Wim Haan

Krishna's Women: Old Wine in New Bottles[i]

 

1. Introduction

In general, new religious movements have a bad reputation. The press depicts them as fanatic groups which hold extreme-conservative views and brainwash their victims. In Dutch newspapers, similar articles have appeared about the Hare Krishna movement (=International Society for Krishna Consciousness, ISKCON) as well.

However, in the Hare Krishna movement we encounter motivated men and women who have opted for a strictly ascetic life style. It may come as an utter surprise that the HK movement has women members who have deliberately opted for a traditional Hindu division of male and female role patterns. Their choice is based on a reaction to Western culture which to their mind is extraordinarily misogynous. How can we explain their choice? Are the Hindu scriptures which have become their new guidelines in life, void of such a misogyny? And if this is not the case, what motivates these women to remain members of the movement?

In 1980, I had my first encounter with the HK movement. At that time I could not yet foresee my intensive research which among others resulted in this publication. Hardly anything had been written yet about women's position in the HK movement; in 1982, a computer-aided search for literature on this topic was in vain.

 

In a dissertation, entitled A Study of Recruitment and Transformation Processes in the HK Movement, the author devotes a total of 25 pages to the problems which he encountered during his research. It is not easy to maintain the role of being a researcher when one is regularly pressured into participating in the movement's activities. Sometimes the researcher is 'forced' to act as if he/she is a member of the movement, because otherwise his/her research cannot be continued. Joining the group which he/she has chosen for a 'research object'[ii] creates a great disadvantage to the researcher. In the HK movement there is a deep division between the male and female worlds. Doing this research on my own as a male researcher, therefore, raised an additional problem.

 

This article has two major focal points. In order to determine the position of women within the HK movement I will look at two scriptures which are important as philosophical and religious roots within the movement, Bhagavata Purana and The Laws of Manu. I will select sections of these works, which contain regulations and instructions as to how men and women should interact. This analysis will be preceded by a description of the HK movement and the monks' daily schedules. In the second part, I will demonstrate which function the above-mentioned works fulfill with respect to the way in which women have taken their positions in the HK movement. In particular, I will single out women's perspective within the movement and their appreciation of the balance of power between the sexes. At the end of the article a number of preliminary conclusions will be presented.

 

2. The HK movement

In 1965 in New York's Tompkins Park, an Indian swami, called Prabhupada, started his missionary work in the US by singing Krishna's holy and divine names. At that moment, probably no-one could have imagined that a movement was founded which nowadays has establishments in every continent and almost every country. In 1965, only a small number of 'pot-smoking hippies' were impressed by the thin man of 68 years old who was so entranced by rendering his devotional songs.

 

Prabhupada (Abhay Charan Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada), is the youngest offshoot of the bhakti religion. 'Bhakti' denotes a sincere and purposeful surrender to the deity; it is truly a religion of the people: a road leading to salvation which is so simple and understandable that it is open to everyone. Prabhupada retraces his religious roots all the way to Chaitanya, the Hindu saint of the Middle Ages, who had caused an 'enthusiastic' revival of the bhakti religion. Similarly to Prabhupada, he preached devotion with a strong emotional slant to it. Prabhupada's guru (= spiritual teacher) gave him the assignment to spread the bhakti religion in the West. After initial difficulties in the first few years, the movement became a craze, first in the United States and then via the UK, also in Europe.

 

In the last twelve years of Prabhupada's life (he died in 1977), he laid a firm foundation for a religious organisation which resembled the structure and functioning of most of the established religious denominations. In 1966 he founded the International Society for Krishna Consciousness of which he remained the absolute leader until his death. In the last twelve years of his life he wrote books and translated some seventy books from Sanskrit.  His most important translation is of the major part of the monumental work Bhagavata Purana: he translated ten cantos, which add up to thirty parts[iii]. After his death in 1977, the movement's leadership was taken over by a council of twelve gurus, the so called ‘Governing Body Commission’ which has been in charge of the international movement until today.

 

The daily life of members of the HK movement also bears the mark of the late founder-guru. The HK movement has a very rigid daily schedule. Each section of the day has been planned beforehand. The day begins at 3.30 a.m. and finishes at 9 p.m.

