Sometimes the question is raised whether women should accept the sannyasa order of life. First, here's what Srila Prabhupada says:
"Anyone acting for Krishna, he is a sannyasi or sannyasini. It is also stated: striyo vaisyas tatha sudras te'pi yanti param gatim. So spiritually everyone is equal. But materially a woman cannot be given Sannyasa. But you should not be bothered because you are serving on the spiritual platform." -2/4/76, Mayapur
"Among my disciples there is only one Swami or Sannyasi, but there is no 'Swaminie'. Woman is never offered Sannyasa in the Vedic culture. Up to Vanaprastha stage the woman may remain with her husband as assistant or friend without any sex relation, and when a man takes Sannyasa the woman has no connection with him. I am very sorry to inform you that there are some Indian 'Swamis' in this country who are living with so-called 'Swaminies', but so far we are concerned we follow strictly the Vedic principles." -7/16/70, LA
"Kardama Muni followed the Vedic injunction that no one in sannyäsa life can have any kind of relationship with women. But what is the position of a woman who is left by her husband? She is entrusted to the son, and the son promises that he will deliver his mother from entanglement. A woman is not supposed to take sannyäsa. So-called spiritual societies concocted in modern times give sannyäsa even to women, although there is no sanction in the Vedic literature for a woman's accepting sannyäsa. Otherwise, if it were sanctioned, Kardama Muni could have taken his wife and given her sannyäsa. The woman must remain at home." -3.22.25p
Indian man (6): Śrīla Prabhupāda, since there is no distinction between "man" and "woman"—these are both designations—is it possible for a woman to become a brāhmaṇa?
Brahmānanda: Is it possible for a woman to become a brāhmaṇa?
Prabhupāda: He is… Woman is a brāhmaṇa’s wife. Then she is automatically a brāhmaṇa.
Indian man (6): Suppose she doesn’t want to get married for the rest of her life, just wants to serve the Lord?
Prabhupāda: So in his spiritual position everyone is a brāhmaṇa.
Brahmānanda: But you give brahminical initiation to unmarried women.
Prabhupāda: Yes. But on spiritual point she is brāhmaṇa. On the spiritual platform there is no such distinction.
Devotee (7): Oh, it’s not possible for a woman to become a sannyāsī.
Prabhupāda: No."
--Morning Walk, November 2, 1975, Nairobi
The answer also may be found in the wonderful example of the gopis who practically demonstrate that a change of dress or a change in one's external position does not matter as much as the purity of one's consciousness:
SANKIRTANA IN ANY SITUATION
"Why are the women of Vraja so fortunate? Because they always engage in krsna-sankirtana, no matter what else they do. They sing while they milk cows and churn butter for their husbands and children, when they apply kumkum, candana and other cosmetics to their bodies, while they swing on swings, while they comfort their babies, while they clean their houses...They sing Krishna's names while cooking, grinding grains (etc.)...Thus the gopis' unavoidable duties in taking care of their families and maintaining their own bodies do not at all obstruct the ecstasies the gopis feel in worshiping Krsna; rather, they contribute to it by giving suitable occasions for sankirtana...The gopis are so absorbed in Krsna's glories that they are hardly aware of the effort they expend while working." --SBB 3.7.136p
SOCIAL RESTRICTIONS FACILITATE THEIR LOVE
"As the gopis meditate on the devotional service of the deer (that worship the Lord with looks of love and affection), they cannot help but think, 'These deer are fortunate because they can worship Krsna along with their husbands. But our foolish husband's cannot tolerate our worship of Krsna...And even if a few of us can occasionally perform such service for Him our husband's object'...
