Why the protest by women in being women and following their duties nicely? Why are there the impostor feminists?

• The consideration of who is higher or lower based on the Asuric Varnashrama has lead to the conception that cooking, cleaning, supporting the family from the background, being the leading light of the family, providing the nurturing care and love, encouragement to the husband and family members, and raising the next generation with proper spiritual values and culture is less important than everything else.
• Rather when we see the duties
• as a perfect vehicle for our advancement in developing love for Krishna
• as our service to Krishna
• as a responsibility He has entrusted upon us it keeps us happy and excited in doing our prescribed duties nicely
• When we get our sense of worth from the above the materialistic culture does not faze us- it does not shake us from the mode of goodness
• As Kali Yuga progresses a  woman may have to do duties apart from her prescribed duties as well but if she is situated with a proper understanding of the Daivi Varnshrama system she will not compromise on her prescribed duties as she understands their importance.

Mundane(Asuric) Varnashrama versus Daivi Varnashrama

In the previous post
Relationship between - Levels of Consciousness, Modes of material nature and Varna
we discussed how the type of consciousness we have influences the type of work we like to be engaged in.

We also discussed how Vaishnava is considered higher than the Brahmana.

In the table below we will see how Daivi Varnashrama is different from Asuri Varnashrama in the sense that everyone is aspiring for the pleasure of the Lord by the work they do whereas in Asuri Varnashrama one is motivated by their own pleasure.

Asuri Varnashrama	Daivi Varnasharama
Follow rules but without understanding it is for  the pleasure of Krishna	Following the rules and regulations of a particular varna with a clear goal i.e. to please Krishna
Therefore in Asuri Varnashrama Prana maya is better than the anna maya, the vaishayas are better than the sudras, ksatriya are superior to vaishyas, brahamanas are superior to the rest.	Everyone does things for the pleasure of the Lord and is trying to situate themselves at vijnana maya and ananda maya – one does not consider oneself or others higher or lower based on the varna. One is considered higher or lower based on the level of spiritual attainment of kanistha, madhyama and uttama and not what type of work they are doing- because all types of work is being done for the pleasure of the Lord. Everyone is respected because they are all engaged in pleasing the Lord as per the rules and regulations. Therefore a kirtan singer singing for the pleasure of the Lord is respected properly as a vaishnava as much as a temple cook or a preacher, whereas in the system of Asuric a performer is not considered on the same level as a brahmana as it is not being done for the pleasure of the Lord.
Under the garb of a particular so called higher varna they may exploit the lower varna	Exploitation is out of question as : Brahmanas are considered the head of the Lord, Ksatriyas the Arms of the Lord, the vaisyas are considered the belly of the Lord and sudras as the legs of the Lord. So one does not say that head of the Lord is better than the feet.
All four varnas have different culture in how they dress, eat, live. Therefore in the villages they used to have areas earmarked for particular varnas so that they could freely practice their culture without disturbing the other varnas	Vaishnava culture is common not different like the asuric as everyone is trying to follow the same culture in an attempt to go back to Godhead even if the service they do for the Lord maybe different.

If we can understand the difference between the two systems - then when we can make it work. If we want to follow daivi varnashrama but if we follow a rule just as its a rule and dont know its connection with Lord then what is the difference between us and the smartas-. Bec the difference between any situation in the material world is simply consciousness, nothing- your consciousness is Xcendental you are in the spiritual realm and if your consciousness is material you are in the material realm.
8.4 million species is based on consciousness and our posn in varnashrama is also based on consciousness.

Reference:

HH Bhakti Vidya Purna Swami Varnashrama Seminar 01- Brahmacarya

The Need for Varnashrama

The Need for Varnashrama

• The conditioned nature that the spirit soul acquires by its interaction with matter makes it very difficult for the soul to revive its eternal connection with the Lord. It puts the soul in the mode of ignorance - at that platform one does as one pleases further leading to an unregulated mind.

• The unregulated mind pushes one further in the mode of ignorance leaving hardly any scope for the soul to revive its eternal nature of servitude to the Lord.

