Hansaduta Dasa recalls:

Early on when we were still debating how to address the female devotees, Prabhupada cleared the way by saying that we are to address all women, regardless of how young or old as "mother," either they are actually mothers or they are potential mothers. We originally used to call them sisters, then we tried gopis, but the matter was solved by Prabhupada: "They are all mothers." He often quoted the verse regarding the seven mothers.