Brahmacharya and teaching women
Question:
Dear Trivikrama Swami,
Please accept my most respectful obeisances at your divine lotus feet.
All glories to Srila Prabhupada.
Srila Prabhupada explains that a brahmachari should never be alone with a woman in a secluded place or a room. How should a brahmachari deal with women when it comes to preaching? Should he still preach the philosophy if a woman is just alone?
Thank you very much Swamiji.
Your servant Dhanvantari das
Answer:
Dear Dhanvatari Prabhu,
Please accept my prayers for your advancement in Krishna consciousness.
All glories to Srila Prabhupada!
Thank you for the question. Half the population of the world are women so naturally a male devotee won’t be able to avoid preaching to them. However there are certain guide lines that should be followed. First of all be honest with yourself. The first principle is that we have to save ourselves, otherwise how can we save others. Also there is a principle of “butter and fire”; so if we realize that preaching to this women is causing us to become agitated then we should cut it short and just try to give her a book and move on.
Another point is that it is better if we can find a women devotee to preach to new women who come to the temple. On the street, of course, we will have to speak to everyone if they approach us in a humble way. In general the book distributors are advised not to spend too much time talking with anyone. Better to let the book do the preaching, of course that doesn’t mean that we should be mum but just to remember that there are others to approach so as not to spend too much time with one person.
I hope this helps.
Yours sincerely,
Trivikrama Swami