• If we were transcendental  to the modes of material nature, we simply hear about the Lord and would become devotees immediately and would act on the transcendental platform. E.g Kumaras smelt the tulasi leaves from the Lotus Feet of the Lord and they become self realized. Sukadeva Goswami hears the pastimes of Krishna and he became self realized. We have heard Srimad Bhagavatam many times and have smelt tulasi leaves but many of us haven't become self realized. This is because of the conditioned nature- it takes some practice to change that. 

• Varnashrama Dharma helps us get rid of this conditioned consciousness- this is the most essential point of Varnashrama- all rules and regulations are simply to destroy the material conception we carry that is keeping us away from being situated in our eternal identity as servant of Krishna.

• Thus to elevate men from the animal status,to the mode of goodness the divisions of the four social orders and the four social classes are created by the Lord for the systematic development of Kṛṣṇa consciousness.

Quotes from Srila Bhakti Vinoda Thakur about Varnashrama Dharma

• Caitanya Siksamrita 249
• " First, it should be said that without taking proper care of body, mind, society and spirit, a person cannot perform the more elevated activities of bhakti. How can the seed of devotion, faith, awaken in the heart if a person dies prematurely, develops mental problems and never learns anything about spirit? And if a person gives up the rules of varnasrama and acts as he pleases, his physical and mental actions will be like those of a madman. He will be engaged in the worst sins. No sign of bhakti will be visible."
• Bhaktyaloka 216
• "The main purpose of varnashrama-dharma is this: By gradually following varnashrama-dharma a human being will become eligible to perform devotional service."
• Caitanya siksamrita
• "Though a person situated in the world may accept spiritual dharma, he does not give up the rules of mundane dharma, for the rules of varnasrama still assist him in supporting his body, mind and social environment. Being comfortable as a result of proper body, mind and surroundings, he is able to attain the eternal bliss of worshipping the Lord."

Varnashrama includes everyone
 Thus Varnashrama divides society into four natural groups based on the individual characteristics and dispositions.If one follows the rules and regulations of the group they belong to very sincerely - they are able to overcome the dictates of the mind and act from the platform of goodness versus acting from the platform of ignorance.

Relationship between - Levels of Consciousness, Modes of material nature and Varna

• Anna maya (Kama)
• Platform of the mind , the senses, anything we can perceive and deal with the senses- arts, science... and of course eating sleeping mating and defending
• For Sudra the platform of occupational activity is the senses because to do the arts you require the senses. Their situation is ann maya.(kama)
• Mode of ignorance
• Prana Maya(artha)
• Being able to understand that others also have life
• This means we have to be able to work with others- recognize others exist they have desires, needs, and our attempts to get our needs and desires met cannot conflict with others. 
• From this platform comes economic development, material justice- anything where one person has to deal with others.
• Vaishyas are in Prana maya- economics, justice- to make a government  road- this is prana maya- your trucks have to go down, to make all this kind of things is prana maya
• Mode of passion and ignorance
• Mana Maya-(dharma) platform of religious principles
• It also means jnana because there is knowledge- but this knowledge is the knowledge that the mind has affinity for.
• Because the mind likes following of this principles. Where we say mind is going crazy means there is no standard to connect it to, thinks anything - all social principles and rules and regulations are meant to keep the mind peaceful.
•  If we let the mind go a little bit- it runs away with the senses.
• By the social rules and regulations the mind is controlled.This is the platform of dharma.
• This is the realm of activity for the ksatriya
• Mode of passion
• Vijnana Maya- 
• We understand we are not the body we are the soul- this platform of the soul we view the the world- Brahma Bhuta platform- Brahmana level
• This is the bottom level of transcendence. We know we are the soul but do not know we are the servant of Krishna.
• Brahmana means that who knows brahmana.Brahman there are three levels-
• dvija- right to study perform vedic rites and sacrifices and learn the vedic knowledge. But he knows nothing. 
• Next level is vipra- one who has knowledge- he has studied vedic knowledge and has become expert- you also called them pandit 
• Mode of goodness
• Ananda Maya-
•  To know we are spirit soul and servant of Krishna. and we are trying to serve.
• This is the Vaishnava Platform- the third level of the Brahmana.
• Mode of transcendental goodness

Varnashrama - the culture of protection and inclusion for the growth of spiritual consciousness

 We will begin discussion on the topic of Varnashrama - the culture of protection and inclusion for the growth of spiritual consciousness.