 

Most members have the following daily schedule:

3.30 a.m.         waking up and taking a shower

4.30 a.m.         Aratrika, the daily ceremony at the temple in honour of the spiritual master, Chaitanya and Krishna

5.00 a.m.         Japa, individual meditation with a rosary, preferably taking place in the temple hall

7.15 a.m.         Aratrika, morning ceremony at Krishna's time to 'wake up'

8.00 a.m.         lesson of Shrimad Bhagavatam (another name for Bhagavata Purana)

8.45 a.m.         breakfast

9.30 a.m.         various activities in the temple

10.45 a.m.       Sankirtan, the joint chanting of Hare Krishna's mantra in an adjacent town[iv]

13.45 p.m.       Prasadam, a vegetarian meal which first is dedicated to Krishna

14.30 p.m.       Sankirtan

18.00 p.m.       taking a shower and reading the holy books in private

19.00 p.m.       Aratrika, evening ceremony to enhance Krishna's 'sleep'

19.45 p.m.       lesson of Bhagavad Gita, another important Hindu philosophical work

20.30 p.m.       warm milk and fruits

21.00 p.m.       time for bed

 

At their initiation ceremony, members of the HK movement promise to obey a number of rules. They promise to abstain from eating meat, fish and eggs. Another rule is 'abstention from improper sexual intercourse.' Sexual intercourse may only take place within a marriage which has been approved by the HK movement and must exclusively serve the purpose of procreation.

All the followers receive certain assignments from the temple president which are  interpreted as service for Krishna. All the time it is emphasized that the monks have to be fully aware of the fact that all the work which they carry out is for Krishna, not only cleaning the temple, bringing up little children and teaching them, but also the missionary activities outside the temple. Although in principle both men and women are suitable for doing the most diverse kinds of work, there does exist a division of labour along the gender line. Management positions are always occupied by men.

The male and female monks who live in the movement's communes, are separated from each other during meals and at night. At the gatherings in the temple often men are standing in the front and women at the back, which may be considered to be symbolic for the division of power in the movement.

During half a year some monks who act as ‘novice-masters’ introduce new followers to the customs and philosophy of the HK movement. After that period a guru may initiate them to become fullfledged members of the movement. There is a separate school system for members' children, the gurukala, where in addition to the usual subjects, Sanskrit and HK philosophy are taught.

 

3. Bhagavata Purana and The Lawbook of Manu

In order to explain and legitimize certain customs and religious conceptions the HK movement most of the time uses the Bhagavata Purana, an epic poem of 18,000 verses and The Lawbook of Manu, both of which are religious Hindu works. The Lawbook of Manu is especially relevant because in his comments on the translation of Bhagavata Purana, Prabhupada refers to sections of it.

 

3.1 Bhagavata Purana

The stories of this epic have a 'model' function and are very moralistic and didactic by nature. Illustrated by the exemplary lives of royal families and stories about famous saints, one may read how one ought to behave. The Purana also contains statements about a woman's character and nature, and its implications for the way men and women should interact.

Here follow some excerpts from the sections which I have referred to. It will become clear that in the Bhagavata Purana, woman is depicted as an 'ambivalent creature.' The Purana offers us a 'combination of praise and disapproval of woman'.[v]

 

3.1.1 Disapproval

Woman's level of intelligence is notably lower than that of man (1.4.27 = canto 1, chapter 4, text 27). This results in her not being qualified to read and understand the holy scriptures (1.8.20; 2.3.14).

Woman is the 'basic principle' of material enjoyments (4.3.9), her sexual desires are nine times as large as those of man (3.23.44; 4.27.2). In her, the illusionary energy (maya) is fully expressed (4.24.12). The above-mentioned properties turn her into a dangerous obstacle on man's devotional path (cf. also 1.2.17 and 3.31.35).

That by nature, woman is subordinate to man, has to do with her 'specific psychology' (3.23.2). Woman's natural function is to have children (4.24.12). That's the reason why she is in fact not suitable for an executive function (4.16.23; 10.4.5).

The way to detachment is not meant for a woman either. She will never reach the level of sannyasin-hood, the phase in a man's life when he withdraws from all his social duties and dedicates himself completely to spiritual perfection (3.24.40).

