“But you are not a woman; you are a Vaishnava.”
One of the loving exchanges Yamuna had on several occasions with Srila Prabhupada related to his teasing her, or as she used to say, “trying to get a rise out of her,” by quoting the Chanakya Pandit verse, “Never trust a politician or a woman.”
Another variation was when he would purposely make a statement about women being less intelligent. This may have started in San Francisco, but specifically she mentioned that it occurred in London, then in Madras and Bombay.
Once, she was riding in a car with him, and he quoted the Chanakya verse and then turned around to look directly at her with an almost impish smile on his face. When she didn’t react, he repeated it and looked around again in the same way.
Yamuna simply smiled and said, “Yes, Srila Prabhupada, you are certainly correct.” Then some time passed, and Srila Prabhupada praised her to show that he in fact saw no distinction on the basis of body, but saw her as an eternal spirit soul sincerely engaged in practicing and promulgating Krishna Consciousness.
Yamuna: I had numerous exchanges which illustrated Srila Prabhupada’s demeanor and mood with regard to my position as a woman. However, one such series of exchanges is what I call the Chanakya Pandit episodes.
I was present on four occasions when Srila Prabhupada repeated the Chanakya adage: “Never trust a politician or a woman.” On each occasion, Srila Prabhupada looked me in the eye to see my response.
On the last occasion, in Bombay in 1973, he quoted the Chanakya shloka again, heartily laughing in front of a small group of men. Then he said, “What do you think, Yamuna?”
Immediately I retorted: “Of course, it is true, Srila Prabhupada,” whereupon he became grave, looked at me with great feeling, and said, “But you are not a woman; you are a Vaishnava.”
Another episode is remembered by Giriraja Swami in Madras:
Giriraja Swami: One time Yamuna came out of Srila Prabhupada’s room, flushed with excitement because Srila Prabhupada had told her something very confidential.
She told me that Srila Prabhupada had told her that women are less intelligent, or that it is harder for them to make spiritual advancement. But how I perceived it was that she wasn’t upset or flustered.
Yamuna was always reluctant to reveal anything Srila Prabhupada said or did which exalted her in any way. She once reluctantly revealed to me the rest of this Madras pastime with Srila Prabhupada.
After speaking to her about it being more difficult for a woman to make spiritual advancement, he reiterated his comment to her that “But you are not a woman, you are a Vaishnava.”
However, he then added to this, “If you continue worshiping and serving the Spiritual Master as you are, you will go back to Godhead in this very life.”
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