Page 14 - Defending Prabhupada Words - By Harivlas Das
P. 14

the word absolute? Are women always less intelligent and
            untrustworthy in comparison to men? Are women always
            required to be under the protection of men? The answer to
            these questions is no. Neither do these contentions about
            women conform to Bhaktivinoda’s concept of paramartha,
            as  they  are  all  nonessential  to  the  culture  of  bhakti.
            Therefore according to Bhaktivinoda Thakura one is free
            to overlook them.”

            Brahma das begins to form a disingenuous argument to
            debunk  Srila  Prabhupada’s  statements.  These  sly  tactics
            are used when one is determined to undermine another
            person’s  authority.  Brahma  das  uses  the  dictionary
            meaning and the Bhagavad-gita verse 2.16 to define the
            word absolute. His slyness is to use this definition to test
            statements  Srila  Prabhupada  makes  about  materialistic
            women in the material world. Remember that Brahma’s
            point    is,  “According  to  Bhaktivinoda  Thakura,  relative
            information can be incomplete or incorrect even though
            it might be found in scripture or spoken by a self-realized
            devotee. To emphasize this point he states that one is free
            to disregard relative information in his own writings if it is
            found to be incorrect.”


            Brahma das uses the standard of absolute knowledge to
            debunk  statements  about  relative  knowledge.  Whatever
            statements  Srila  Prabhupada  makes  about  materialistic


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                                                                09-02-2023   17:30:15
                   e.indd   13
 Defending Prabhupada Words inside.indd   13                    09-02-2023   17:30:15
 Defending Prabhupada Words insid
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