In conclusion, the following excerpts are revealing as well: 'There are two kinds of people who cannot be trusted: politicians and women' (6.18.41). 'In order to satisfy their own needs women interact with men as if they are dear to them, but in reality no-one is dear to them. People think that women are very devout, but when it serves them well they may even kill their husbands, sons or brothers, or have them killed by others' (6.18.43). In the annotations to this latter excerpt, we read: 'This is not meant to be a criticism of woman, it merely is a practical study on how she is by nature.'

 

3.1.2 Praise

There is also another side of woman which is outlined. The Purana praises her for being a source of inspiration for man (1.9.28). By protecting his chastity and virtuousness in their marriage she is 'the better half of the male body' (3.14.19) and 'commander of the body, the fortress which is assaulted by sensual titillations' (3.14.20). At 3.14.21 of the Purana text, the man praises his wife: 'Oh queen of our house, it is impossible to act as you do. We can never pay you back either, for what you have done for us, even if we would try to do that during our whole life, or even after our death. Paying you back is impossible, even for those who can appreciate the true value of personal qualities.'

In summary we may say that the portrayal of women in the Bhagavata Purana is reflected in the position of women in a strongly patriarchal culture which is dominated by men. In the 'combination of praise and disapproval of woman' the balance of the Bhagavata Purana strongly slants to the 'disapproval of woman.'

 

3.2 The Lawbook of Manu

In India, jurisprudence has always been closely connected with religion. Therefore it is not surprising that an analysis of religious writings also contains a 'law book.' The law book which has been passed on as 'The Lawbook of Manu' most likely is a compilation of different sources. It contains items which at first glance seem to be inconsistent with each other. In her Purdah: The Status of Indian Women, Das writes: 'It is Manu's legal code which has had terrible effects because he has forged unbreakable shackles for countless future generations of Indian women. Up to this date his laws are to blame for keeping millions of women helplessly imprisoned in the prison of Hindu orthodoxy. Manu was the first person who allocated to woman a definitive place in the broad range of society. But even in his laws a conflict arises: on the one hand he appreciates woman as a spiritual entity and on the other hand as being part of society. He states that a mother deserves more honour than a thousand fathers, but at the same time, from a social perspective, his lawbook ranks women with the lowest group of the Aryan society, the 'shudra' (Das 1932: 9.96 ff.).

 

3.2.1 Disapproval

Women are not allowed to study the holy scriptures. Even if they were to succeed in understanding a very little bit of the scriptures of Veda, they are not allowed to apply their knowledge in ritual meetings (4.205  = The Lawbook of Manu, chapter 4, article 205; and 11.36). There is no moment in a woman's life, in which she may decide personally and without the interference of a man, which direction she wants to take (5.147-149 and 9.2). During childhood her father has to protect her, during marriage her husband, and in her old age her sons. Comparable to what we have seen in Bhagavata Purana, here too, we read that women are bad by nature and that their only desire exists of seducing men (2.213-215). Women have to adore their husbands as if they were gods, even if the husbands are devoid of any virtue or good qualities (5.151 and 156).

 

3.2.2 Praise

In addition to the rules which have negative effects for women, there are sections in which Manu wants to offer a certain amount of legal security to women. Sections 9.104, 118 and 192 contain rules concerning inheritance according to which mothers and daughters are attributed a certain percentage. In sections 3.55-60 we read another example of a more laudatory and appreciative attitude: 'Women have to be adored and honoured by their fathers, brothers, husbands and brothers-in-law. Where women are honoured, the gods are content, but where they are not honoured, not any holy ritual will please the gods. Where female members of the family live in sadness, soon the whole family will fall apart, but a family in which women are happy will always prosper' (quoted in Banerjee).[vi]

Both in its positive and negative views on women, The Lawbook of Manu resembles many old scripts of the Hindu tradition. Progressive as well as conservative movements which are aiming at reforming the Hindu religion, refer to these ancient scripts. That's how the attempts at increasing as well as decreasing women's powers may be legitimated simultaneously.

 

4. Women's perspectives

With only rare exceptions, the HK movement's interpretation of the holy scripts is very fundamentalist. The scripts' authority is almost sacrosanct. The tiniest details of religious customs and conceptions are being justified by what is written in the scriptures. A major part of the daily activities of men and women of the HK movement is devoted to the intensive study of the Bhagavad Gita and the Bhavagata Purana. It is not surprising that women are allowed to study the scriptures if we keep in mind that the HK makes a selective use of sections of the scriptures. However, the criterion for selecting one, and not another is not always clear.

