfully seek to maintain a balance.

From about 390 to 410, after her husband died, Maharani Prabhavati Gupta, a Vaiṣṇava, ruled the Vakataka realm, which was a little less than one-fourth the size of today’s India. Of course, she was an exception, but there are other such exceptional examples.

Sumati Morarjee, a Vaiṣṇava, was the CEO of Scindia Steamship Lines. The company owned 43 ships. Most ISKCON devotees know that she gave passage on one of her ships to Śrīla Prabhupāda to come to the West to found ISKCON.

Prabhupāda and Kṛṣṇa engaged Sumati Morarjee to become instrumental in founding the ISKCON movement.

We must take Prabhupāda’s example of engaging everyone, including women CEOs and heads of state.

One of Prabhupāda’s female disciples asked him how she should manage being aggressive when going out to distribute books and then transforming to being humble in the temple. He responded that she should be a “lamb at home, and a lion in the chase.”[20]

However, the responsibility of being a lamb and a lion does not just rest on the shoulders of such women. The communities and authorities must become expert enough to embrace those women, giving them the respect due to any advanced devotee.

On the one hand, devotees must find ways to establish simple, self-sufficient villages wherein the women fit into traditional roles. On the other hand, devotees must cultivate and encourage independent women like CEOs and state leaders.

When doing so, those powerful women should not be treated as lesser devotees because they do not follow so-called Vedic roles. If they surrender the results of their work to Kṛṣṇa, they are also exalted devotees. Prabhupāda explained, “And how can one, unless one is spiritually advanced, how can he sacrifice his hard-earned money for Kṛṣṇa?”[21]

Also, Mahāprabhu was clear that devotees are transcendental to varṇāśrama.[22] Thus, some women who accept a humble position are nevertheless more spiritually advanced than their husbands. Gāndhārī, the wife of Dhṛtarāṣṭra, and Mandodarī, the wife of Rāvaṇa, are such examples.[23]

One who has a subordinate position in the varṇāśrama society may be an uttama (pure) devotee. And one who has a high position may be a third-rate devotee (kaniṣṭha).

Mahāprabhu stated that a moment’s association with a pure devotee is perfection.[24] He said that the highest devotee should be treated like a guru.[25] One should bow to initiated devotees and genuinely respect anyone who chants Hare Kṛṣṇa.[26]

And a woman can be any of those devotees as much as a man.[27]

An ignorant person poorly treats an exalted devotee like Jaḍa Bharata. However, a wise person like King Rahūgaṇa can see his advanced position.[28]

For example, only a fool would try to control Sumati Murarjee or any other advanced female devotee. Such women will naturally serve according to their understanding of dharma.[29] They should be treated with care, respect, and love.

It is indeed a difficult job for devotees to attract women and at the same time encourage them to accept traditional roles. Those who do so successfully are certainly praiseworthy. The strong influence of feminism is difficult to overcome. However, the real enemy is not feminism but identification with the body. Even the demigods struggle, what to speak of mere mortal men and women.[30]

In conclusion, devotees must be mature and wise. They must develop the art of relating to male and female leaders in the greater society. There are 25 million millionaires in the U.S., both men and women. Śrīla Prabhupāda wanted to attract those people to Kṛṣṇa consciousness.[31]

Doing so is not a task that can be learned in a book. It is an art or a skill.

In the same way, establishing and maintaining a simple village wherein modern women assume support roles also cannot be learned from a book. The women must be cared for, not abused or exploited, and they must be satisfied.

People can sometimes remain in an emotionally difficult situation for years, decades, or even a lifetime. Thus, that period is not proof of success.

Proof of success is when the daiva-varṇāśrama communities continue for generations.

How do we, who are influenced by global feminism and women’s equality, expect men and women to adopt traditional roles?

This is a similar question to the previous one. First, a theoretical answer, and then the practical.

Prahlāda Mahārāja tells his father that the solution to obsessive attachment to his family is to go to the forest and worship Viṣṇu.[32]

The point is that men and women combine and a family results. That is perfectly natural. Attachment to the family is also natural. However, spiritual life calls for detachment from the family, which can be difficult.

The traditional method of becoming detached is to worship Viṣṇu through yajña.

In addition to that yajña, the brahmacārīs, vānaprasthas, and sannyāsīs naturally set an example of detachment from family life and material enjoyment.

