Women: Masters or Mothers? explores all the significant features of a woman’s life and her role, and gives the authorized Vedic viewpoint on them supplemented by pertinent quotes from Śrīla Prabhupāda and śāstra. One of the instructions that I found striking in this book is how a wife should submissively serve her husband with dedication in all situations.

After attaining the best possible education and getting a so-called good job in the medical field, I realized that my life was nothing but a series of serious mistakes, one after another in the search for material sense gratification. My entire thought process changed after I seriously started hearing and reading the teachings of His Holiness Bhakti Vikāsa Swami Mahārāja and realised that a confused upbringing and the search for material sense gratification is spoiling the women of this...

This book discusses all the important aspects of a woman’s life, such as marriage, childbirth, education, and career, and provides the authorized Vedic perspective on them, being full of relevant quotes from Śrīla Prabhupāda’s teachings and theśāstras. It encourages open-minded readers to question their own preconceived notions and the fact that today’s society largely rejects traditional culture, which was superior, as primitive and exploitative.

Dear Ladies, The choice is yours. The modern society is going in the wrong direction at a very high speed, and those women who want to escape from degradation can escape by following the guidelines in this book. Women in the modern age especially need such guidance, because this is now not available to us from any other source. By imitating the Western and materialistic lifestyles, the degradation among Indians is now even worse than that among Western people.

This book makes no apologies for its stand on rules and roles. The controversial topic of the female-bodied soul is ongoing; one should understand it carefully, because it’s not about putting down females but def ining the use of the bodily machine for elevation. Even for the male-bodied there are def ined rules according to one’s duty. In Kṛṣṇa consciousness neither is put down, yet for both male or female a role is def ined within certain parameters, the aim being elevation...

Women: Masters or Mothers? is a detailed study of the past and present position and situation of women throughout the world. The book compares the modern-day condition of women in general to how things were some years ago in various cultures around the world, and not just in India. Anyone with an open and unbiased outlook, can see on reading the book, that life was much happier then and people were much more content. Mahārāja gives detailed explanations on...

I thank Mahārāja for taking the time and effort to write this book for the benefit of all the members of ISKCON who want to follow Śrīla Prabhupāda’s teachings and make them the only goal of their lives. I welcome the publication of Women: Masters or Mothers? by His Holiness Bhakti Vikāsa Swami. Being categorized as an ‘educated Western woman’ and being thus conditioned in that way, I was not even aware that for years I was unconsciously competing with...

An excellent, śāstric, educational and practical guide for all, but especially for souls in female bodies, who wish to know how to attain perfection in life by acting according to their conditioned natures. By reading between the lines, we can perceive the author’s desire to protect us, and his sense of care, responsibility for the future generations of our society, and the mission of his beloved spiritual master.

Success of any society depends on many factors of which the role of women is one of the most important. Arjuna points out in Bhagavad-gītā that preservation of women’s chastity is essential for the upkeep of civilization. Therefore, it is essential that women’s roles are understood properly. This book is an excellent work on this subject. We should be highly indebted to HH Bhakti Vikāsa Mahārāja for bringing out this book at this crucial juncture.

Women: Masters or Mothers? is a milestone towards the establishing of daiva-varṇāśrama which is the remaining 50% of Śrīla Prabhupāda’s mission. In this book HH Bhakti Vikāsa Swami reminds us of and reinforces Śrīla Prabhupāda’s teachings regarding women’s and men’s roles in society according to their socio-physical conditioning in this material world. With strong grounding of sadhu, guru and śāstra, the author gives a clear understanding of how to balance our sva-dharma and ātma-dharma and ultimately become free from...

Women: Masters or Mothers? is a book containing spiritual guidance for women from scriptures and Śrīla Prabhupāda’s teachings. A woman who follows the instructions given in this book will make her home and family happy in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. By developing the ideal qualities of a woman as described in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (for example, Arci, Devahūti etc.) she can please the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Her ideal example, behavior and purity will inspire others in her family to become devotees.

Women: Masters or Mothers? is a must read for men and women in our Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement. It discusses the importance of introducing daiva-varṇāśrama within our society, which would provide an equal opportunity for all devotees to advance in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, while acting according to their prescribed duties. Varṇāśrama-dharma is essential for the living entity on their path back to Godhead as stated in the Viṣṇu Purāṇa (3.8.9):