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EDITORIAL December 10, 1999 VNN5055 Comment on this story We Need More Than A Bandaid Solution To The Recent Flare-up In Vrindavana BY SITA DEVI DASI EDITORIAL, Dec 10 (VNN) — The recent events in Vrindavan, India signal an urgent need to correct a gender-relations problem in ISKCON. However the 4 point solution the Women's Ministry suggests, only serves to exacerbate the problem. Simply providing women equal/same facilities as men will not foster genuine respect or protection for women. Motherly respect is not demonstrated by how many women manage temples or how many women give class. It will only manifest when men and women each adhere to their respective dharmas for the pleasure of Guru and Krsna. An order was given by the chairman of the GBC Executive Committee to the Vrindavana temple authorities, before any investigation or discussion was conducted. Part of this order stated: "The GBC will not tolerate any mistreatment of female devotees, discrimination against female devotees, or preferential treatment given to male devotees in any form. This is an official directive from the GBC Executive Committee. Your servant, Bir Krishna das Goswami Chairman-GBC" On the one hand, our GBC condemns "preferential treatment given to male devotees in any form" yet on the other hand we know it is our duty to give preferential treatment to sannyasis. It is statements like this that are used to disregard the more subtle rules of vaisnava etiquette between the sexes. Should women no longer honour their husbands, sons and male guests with any preferential treatment? Is any and all prefential treatment towards men antagonistic to women's devotional service? Hopefully that is not what Bir Krsna Maharaja intended but his statement has been taken that way. Here is a letter written to another member of the GBC Executive Committee by none other than His Divine Grace Srila Prabhupada. "Why there are so many women in Vrindaban? Vrindaban is meant for retirement, elderly persons in Krishna Consciousness can devote all their time to devotional service. Such men are wanted to live in Vrindaban, not women and children. That is a fact, the holy dhamas are meant for the sannyasis and brahmacaris especially. If necessary, the management must be done by sannyasis and brahmacaris, not grhasthas." Letter from Srila Prabhupada to: Gopala Krsna Los Angeles 9 June, 1976 Here is another similar one written to Madhukara: "We cannot expect that our temples will become places of shelter for so many widows and rejected wives, that will be a great burden and we shall become the laughingstock in the society. There will be unwanted progeny also. And there will be illicit sex life, that we are seeing already." (Letter to: Madhukara, 4 January, 1973) These letters may sound shocking to some people but they prompt us to question why there are so many unprotected women in Vrindavana without the presence of their natural protectors; their fathers, husbands or sons? Also why did these women not accept the local standard of deity greeting which has been going on since Prabhupada was personally present? Why did they not first contact higher authorities before angrily trying to push their way to the front of the altar? Is this behavior approved by the Women's Ministry? If the holy dhama is especially meant for sannyasis and brahmacaris, as per Prabhupada's directive, then hopefully the GBC is thinking of ways to ensure they are also being protected in their asrama. We've seen enough falldowns now to know this is needed. But what the ISKCON Women's Ministry is proposing would make it practically impossible for sannyasis and brahmacaris to avoid the association and personal service of women, as per the rules of their asrama, because they would be obliged to share managerial responsibilities and have frequent close contact with them. Let's hope the GBC will, through education, culture and devotion, honour the rights of ALL individuals to perform their prescribed duties according to the direction of guru, sastra and sadhu and inspire us all to make progress on the path back to Godhead. Your servant, Sita devi dasi Comment on this story  Contact VNN about this storySend this story to a friend
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