[Advaita-l] How do you reconcile?

[Bhaskar YR]

praNAms Sri Kathirasan prabhuji
Hare Krishna

Shankara also considers Sulabha a brahmavadini in his Brahmasutra Bhashya (3.3.32).

> Yes, not only sulabha there are couple more examples about brahma vAdini like gArgi and maitreyi.  But it is not clear whether they have studied the veda - vedAnta in their current janma or in previous janma !! ( this is considering the traditional stand that shAstrAdhyayana, shravaNAdi sAdhana is must for brahma jnana no matter whether it is in current janma or one of the previous janma-s).  A stree body is not conducive to do veda vihita nitya naimittika karma-s hence they can get the mOksha jnana by observing japa, upavAsa, devatArAdhana etc. says bhAshyakAra somewhere.  So, in short shrOtreeyatvaM is not compulsory qualification for stree-s to become brahmavAdini.  And as a general rule (atleast at the time of shankara) duhituH pAndityaM gruha taNtrameva vede anadhikArAt...daughter can sharpen her skills only in home-making as she does not have the adhikAra to study veda-s.  But as you have observed below,  this rigid rule got the relaxation over a period of time from some popular religious institution (like arsha vidya, Chinmaya mission etc.) though Amnaya mutts & jagadguru-s are  'mute'   without declaring anything categorically with regard to these dharma sUkshma-s.  And it is also a fact that though we have the scriptural substantiation to do vedAdhyayana for all dvija-s (including kshatriya and Vaishya-s) some of the orthodox mutt-s till today open their classes ONLY to brAhmaNa-s and same is the issue with giving sannyasa to kshatriya varNa from the traditional mutt-s.  

The role of women in vedic studies and vedantic studies have evolved over time. We see a strong correlation between urbanisation and the role of women in the shastras. In the Vedic times, women were deemed to be eligible for vedic study through the classification brahmavadini while the Sadyovadhu focused on domestic duties. As we moved into the common era, women’s duties were primary domesticated. With education, the role of women have changed yet again making them entitled to vedic study these days. So the role of women (and men) is part of vishesha dharma and hence will continue to evolve. Some acaryas are ready to negotiate with it while some are not ready.

>  If, giving the vedAdhikAra to non-dvija-s and strees is vishesha dharma needs relaxation then authorities of hindu dharma may have to re-visit and amend the legacy in dharma shAstra-s which even great and enlightened souls like HH kAnchi periya reluctant to do.  

Hari Hari Hari Bol!!!
Bhaskar