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Bhakti Yoga-Devotional Service to the Supreme Lord Sri Krishna

Bhakti Yoga-Devotional Service to the Supreme Lord Sri Krishna
Gopis performing Devotional Service to the Lordships Sri Sri Radha Krishna

Sri Radha GovindaHari, Sri Radha Muralidhara , naam, New York city










Harinaam in union square New York










Srila Prabhupada in Bhakti center



Sri Radha Muralidhara




Yours
Dinesh

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Man or woman body in this world not necessarily require the spiritual form to be of same gender in spiritual world.

For instance we see that great acharyas who had the body of men here are female servants of Srimati Radharani or the Gopis. Also souls in the body of women may not necessarily be of female spiritual form in the spiritual world, they can be even Gopa Kumaras or the cowherd boy friends of Krishna.


Gender makes no difference in the absolute sense but the relationship with the Lord differs when it comes to the spiritual world.

--
Yours
Dinesh
Blog:http://dinesh-krsna.blogspot.com


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Either girl or boy devotees may deliver lecture if they choose to do. We have no such distinction of bodily designations, male or female

Please continue your devotional service, cooking, etc., and you can also keep giving Bhägavatam class if you like. Women in our movement can also preach very nicely. Actually, male and female bodies, these are just outward designations. Lord Chaitanya said that whether one is brahmin or whatever he may be, if he knows the science of Krishna then he is to be accepted as guru. So those who give class should read and study regularly and study the purport and realize. They should not add anything or concoct anything. Then they can preach very nicely. The qualification for leading class is how much one understands about Krishna and has surrendered to the process, not whether one is male or female. (Letter to Malati Dasi. 25 December 1974.)

I am especially proud of how my householder disciples are preaching Lord Chaitanya's mission. This is a new thing in the history of the saìkértana movement. In India, all the äcäryas and their descendants acted only from the man's side. Their wives were at home because that is the system from old times. But in Bhagavad-gétä we find that women are also equally competent like men in the matter of the Krishna Consciousness movement. Please therefore carry on these missionary activities and prove it by practical example that there is no bar for anyone in the matter of preaching work for Krishna consciousness. (Letter to Himavati. 20 December 1969.)

Lecture is also kértana, so just like a morning kértana is there, similarly morning lectures can also be delivered. In New York, or even San Francisco, when I was present I too was giving lectures in the morning. So as far as girls or boys lecturing in the morning, that doesn't make any difference. Either girl or boy devotees may deliver lecture if they choose to do. We have no such distinction of bodily designations, male or female. Krishna consciousness is on the spiritual platform. As such, anyone who is a devotee of the Lord, following in this line of disciplic succession, can deliver a lecture on the teachings of Bhagavad-géta, Çrémad Bhägavatam, etc. (Letter to Syama Dasi. 21 October 1968.)

Regarding lecturing by women devotees, I have informed you that in the service of the Lord there is no distinction of caste, creed, color, or sex. In the Bhagavad-gétä, the Lord especially mentions that even a woman who has taken seriously is also destined to reach him. We require a person who is well-versed in the knowledge of Krishna, which is the only qualification for speaking. Materially, a woman may be less intelligent than a man, but spiritually everyone is pure soul. On the absolute plane there is no gradation of higher and lower. If a woman can lecture nicely and to the point, we should hear carefully. That is our philosophy. But if a man can speak better than a woman, the man should be given first preference. A sincere soul should be given proper chance to speak, because we want so many preachers, both men and women. (Letter to Jaya Govinda. 8 February 1968.)



--
Yours
Dinesh
Blog:http://dinesh-krsna.blogspot.com


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It is better to perform work of our nature faultily than to accept another's occupation and doing it perfectly [BG.18.30]


This even applies to services a devotee is capable of performing under the directions of an appropriate senior devotee guiding him/her. HH.Jayadvaita swami quotes that Srila Prabhupada was very expert in understanding the nature of a person and his capabilities.

For instance, Srila Prabhupada would be very strict and hard in his dealings with HH.Tamal Krishna gosvami Maharaja while he was very gentle and not hard with HG.Srura Kirti Prabhu because by his nature, he was a very soft person.


Actually if our words are helping the devotees to make progress then we are actually serving him or her. So it should be very carefully dealt because by simply pushing a person whose nature is not to perform one type of service (that we want him or her to do)we end up in making him frustrated and heart broken and even to the extent of making the person leaving the movement.