Now, a few practical items:

The śāstra instructs householders to distribute prasādam and contribute money to the yajña. They are in the best position to do both. The more that householders part with their money, harvest, or time, the more advanced they are in their service to the yajña.[33] That does not mean quantity of money. It means the percentage.[34]

At minimum, offering money to Viṣṇu decreases the amount one spends on material expansion. That is the beginning of one’s detachment.

But to do that, the entire family must cooperate to accomplish such a goal.

Men and women in global society have become contaminated by its influence. For most devotees, it is not possible to immediately give up the norms of modern society. However, a few set an example for others.

Regarding treatment of women, we may look at the way Prabhupāda related to his female disciples. He guided them with love and affection. And he depended on his temple authorities and husbands to manage the details regarding families and duties of men, women, and children.

Effective guidance in devotional life cannot be established by force. Any guidance must be done through love and affection.

Nevertheless, it is natural that there will be differences, sometimes vast differences.[35] And standards will change over time as was experienced in the short ten years that Prabhupāda oversaw ISKCON.

If we say that women’s roles must be determined before we implement varṇāśrama, then we will fail. They are a natural part of its implementation, but the first goal is to find ways to intimately link saṅkīrtana and varṇāśrama. That should be the supreme objective.

We cannot expect either men or women who are raised in an adharmic society to become dharmic immediately. Both men and women may gradually transition from crows to swans, before, during, and after daiva-varṇāśrama is established. In fact, the act of establishing it is purifying.[36]

We must look to saintly men and women in śāstra as well as among ourselves, and we must struggle to follow their examples. And we must struggle to surrender to structure and discipline that is administrated through good relationships.

Where are the men in the mode of goodness?

First, one must have the natural propensity (guṇa/karma) to be elevated to the mode of goodness. Second, one must be properly educated and trained to achieve goodness. Not everyone has the propensity and training.

It is not enough to be issued a thread by a guru.[37]

However, every community should have one or more brāhmaṇas who know how to apply śāstra,[38] are good examples of detachment, and are capable of guiding kṣatriyas, vaiśyas, and śūdras by the example they set. When necessary, they may be strict, but it must be communicated through a loving relationship like father to son.

Not every man can do those things. Such brāhmaṇas are a small percentage of society.

And a woman who is not qualified to support such men should not look to join with them. One of the aspects of the varṇāśrama society is that the people know their place.

Everyone must be satisfied in his or her role.[39]

When looking for a spouse, one should try to find someone responsible and cooperative. At minimum, a husband should be responsible (dharmic) for family and community, otherwise he should not be a husband.[40] And a wife should be similarly responsible.

A man and woman sacrifice for the family, which in turn sacrifices for the community, which sacrifices for saṅkīrtana.

Can we ever cooperate to create and sustain something viable?

Yes, we can. Definitely. ISKCON has progressed from one small storefront temple with immature devotees whose general qualification was little more than attachment to Prabhupāda. Today, there is an international movement with a great amount of diversity in work, thought, education, expertise, and spirituality. It can be done.[41]

ISKCON has tremendous wealth in land, manpower, money, and organizational ability.[42] It can be done.

[1] The questions in this article were posed by a devotee woman, a reader of the Daiva-Varṇāśrama Journal.

[2] Note that saṅkīrtana means to glorify or celebrate Kṛṣṇa’s names, forms, and līlās. Saṅkīrtana means everything that expands Mahāprabhu’s movement and helps Him distribute the fruits of prema. As Prabhupāda has demonstrated, it is establishing and maintaining temples, schools, varṇāśrama communities, deity worship, book distribution, harināma, festivals, prasādam distribution, drama, art, and more. And, to properly expand Mahāprabhu’s movement, all of those should act in concert. There are priorities and devotees should work together to accomplish everything.

[3] SB 11.5.2-3

[4] BG chapter 3 and “Yajña—Sacrifice to the Supreme,” BTG, May 20, 1956, by Prabhupāda.

[5] Nectar of Instruction, 3 purport: “Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī therefore recommends, tat-tat-karma-pravartanāt: “One must strictly follow the regulative principles of vaidhī bhakti.” In addition to these four prohibitions (yama), there are positive regulative principles (niyama), such as the daily chanting of sixteen rounds on japa-mālā beads.”

[6] It is not required to support this self-evident statement; however, one example is CC Adi 17.111 verse and purport.

