Transcribed by Nama-rupa


HH JAS: In the Vedic civilization the men are out working someplace and the women are doing their business together. That’s very nice, they have their own society, they don’t always have to think about men…men…men. They’re brought together at different times when its appropriate: so that’s Vedic culture, previously the house was divided into two sections there was an outside section and an inside section. The outside section, the men stayed and he did his business and received guests, business associates or whatever and in the inner quarters the women were there, they were separate.

Devotee Speaks: It’s still widespread in Arab society in Israel also.

HH JAS: In any civilized culture you’ll find this, ancient Arab culture the middle eastern countries, even countries we think of being savage. They’re more advanced as the so called civilized western first world countries on this point. The women are with the women the men are with the men and their doing their business and their more peaceful.
I went into some office of a big magazine in New York they have like 30 typewriters and little desks the men are sitting at some of them and the women are sitting at others of them and it’s like a pressure cooker! The men have their ties on, got their coats on and they got there Cologne on and they’re powerful and their doing things and the women are dressed to kill!…and their minds are like…if you could draw a graph of it!…(laughter) Nobody can be peaceful in that place, so peaceful mind means separation of men and women as far as possible.
Prabhupad said one time, many times actually, that man is good and woman is good; man and woman together are not good, that is my philosophy he said. Man is good, Woman is good; man and woman together is not good.



  1. Anonymous on

    Thanks for your view and you're right that things are not always black and white. It's Important to note Krishna consciousness situations normally transcend mundane situations.
    Prabhupada also was able to set up temples where men and women can both live, which was definitely different than ever before. However, Prabhupada said "Man is good, Woman is good; man and woman together is not good."
    Hence we should take what Prabhupada has said.
    Hare Krishna

  2. Anonymous on

    Hare krishna.
    By my own experience in life, the things are not that black and white.
    I think if women and men have knowledge they can make great things together. I have seen Vaisnava communities where women and men are separated and what the women do? They only talk about men with eachother… so what's the use? I rather would talk about Krishna.
    I think it might be other way around:in mixed society with men,women,children, grandparents we actually have to control our senses,face something and consider others. This kind of office scene is very extreme example. Most propaly women and men with this kind of conceousness, if they would be separated, it could get even worse: men has naked women calendar on the wall, they can openly talk about their fantasies and these talks feeds themselves and so on… And ACTALLY this is true: It's very common to see garages (or how you call it the place where they fox cars)with porn calendars on the walls, and for the workers it's totaly normal thing to do, I have also heard the talks of this kind of enviroments and for sure it's not more in the mood of goodness than that. Women and men balance eatcohters, and important is that everything has to base on wisdom.
    By the way, Isn't it sayed that in Kaliyuga everything is messed up, I mean that this kind of society you are talking about is impossible to create artificially, just by desiding "ok all our problems will be solved by separating men and women" sounds little unreal to me. I would rather consentrate to my own lust, greed and anger, because they will remain are we associating with other sex or not.
    hare krishna



Subscribe to receive the latest news and updates from KKSBlog.

Read our Privacy policy to see what personal details we use.

You have Successfully Subscribed!