Yours
Dinesh

Bhagavad Gita As It Is

TEXT 47:
sreyan sva-dharmo vigunah
para-dharmat sv-anushthitat
svabhava-niyatam karma
kurvan napnoti kilbisham



TRANSLATION
It is better to engage in one's own occupation, even though one may perform it imperfectly, than to accept another's occupation and perform it perfectly. Duties prescribed according to one's nature are never affected by sinful reactions.

PURPORT:

One's occupational duty is prescribed in Bhagavad-gita. As already discussed in previous verses, the duties of a brahmana, kshatriya, vaisya and sudra are prescribed according to their particular modes of nature. One should not imitate another's duty. A man who is by nature attracted to the kind of work done by sudras should not artificially claim to be a brahmana, although he may have been born into a brahmana family. In this way one should work according to his own nature; no work is abominable, if performed in the service of the Supreme Lord. The occupational duty of a brahmana is certainly in the mode of goodness, but if a person is not by nature in the mode of goodness, he should not imitate the occupational duty of a brahmana. For a kshatriya, or administrator, there are so many abominable things; a kshatriya has to be violent to kill his enemies, and sometimes a kshatriya has to tell lies for the sake of diplomacy. Such violence and duplicity accompany political affairs, but a kshatriya is not supposed to give up his occupational duty and try to perform the duties of a brahmana.


One should act to satisfy the Supreme Lord. For example, Arjuna was a kshatriya. He was hesitating to fight the other party. But if such fighting is performed for the sake of Krishna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, there need be no fear of degradation. In the business field also, sometimes a merchant has to tell so many lies to make a profit. If he does not do so, there can be no profit. Sometimes a merchant says, "Oh, my dear customer, for you I am making no profit," but one should know that without profit the merchant cannot exist. Therefore it should be taken as a simple lie if a merchant says that he is not making a profit. But the merchant should not think that because he is engaged in an occupation in which the telling of lies is compulsory, he should give up his profession and pursue the profession of a brahmana. That is not recommended. Whether one is a kshatriya, a vaisya, or a sudra doesn't matter, if he serves, by his work, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Even brahmanas, who perform different types of sacrifice, sometimes must kill animals because sometimes animals are sacrificed in such ceremonies. Similarly, if a kshatriya engaged in his own occupation kills an enemy, there is no sin incurred. In the Third Chapter these matters have been clearly and elaborately explained; every man should work for the purpose of Yajna, or for Vishnu, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Anything done for personal sense gratification is a cause of bondage. The conclusion is that everyone should be engaged according to the particular mode of nature he has acquired, and he should decide to work only to serve the supreme cause of the Supreme Lord.

Translation and commentary by His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
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The verdict of all revealed scriptures is that by even a moment's association with a pure devotee, one can attain all success.

If we somehow become dear to the dearest devotees of Krishna, it's very easy to get the mercy of the Lord. Thats why even momentary association of a pure devotee is also precious. One time an unqualified person was let go inside vaikuntha because he was accompanied by Narada muni.

CC Madhya 22.54, Translation:

"The verdict of all revealed scriptures is that by even a moment's association with a pure devotee, one can attain all success."


CC Madhya 22.85, Translation:

"'O devotees! O you who are free from all sins! Let me inquire from you about that which is supremely auspicious for all living entities. Association with a pure devotee for even half a moment in this material world is the greatest treasure for human society.'"


Translation : By association with pure devotees the inquisitive, the distressed, the seeker after material amelioration and the man in knowledge all become themselves pure.
BG 7.17, Purport:

By searching after knowledge one realizes that his self is different from his material body, and when further advanced he comes to the knowledge of impersonal Brahman and Paramātmā. When one is fully purified, he realizes that his constitutional position is to be the eternal servant of God. So by association with pure devotees the inquisitive, the distressed, the seeker after material amelioration and the man in knowledge all become themselves pure. But in the preparatory stage, the man who is in full knowledge of the Supreme Lord and is at the same time executing devotional service is very dear to the Lord. He who is situated in pure knowledge of the transcendence of the Supreme Personality of God is so protected in devotional service that material contamination cannot touch him.


--
Yours
Dinesh
Blog:http://dinesh-krsna.blogspot.com


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