There are a few components in Srila Prabhupada's teachings that many find difficult to digest. One of them is his assertions that women are less intelligent than men. How to understand it?
Often we use the same word but attach different meanings. As you say, in Vedic culture, intelligence means being able to understand spiritual knowledge, whereas in modern Western society, it generally means a high IQ.
Maybe a point of interest is also Gita 9.32 where women are mentioned along with vaishyas and sudras as being of lower birth. This covers everyone, women and men who aren’t members of the twice born castes. All are less intelligent from the spiritual perspective.
There is another passage, which mentions kalau sudra sambhavah: In Kali-yuga everyone is a sudra, therefore women being classified amongst the Sudras put them in the same category as men. That's all.
The point is that in previous eras there were Ksatriyas and Brahmanas, by qualification, who were more intelligent, but they are extinct now. The goal in our age is to just be a good Vaishnava, be it in a man's body or a woman's body.
Beautifully written, covering all aspects of life through the lens of Vedic knowledge. To truly understand the scriptures, one must practice Hinduism and study them under the guidance of Gurus. Otherwise, one might only grasp surface-level meanings or translations that fit a modern narrative. Thank you for taking the time to dive deep into this, as I often hear similar discussions in the Western yoga world.
This is a comprehensive article.
Often we use the same word but attach different meanings. As you say, in Vedic culture, intelligence means being able to understand spiritual knowledge, whereas in modern Western society, it generally means a high IQ.
Maybe a point of interest is also Gita 9.32 where women are mentioned along with vaishyas and sudras as being of lower birth. This covers everyone, women and men who aren’t members of the twice born castes. All are less intelligent from the spiritual perspective.
There is another passage, which mentions kalau sudra sambhavah: In Kali-yuga everyone is a sudra, therefore women being classified amongst the Sudras put them in the same category as men. That's all.
The point is that in previous eras there were Ksatriyas and Brahmanas, by qualification, who were more intelligent, but they are extinct now. The goal in our age is to just be a good Vaishnava, be it in a man's body or a woman's body.
Beautifully written, covering all aspects of life through the lens of Vedic knowledge. To truly understand the scriptures, one must practice Hinduism and study them under the guidance of Gurus. Otherwise, one might only grasp surface-level meanings or translations that fit a modern narrative. Thank you for taking the time to dive deep into this, as I often hear similar discussions in the Western yoga world.
Yes, its a different culture and different values and logics, we need to properly understand it before judging
No lie detected! They have smaller brains!