Hare Krishna!
Please accept my humble obeisance. All glories to Srila Prabhupada,
Can a female devotee give initiation to her disciple? Or only a male sannyasi can give?
Just Servant
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Replies
No Prabhu, souls if female body do not become initiating Gurus. They cannot accept sannyasa, and usually voluntarily they accept submissive position rather than leading.
But in some cases for example Jahnava Mata - eternal consort of Lord Nityananda i think did have disciples because those times all the associates of Lord Chaitanya left this world so there was no one to continue this Sampradaya so she took in charge.
Your servant,
Hare krishna...Pranam....yes, it is not something usual for matajis to become initiating gurus...Like Maral Mataji said, Jhanava mata did have disciples...because she was the consort of Lord Nityananda...an expansion of Revati devi..One more example will be Ganga mata Goswamini....she was a princess and later she renounced everything and led a very simple life in Vrindavan....
These are very rare cases....and these devotees are not ordinary conditioned souls....but it is very dangerous for an ordinary soul to imitate their activities.....Prabhupada allowed matajis to preach, to do deity worship and even to give class...but he did not say that matajis can give initiation and become diksha gurus.....he did encourage matajis to preach and lead though....
JAI JAGANNATH
Dear devotees Hare Krsna, There has been vaisnavi initiating gurus in our gaudia sampradya in the past.
And there will always continue to be.
You can get a lists of these vaisnavi gurus names in our parampara.
The qualification is not a male body or a female body, ashram or high position.
You have to know what the real qualifications are and if you see that qualification in anyone then hear from them, serve them and become their follower and disciple and take personal training from them.
And if I blindly and biastly disregard the topmost devotees because of ignorance and pride then I commit offenses greatly.