“[There] was a painting of Draupadi being saved from Dushashan by Krsna. I think every male devotee in ISKCON would do well to remember that story.”
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I urge the wonderful devotees in male bodies to speak up for the women who have been grossly defamed, as you would defend your mother.”Insulting Women
By Maharani dasi
As I am away at college in New York, I am somewhat out of the Vaishnava loop, so I was probably as shocked as anyone else when I heard about the recent exposure of the "GHQ" group of swamis and high-profile male devotees. I, probably like everyone else who's heard this, have my piece to say regarding these so-called leaders and holy men who call women (every woman is their mother) whores, witches, and niggers.
I was raised in the ashram at Gita Nagari, and before bedtime, my teacher, Satya, would read us the Mahabharata. In the temple room at Gita Nagari (I don't know if it's still there) was a painting of Draupadi being saved from Dushashan by Krsna. I think every male devotee in ISKCON would do well to remember that story.
Draupadi was lost by Yudhisthira in a game of dice, and Duryodhana, the winner, ordered his brother Dushashan to drag in Draupadi (who had once insulted him), and disrobe her in front of the entire assembly of Kurus, including Bhisma, Drona, King Dhritarastra, Karna, and the one hundred Kuru princes. Draupadi ran to and fro, pleading to all of these great personalities for help, while the rascal Dushashan chased her, trying to grab her sari. Not one of these great personalities, including Grandfather Bhisma, of the twelve most pure devotees in history, came to her aid. Not Drona, a brahmana and the guru of Duryodhana and most of the other princes present; not Maharaja Dhritarastra, whose court it was; not Karna, who was a great and charitable soul, and who also had the most to gain by acting like a real kshatriya. No one in that entire assembly of kings uttered one peep to protect the honor of a woman. Then Draupadi turned to the one, the only one, that she could depend on for justice. We know who it was. Lord Krsna saved her miraculously from defamation. But what happened later to Bhisma, Drona, Karna, Duryodhana, and his hundred brothers?
We know that, too. Bhima and Arjuna, Draupadi's husbands, fulfilled their vows and took the lives of Duryodhana, Dushashan, and the Kaurava princes.
Arjuna also killed Bhisma, and Drona was killed by Draupadi's brother. All of these men were ultimately killed because of their failure to protect Draupadi. That is how she fulfilled her destiny to destroy the kshatriya race. I find it very easy to draw parallels between the insult of Draupadi and the insult of the wonderful women devotees (and who was always taught to believe that we are not this body?). The men who have insulted them will undoubtedly be punished, maybe not by Bhima (luckily for them), but somehow. But the people who should be most concerned are the Bhismas, Dronas, and Karnas of our movement.
Each of these men was destroyed by his silence, by his failure to defend Draupadi in her hour of need, by his failure to stand against the demon Duryodhana. The male devotees of our movement must not let this lesson go unlearned. Even the great Bhisma, the beloved Grandfather Bhisma, pure devotee of Krsna, was ultimately destroyed by his failure to do his duty to protect a woman. So, too, can the most pure devotee of our movement be destroyed (not necessarily killed), by his failure to stand up against the insult and defamation of these devotees of Lord Keshava.
As a girl who was always moved to tears by the plight of Draupadi, I speak to all the male devotees who still have righteousness in their hearts when I ask them to take a stand against these rascals, not for the sake of the women, even, but for their own good. We may not have Bhima and Arjuna to defend us, but we have a protector who imbued their arms with only a minute portion of His strength. I urge the wonderful devotees in male bodies to speak up for the women who have been grossly defamed, as you would defend your mother, for it is she that is being insulted thus, and I advise the devotees in female bodies to follow in the footsteps of Draupadi. Take shelter under the lotus feet of Govinda, the primeval Lord. He will defend us, as He did Draupadi.
© CHAKRA 6-Jan-99
Go to the “GHQ Page”
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