We will go through this presentation :

Varnashrama and the Protection of women to discuss the following points:

• The Need for Varnashrama
• Relationship - Levels of Consciousness, Modes of Material Nature, Varnas
• Asuri(Mundane) Varnashrama versus Daivi Varnashrama
• Why the protest by women in being women and following their duties nicely? What are those feminists doing?
• Women's duties as per Daivi Varnashrama system 
• How they put them in a position of strength
• How their role is extremely important for the society
• Why are Women Protected?

Does it mean Vedic culture considers all men to be intelligent?

We read in the post an understanding of why there is an apparent contradiction in the scriptures about a woman's intelligence . Depending upon how a woman is situated she maybe a shelter of maternity or a shelter of sexuality in the human society.

Now does this mean that only women can succumb to the lower nature due to bodily identification and that all men are free from bodily identification? And that all men are intelligent?

Seeing through the lens of the Vedic Definition of intelligence that we discussed earlier anyone who is not able to discriminate between matter and spirit is considered of low intelligence.

Even if men in general have a better ability at rational thought- but if

they are inclined towards a material conception of life versus a spiritual one- then that is not the sign of an intelligent person.

The environment in Kali Yuga is full of various distractions- whether the soul is in the man's body or the woman's body one must remain very vigilant and work hard to progress in their spiritual life.
Examples of Bharat Maharaja and Ajamila are there in the Srimad Bhagavatam to show how a moment of inattention and also staying away from the association of devotees can throw one off the path of devotional service.

Since the dharmic principles that kept society in check have been lost- there is a dearth of examples of model behaviors of men and women around us. This calls for proper training of Boys and Girls and men and woman.

Addressing the apparent contradiction - Women are considered less intelligent vs a A Good wife means Good intelligence?

There are cases we see that women are more intelligent than men. But this statement cannot also refer to the soul because at the level of the soul because at the level of the soul both men and women are the same?

Where is this coming from if it is not related at the material level and not at the spiritual level?

Actually it is related at the interaction of material and spiritual level. As we discussed in a previous post that due to the Breakdown of Dharmic principles women as a class are left harmed. Although in many ways they are more free, they continue to be taken (even by themselves) as a sex object and to be used as a symbol for sexuality. The material-sexual atmosphere increases their material-sexual tendency and furthers them away from their devoted and loving nature. In fact, this transition between the higher nature of a saint/ mother/ nurturer to the lower nature of a prostitute/ seducer is rapid for women, since these are two aspects of their prakriti nature

Lower Nature:

• Mis-identification of the spirit with matter is much stronger when the spirit is entrapped in the women's body.
• To a large extent if the women is not spiritually minded her sense of self identity and self worth comes from the bodily form and therefore to understand that the self is not the body is that much more difficult.Women are more easily swayed to identify with their material body on account of its external beauty
• Another aspect of this misidentification is that the female body leads to a excess of emotionality as compared to rationality. 

That's why bodily identification increases sign of less intelligent.

• Women are less intelligent is not to restrict their capacities and potential and denigrate them  but to recognize that different bodies give us different limitations and endowment but to minimize the harm from the limitations and maximize the benefit from the endowments.The Social order in which women were primarily mothers and not allurers was standard in the Vedic Culture.

Higher Nature:

•  In Vedic Culture the role of maternity is emphasized over the sexuality. Shelters of maternity not sexuality when this is emphasized then the emotionality of women can be used to care for the family members especially the children . It can help them to grow, if the women can become a devotee then her emotionality can help her experience devotional emotions and pass them on to her children.
• So in this way, if women function as mothers primarily then whatever maybe the weakness of the particular body they have then the weakness doesnt harm them but it helps them and helps them help others. 

What goes on in modern society?

• In contrast modern society downplays and to some aspect denies the maternal aspect of women and it over hypes the sexual aspect of women. This leads to increase bodily consciousness among women and men.