All the books which are read have been translated by Prabhupada. It is judged as undesirable for the spiritual development of the monks to read translations by other authors. This way, Prabhupada's words are seen as unassailable truth. This unassailability, however, does not preclude the fact that considerable differences may be detected with regard to the interpretation of Prabhupada's statements and writings. Texts which men use for the purpose of demonstrating that it is legitimate for women to have less power, are interpreted by women as being a confirmation of the important role they play within the movement. Our search for an unambiguous judgement of the importance of the scriptures is seriously hampered by this.

Based on an interview with Sitarani Devi Dasi in the journal Back to Godhead and a number of conversations I had with Swedish members of the HK movement, I will describe how women interpret and use the above-mentioned concepts. The Swedish women cannot be considered to be representative for women in the HK movement. They all are married and carry out activities which require a considerable amount of responsibility. In view of their backgrounds – they had a university education or a teachers training – one may expect these women to be critical toward their direct surroundings. This must be taken into consideration when one interprets the interviews.

 

4.1 Krishna consciousness and the power of women[vii]

Sitarani Devi Dasi has been member of the HK movement since five years. Talking about the roots of women's liberation movement she states: 'In fact, women protest against the fact that they are not respected, but are merely considered as a sexual object, as a means for men to get sexual satisfaction.' However: 'Women cannot solve the problem of being dominated and exploited by men by becoming dominant and exploitatory themselves. ... Supremacy is as unsatisfactory for women as it is for men.' The problem lies in the fact that the suppositions men and women have as their points of departure are wrong: 'The designations of "male" and "female" only refer to the physical body. Ultimately, those designations have nothing to do with the soul or the self. The notions "I am a man" or "I am a woman" are maya, an illusion.'

The way in which women of the HK movement are treated is based on something completely different: 'In our movement it is customary to address women with mataji or "mother". In so doing, we express the concept of her not being exploited. According to my personal experience, within the Krishna awareness women possess real dignity, because they are respected as spiritual beings.' With regards to the section in The Lawbook of Manu which says that in all the stages of her life woman has to be controlled by men, Sitarani comments: 'This protection of women by men has nothing to do with egoistic domination or exploitation but is the expression of a man's sincere care for his wife. Women benefit from the loving protection by men because they are physically weaker and emotionally more vulnerable.' When being asked whether women are also capable of reaching the highest degree of spiritual perfection, she answers: 'Absolutely. There are no restrictions in this regard.'

In summary, we may say that Sitarani offers an extremely positive interpretation of a number of negative regulations in the BP and The Laws of Manu. Her remarks about women 'being controlled at all the stages of their lifes' and women's capability of reaching 'the highest degree of spiritual perfection' may serve as striking examples.

 

4.2 Krishna consciousness and the power of women in the Swedish HK movement.

In the answers which male and female monks give to my questions there always is one recurring item. Men and women have different functions in the HK movement, but at a fundamental level their relationship to Krishna is the same. In that regard, they all are equal.

A male or female body may be compared to clothing. It is only an external feature. They also point out how women function biologically. Thus, 'practical conclusions' are drawn with respect to women's activities within the movement. Pregnancy and giving birth are considered to be a disturbance. 'These circumstances cause women to become emotionally unsettled; they make it more difficult for them to concentrate on their activities.'

'Men have a more philosophical inclination, women a more practical one.' This view has an implication for women's daily life as well. Executive positions do not only require a total and continuous commitment by the person in question. The leader is also a spiritual guide, he is responsible for indicating how the movement's philosophy should be put into practice. Based on this reasoning the conclusion is obvious, that due to her 'biological nature,' her menstruation and pregnancy a woman is not suitable for occupying executive positions.

Furthermore it is remarkable that a woman's position within the HK movement often is a 'matter of getting used to it.' Shortly after having become a member, women face difficulties in accepting the place which has been allotted to them. They then become involved in a learning process in which the more advanced male and female members give philosophical and practical explanations for the reasons why women have the position in the movement as is decided.