"Actually, the cowherd men are also most fortunate Vaisnavas, exclusively devoted to Krsna . Still, the gopis as subordinate wives, feel shy to disclose to their husband's their worship of Krsna. Constrained by the husband and wife relationship, the gopis have to worship Krsna secretly as a paramour. This unique style of worship enables the gopis to achieve the extreme limit of success-the highest degree of pure love for Krsna. SBB 3.7.116
NOT INDEPENDENT
"Uddhava may worry that the gopis, having abandoned everything, must be wandering aimlessly in the wilderness. How then will he be able to find them? And furthermore, since they have rejected all social ties, they must have become like mad women haunted by ghosts. How will he be able to reason with them? Krsna assures Uddhava that even though the gopis have for His sake abandoned loka and dharma, He watches over them and protects them. He continues to provide them the same worldly and superworldly benefits they have rejected. Thus when Uddhava reaches Vrndavana he will find the gopis at home with their husbands and children and of sane mind. What's more, Krsna personally continues to provide even for the husbands and children the gopis have mentally abandoned.There is no need to worry that the families of the gopis might be uncared for...Through His personal energies, Krsna provides for the needs of the husbands and children, so what doubt can there be that He maintains the gopis? He supplies their worldly needs, maintains the integrity of their religious duties as women, and keeps them strongly engaged in their primary interest and highest dharma- nama sankirtana and the other essential aspects of devotional service." --SBB 3.7.140p
NEVER SEPARATED FROM KRSNA
"The gopis, having been instructed by Krishna in this philosophy of simultaneous oneness and difference, remained always in Krishna consciousness and thus became liberated from all material contamination. The consciousness of the living entity who falsely presents himself as the enjoyer of the material world is called jiva-kosa, which means imprisonment by the false ego. Not only the gopis but anyone who follows these instructions of Krishna is immediately freed from the jiva-kosa imprisonment. A person in full Krishna consciousness is always liberated from false egoism; he utilizes everything for Krishna’s service and is not at any time separated from Krishna.
"The gopis therefore prayed to Krishna, 'Dear Krishna, from Your navel emanated the original lotus flower, which is the birth site of Brahmä, the creator. No one can estimate Your glories or Your opulence, which therefore remain always a mystery even to the highest thoughtful men, the masters of all yogic power. However, the conditioned soul fallen in the dark well of this material existence can very easily take shelter of Your lotus feet. Thus his deliverance is guaranteed.'
"The gopis continued: 'Dear Krishna, we are always busy in our family affairs. We therefore request that You remain within our hearts as the rising sun. That will be Your greatest benediction.' The gopis are always liberated souls because they are fully in Krishna consciousness. They only pretended to be entangled in household affairs in Vrndävana. Because of their separation from Krishna, He might have asked them to return with Him to His capital city, Dvärakä. But the inhabitants of Vrndävana, the gopis, were not interested in the idea of going with Krishna to Dvärakä. They wanted to remain busy in Vrndävana and thus feel the presence of Krishna in every step of their lives."-KB 82
"Anyone acting for Krishna, he is a sannyasi or sannyasini. It is also stated: striyo vaisyas tatha sudras te'pi yanti param gatim. So spiritually everyone is equal. But materially a woman cannot be given Sannyasa. But you should not be bothered because you are serving on the spiritual platform." -2/4/76, Mayapur
"Among my disciples there is only one Swami or Sannyasi, but there is no 'Swaminie'. Woman is never offered Sannyasa in the Vedic culture. Up to Vanaprastha stage the woman may remain with her husband as assistant or friend without any sex relation, and when a man takes Sannyasa the woman has no connection with him. I am very sorry to inform you that there are some Indian 'Swamis' in this country who are living with so-called 'Swaminies', but so far we are concerned we follow strictly the Vedic principles." -7/16/70, LA
"Kardama Muni followed the Vedic injunction that no one in sannyäsa life can have any kind of relationship with women. But what is the position of a woman who is left by her husband? She is entrusted to the son, and the son promises that he will deliver his mother from entanglement. A woman is not supposed to take sannyäsa. So-called spiritual societies concocted in modern times give sannyäsa even to women, although there is no sanction in the Vedic literature for a woman's accepting sannyäsa. Otherwise, if it were sanctioned, Kardama Muni could have taken his wife and given her sannyäsa. The woman must remain at home." -3.22.25p
Indian man (6): Śrīla Prabhupāda, since there is no distinction between "man" and "woman"—these are both designations—is it possible for a woman to become a brāhmaṇa?
Brahmānanda: Is it possible for a woman to become a brāhmaṇa?
Prabhupāda: He is… Woman is a brāhmaṇa’s wife. Then she is automatically a brāhmaṇa.
Indian man (6): Suppose she doesn’t want to get married for the rest of her life, just wants to serve the Lord?
Prabhupāda: So in his spiritual position everyone is a brāhmaṇa.
Brahmānanda: But you give brahminical initiation to unmarried women.
Prabhupāda: Yes. But on spiritual point she is brāhmaṇa. On the spiritual platform there is no such distinction.