[7] Varṇāśrama college: Morning Walk, March 14, 1974, gurukula: SB 7.12.1, and bhakti-śāstrī: Conversation Feb 27, 1977. Also, letter to GBC by TKG approved by Prabhupāda, Jan 6, 1977.

[8] Conversation, Sept 5, 1971: “It is out of love, out of affection, reciprocation. […] Just like the child is afraid of the father. There is affection. ‘My father is displeased if I do.’ Father has said, ‘Don’t touch this,’ so I don’t touch. So that fear and affection, both are there. It is not simply that he is afraid of his father, but the affection is [also] there.”

[9] SB 10.84.38; BG, chapter 3; SB 4.12.10.

[10] CC Antya 20.37

[11] SB 2.3.24: “He was not accepting any salary, because he was brāhmaṇa. Brāhmaṇa cannot accept any salary.” Also, Śrīla Prabhupāda-līlāmṛta 2.51. 

[12] SB 2.3.24 lecture, June 22, 1972: “The śūdra accepts salary: ‘I serve you; you pay me.’” Also, quoting BG 6.1 in The Perfection of Yoga, 7: “A remuneration or salary is always demanded by the worker. But here Kṛṣṇa indicates that one can work out of a sense of duty alone, not expecting the results of his activities.”

[13] “Yajña or Sacrifice to the Supreme,” Back To Godhead, May 20, 1956, by Śrīla Prabhupāda: “The central point of cooperation is to do everything in lieu of performing yajña. That is the central point of understanding for broadening the classless society in a universal measure.”

[14] CC Madhya 19.170: “Bhakti, or devotional service, means engaging all our senses in the service of the Lord, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the master of all the senses. When the spirit soul renders service unto the Supreme, there are two side effects. One is freed from all material designations (sarvopādhi-vinirmuktam), and one’s senses are purified simply by being employed in the service of the Lord.”

[15] Conversation, April 14, 1976: “You go even to a village [Indian village], illiterate, he believes in transmigration of the soul. Ordinary illiterate villagers, he believes.”

[16] Regarding ideal roles for women, men, families, and communities, we first look to Prabhupāda. He sometimes quoted from Cāṇakya or Kautilya and Manu; however, we do not use everything they said. Many things in Manu-smṛti and other literature contradict the Śrīmad Bhāgavatam, either in spirit or letter. Moreover, for various reasons, we do not necessarily follow everything in the Bhāgavatam or the śāstras of the Gosvāmīs. (For example, Conversation, July 18, 1973) There are so many rules and regulations that we must understand priorities. Rather than study many śāstras and learn many details, as some devotees do, a learned person must know how to apply the knowledge, and that includes prioritization.

[17] CC Madhya 22.54: sādhu-saṅga, ““The verdict of all revealed scriptures is that by even a moment’s association with a pure devotee, one can attain all success.” Also, Nectar of Instruction, 4-6.

[18] SB 7.11.25-29: A virtuous woman (sādhvī) serves her husband. She should dress well and be of pleasant disposition. She should clean and organize the house. And she should know the dharma. Thus, she should serve her husband with affection provided he is not fallen.

The woman who serves her husband, following in the footsteps of the goddess of fortune, surely returns home, back to Godhead, with her devotee husband, and lives happily in the Vaikuṇṭha planets. [summarized and edited]

Śrīla Madhvācārya says: “A woman should think of her husband as the Supreme Lord. In that same way, a disciple should think of the guru and a śūdra think of the brāhmaṇa. Thus, they all will become devotees of the Lord.”

[19] Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu 1.2.255: anāsaktasya viṣayān yathārham upayuñjataḥ nirbandhaḥ kṛṣṇa-sambandhe yuktaṁ vairāgyam ucyate, “Things should be accepted for the Lord’s service and not for one’s personal sense gratification. If one accepts something without attachment and accepts it because it is related to Kṛṣṇa, one’s renunciation is called yukta-vairāgya.”

[20] Conversation, July 13, 1975: Jayatīrtha: One girl was asking that “When we are doing saṅkīrtana, I must be very aggressive, but when I come to the temple, then I’m supposed to be very humble.” Prabhupāda: A lamb at home, a lion in the chase. [laughter] When you are chasing, you must be a lion. [laughter] But when you come home, you do not try to chase the devotees. [laughter]

[21] BG 3.1-5 lecture, Dec 20, 1968

[22] CC Madhya, Chapter 22.