Four of the five Swedish women with whom I spoke had been active with the women's liberation movement before entering the HK movement. This may come as a surprise when one considers the radical difference between the views the HK movement and women's lib have on the emancipation and power of women. The conversations I had show that some of the women thought that within the women's movement the discrepancy between the theory of women's liberation and the practice, i.e. the shape which the idea took in everyday life, was too large. They found that HK's system of giving meaning, its philosophy and life style, was more consistent. This explains why even women who became disappointed after a certain period of time, did want to remain members of the movement. In this situation, more value is attributed to the system of giving meaning, which comprises theory AND life, than to the low position a woman has within the HK community. It is important, though, to add that one woman may find the transition more difficult than another one.

Lila Shakti Devi Dasi told me of the great difficulty she initially had in accepting the way women in the HK movement are treated. At present, her view of the relationship between men and women in the HK groups has changed totally: It is up to the women to help men in not straying from the spiritual path. It is especially the male nature which is very weak. Women may take this into consideration and make man's life easier by not provoking him, but rather adopt a modest behaviour.

In her capacity of being a teacher at the gurukula, Alarka Devi Dasi appreciates the large amount of freedom which she has in her method of teaching. In the HK movement she feels more 'liberated' than before. She acknowledges that a socialist life style and life in a HK commune have very many things in common.

 

5. Power and the lack of power in the HK movement: preliminary conclusions.

Based on the information which I have collected, I will now make some concluding statements about the amount of power women in the HK movement have. I will also point out some developments which may bring about changes.

In the HK movement, an old identity is broken down systematically and substituted by a new one. It is only to be expected that every woman brings her own experiences along. Those experiences make it easier for some women than for others to find definitions of themselves which agree with the women's images which are typical for the HK movement.[viii] Again the question arises: What do women find in the HK movement which they have not found in the women's lib movement? Based on my information I cannot give a definite answer. The women whom I interviewed did not give me many details about their past. An initial answer has already been given: In the HK movement, theory and practice are integrated into a meaningful whole. A similar 'symbolic universe' is absent in the women's lib movement.

The fact that the religious scriptures hold an ambivalent point of departure for women does not imply that in practice the division of power between man and women turns out to be completely negative for women. Women and men employ their own interpretations of the scriptures.

The typical ‘women’s image’ which we can find in the HK movement is very ambivalent. On the one hand the image is that of a powerful woman, a dangerous being, an obstacle on men's spiritual road, a completely uncontrollable and unreliable creature, a rather unintelligent and weak being who always needs to be cared for. On the other hand, she is a source of inspiration for men.

The way women look at themselves is more positive than the scriptures would suggest. Some women expressed their views of being – morally – superior to men, such as for instance the woman who wants to take man's weakness into consideration and thinks of herself as a protector of virtue.

Their choice of becoming members of the HK movement enables women to reach equality on the spiritual level. In this connection, Sitarani Devi Dasi noted that one's identification with a male or a female body is called maya or an illusion. However, this supposed equality is not maintained when executive positions are being occupied. This hierarchy, however, belongs to the exterior features. 'Exterior features, such as lifestyle, social structure and concepts which are deduced from these, often originate in a metaphysical world view. ... If an insight into this world view is lacking, it is difficult to summon understanding and appreciation for the exterior shape.'[ix] In other words, when one rejects the way women in the HK movement are treated, one rejects at the same time the Hindu philosophy which is the foundation of this 'exterior feature.' For a woman in the HK movement there is another implication, namely that criticism of the way she is treated in fact is criticism of the whole system of ‘sense making’ which is offered by the HK movement. Herewith, the whole symbolic universe comes into play which will raise enormous problems for women if they were to adopt a critical attitude, while staying within the movement.

However, the other side of the coin is that the HK movement does not exist in a social vacuum. Social developments, such as the increasing struggle for women's liberation will not pass by unnoticed. In addition it has to be noted that the movement itself undertakes more and more attempts at leaving behind the isolation, which it had chosen out of necessity but often had considered to be undesirable.

Finally, the movement's 'economic activities,' such as the purchases of expensive living and working quarters and the establishment of its own industrial companies, force it to internally re-think the position of women. More and more frequently, female members occupy specialists' positions which lend them more power in accordance to these. Female computer programmers are not yet a common phenomenon within the HK movement, but in view of the recent developments within the HK organisation, in the near future they will become so.

The woman in the HK movement. ... Indeed, a matter of old wine in new bottles. The wine has to be continuously adjusted according to the changing tastes of society. It will not ignore the 'table' of the HK movement. Similarly the bottle which I have described here, will soon become too old and will need to be replaced by new ones.

 

Notes