Does Modern Society really respect women or does it dehumanize them as objects of pleasure?

• The modern society by treating women as sex symbols may give women more freedom and attention- but that doesn't lead to greater respect and security but it leads to greater insecurity and greater depersonalization. 
• When a women is seen just as a sex symbol then she is not seen as a person but as an object.
• When they are trained to be sex symbols when the sexual appeal decreases then the sense of self worth is lost- but if it is coming from her sense of identifying herself as a mother then a women cannot be a sex symbol throughout her life but she can always be a mother all her life. 
• That is why the maternal role of a mother should be emphasized and the sexual role she be minimized that is what is vedic culture does.
• The less intelligence is not to minimize women but to protect and cherish women so that their spirituality can be developed and cherished in a way that is beneficial to the full society and beneficial to themselves.

Does it mean Vedic Culture Considers all men to be intelligent?

References:

Why are women considered Less intelligent- Lecture by Hg Caitanya Carana Prabhu

A Woman's spiritual nature

The Breakdown of Dharma And How It Impacts Women?

Dharma (or a mood of service, commitment, and sensitivity to others) is designed to bridge and regulate the relationship between these two separate worlds of men and women, and make the cooperation between them conducive to spiritual advancement, until they reach full freedom from self-centeredness, or from the bodily identification of “I am a man”, “I am a woman”, returning back to the eternal spiritual nature – the prakriti nature.

When human culture deteriorates into a-dharma,

1. Sense Gratification becomes the ultimate goal of life 
1. When “doing whatever I like” becomes the central value, with competition and utilitarianism as a prime and respected incentive for action; or more philosophically, when the spirit of purusha becomes almost the exclusive ideal, it is only natural that the spirit of prakriti, of giving and love, is diminished and gradually disappears. 
2. the entire atmosphere becomes saturated with self-interest, hypocrisy, and callousness. 
2. Competition for masculine supremacy
1. The souls in the material world are by nature prakriti, or feminine, permeated with the spirit of purusha, or masculinity. That is to say, we are all egocentric here, trying to control and subordinate everyone else to our service, although our true happiness lies in service – in giving and in love
2. The masculine ideal is seen as guaranteeing the fulfillment of more pleasure, and therefore men and women – all compete for such masculine supremacy.
3. The result, of course, is imbalance, instability, lack of commitment, and insecurity. 
4. Due to the lack of connecting, bridging, and service – the feminine strength – or in a deeper sense, because of moving away from the spiritual ideal, the society, and even the nuclear family, turn from a supportive community into an aggressive and egocentric arena devoid of satisfaction.
3. Misuse of the principles of religion- Abuse of power
1. In such a state, the principles of religion are often used to justify egocentricity and even as a method for exploitation, abuse, and control of the strong over the weak – the weak gender. A woman is perceived as a means to satisfy the sexual needs of her husband and as mother for his children, in negation of all independence and freedom to fulfill herself beyond that. 
2. eg of inlaws, society elders. men and women exploiting the women because of the desire for purusha like supremacy
4. Struggle to free oneself from the burden of religious oppression
1. People want to enjoy freely, do what they like- they do not want to burden of regulative principles of religion guiding them and balancing them for they would have to sacrifice the demands of their mind
2. Decry, criticize the religious principles because of our own lack of desire to follow them!
3. The modern person defines himself or herself through the right for freedom – the freedom to fulfill oneself without the strict and confining laws of religion, the freedom to enjoy without fearing sin, the freedom to control one’s destiny, the freedom to explore the truth, and even the freedom to believe or not in the existence of God.
4. The feminist fight for women’s liberation takes part in the struggle of the entire modern world to free itself from the burden of religious oppression
5. The impact on women
1. In the strife of fanaticism and religious oppression vs. sexual freedom, women, as a class, are left harmed. 
2. Although in many ways they are more free, they continue to be taken (even by themselves) as a sex object and to be used as a symbol for sexuality. The material-sexual atmosphere increases their material-sexual tendency and furthers them away from their devoted and loving nature. In fact, this transition between “a saint and a prostitute” is rapid for women, since these are two aspects of their prakriti nature