[23] SB 9.10.27 and SB 1.13.30.

[24] CC Madhya, 22.54.

[25] CC Madhya, 22.65-66, 71-72, and Nectar of Instruction (NOI) 5 describe the uttama devotee. CC Madhya 8.128 states that one who knows about Kṛṣṇa, regardless of social position, is a guru.

[26] NOI 5.

[27] BG 9.32 and SB 2.4.18.

[28] SB 5, Chapters Nine and Ten. I may seem to be belaboring this point, but it is because there have been many cases in ISKCON where women have been abused. The goal of Prabhupāda’s movement is to attract and keep people along with their children and children’s children. Doing so requires wisdom and forbearance at a minimum.

[29] In 1983, as temple president of ISKCON Potomac (Washington D.C.), I was trying to cultivate a mature Indian woman who was CEO and owner of a successful software consultancy business. And she was a lifelong Vaiṣṇava. One Sunday, during the feast, I found her sitting at a table speaking to two young, inexperienced brahmacārīs who were sitting on the other side in an air of confrontation. They were grilling her on which of the four regulations she followed. I immediately intervened on her behalf. Considering the dangers of such treatment, it is all-important to emphasize respect.

[30] SB 1.1.1; SB 3.26.26; BG 8.16.

[31] The Los Angeles temple moved to 1975 La Cienega and subsequently to 3764 Watseka. They both bordered on residential areas, so Prabhupāda told me, as temple president, to convert the people in those areas. Unfortunately, we were too immature to do so. I would venture to say that we still have not learned the art despite becoming mature enough to do so.

[32] SB 7.5.5

[33] One may object that devotional service is qualitative not quantitative. It is both. In quantity we have 16 rounds to chant, four principles to follow, nine limbs of bhakti, 64 qualities, etc. In quality, we have anyābhilāṣitā-śūnyam, no other desire but to serve.

[34] SB 1.17.38 purport: “The citizens of the state must give in charity up to fifty percent of their income.”

[35] Today in ISKCON, there are what some people call liberals and conservatives. The liberals generally want to be more accommodating to modern feminism. The conservatives insist on maintaining traditional roles for women. When a society like ISKCON can maintain varieties and differences within its scope, that is often a sign of good management. However, there may come a time when the authorities must restrain those who allow too much syncretism or mixing with the outside culture. That is a matter to be determined by leaders who know and enforce the śāstra. Note that Islam and Christianity, which are the leading religions today, have typically tried to prevent too much syncretism throughout their histories. In contrast, Buddhism, Hinduism, and other religions may have allowed too much syncretism. For example, Prabhupāda referred to Hinduism as a hodgepodge. (Civilization and Transcendence 3)

[36] CC Madhya 19.170: “Bhakti, or devotional service, means engaging all our senses in the service of the Lord, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the master of all the senses. When the spirit soul renders service unto the Supreme, there are two side effects. One is freed from all material designations, and one’s senses are purified simply by being employed in the service of the Lord.”

[37] Conversation, Feb 14, 1977: “Everybody is being raised, but they’re falling down.”

[38] Manu-smṛti, 12.106, author’s translation: “Those who read the śāstras are better than those ignorant of them; those who memorize them are even better; those who know how to apply them are better still, and those who resolutely follow them are best.”

[39] See the article entitled “Satisfaction” in this journal issue.

[40] SB 5.5.18: “One who cannot deliver his dependents from the path of repeated birth and death should never become a spiritual master, a father, a husband, a mother or a worshipable demigod.”

[41] Conversation, Feb 14, 1977: “We have to introduce this varṇāśrama-dharma. It must be done perfectly, and it is possible, and people will be happy.”

[42] Varṇāśrama society is normally organized by the kṣatriyas assisted by the vaiśyas and śūdras. ISKCON was established to recruit and train brāhmaṇas, but when Prabhupāda’s followers recruit and train dharmic kṣatriyas, vaiśyas, and śūdras, cooperation will ensue. Worldwide, the citizens of large countries cooperate for social, economic, and national goals. Especially their militaries are examples of precise cooperation of up to three million personnel. If the asuras can cooperate for material enjoyment, so can the devas, the devotees, cooperate for the enjoyment of Kṛṣṇa.