Devotee (7): Oh, it’s not possible for a woman to become a sannyāsī.
Prabhupāda: No."
--Morning Walk, November 2, 1975, Nairobi
The answer also may be found in the wonderful example of the gopis who practically demonstrate that a change of dress or a change in one's external position does not matter as much as the purity of one's consciousness:
SANKIRTANA IN ANY SITUATION
"Why are the women of Vraja so fortunate? Because they always engage in krsna-sankirtana, no matter what else they do. They sing while they milk cows and churn butter for their husbands and children, when they apply kumkum, candana and other cosmetics to their bodies, while they swing on swings, while they comfort their babies, while they clean their houses...They sing Krishna's names while cooking, grinding grains (etc.)...Thus the gopis' unavoidable duties in taking care of their families and maintaining their own bodies do not at all obstruct the ecstasies the gopis feel in worshiping Krsna; rather, they contribute to it by giving suitable occasions for sankirtana...The gopis are so absorbed in Krsna's glories that they are hardly aware of the effort they expend while working." --SBB 3.7.136p
"When you do business you should do it business-like. We should not neglect any minute part of it, but at the same time we shall think of Krishna, seeking His protection. The living example is the Gopis. They were householder wives, young girls having children to feed, carrying out the order of superiors; father-in-law, mother-in-law, sister-in-law, satisfying the whims of the husband, executing so many household duties from morning to night. Still they practiced in such a way Krishna Consciousness that they did not forget even for a second Krishna. While mopping the floor, while washing the dishes, while milking the cow, while feeding the baby, while talking with friends, while cooking in the kitchen they were always thinking of Krishna. You will find all these descriptions in our book Krsna how they remained compact in thought of Krishna. So this is the highest ideal of Krishna Consciousness, and we should try to follow their footsteps." letter from Srila Prabhupada to Gargamuni, Tittenhurst, 29 October, 1969
"As the gopis meditate on the devotional service of the deer (that worship the Lord with looks of love and affection), they cannot help but think, 'These deer are fortunate because they can worship Krsna along with their husbands. But our foolish husband's cannot tolerate our worship of Krsna...And even if a few of us can occasionally perform such service for Him our husband's object'...
"Actually, the cowherd men are also most fortunate Vaisnavas, exclusively devoted to Krsna . Still, the gopis as subordinate wives, feel shy to disclose to their husband's their worship of Krsna. Constrained by the husband and wife relationship, the gopis have to worship Krsna secretly as a paramour. This unique style of worship enables the gopis to achieve the extreme limit of success-the highest degree of pure love for Krsna. SBB 3.7.116
NOT INDEPENDENT
"Uddhava may worry that the gopis, having abandoned everything, must be wandering aimlessly in the wilderness. How then will he be able to find them? And furthermore, since they have rejected all social ties, they must have become like mad women haunted by ghosts. How will he be able to reason with them? Krsna assures Uddhava that even though the gopis have for His sake abandoned loka and dharma, He watches over them and protects them. He continues to provide them the same worldly and superworldly benefits they have rejected. Thus when Uddhava reaches Vrndavana he will find the gopis at home with their husbands and children and of sane mind. What's more, Krsna personally continues to provide even for the husbands and children the gopis have mentally abandoned.There is no need to worry that the families of the gopis might be uncared for...Through His personal energies, Krsna provides for the needs of the husbands and children, so what doubt can there be that He maintains the gopis? He supplies their worldly needs, maintains the integrity of their religious duties as women, and keeps them strongly engaged in their primary interest and highest dharma- nama sankirtana and the other essential aspects of devotional service." --SBB 3.7.140p
NEVER SEPARATED FROM KRSNA
"The gopis, having been instructed by Krishna in this philosophy of simultaneous oneness and difference, remained always in Krishna consciousness and thus became liberated from all material contamination. The consciousness of the living entity who falsely presents himself as the enjoyer of the material world is called jiva-kosa, which means imprisonment by the false ego. Not only the gopis but anyone who follows these instructions of Krishna is immediately freed from the jiva-kosa imprisonment. A person in full Krishna consciousness is always liberated from false egoism; he utilizes everything for Krishna’s service and is not at any time separated from Krishna.
"The gopis therefore prayed to Krishna, 'Dear Krishna, from Your navel emanated the original lotus flower, which is the birth site of Brahmä, the creator. No one can estimate Your glories or Your opulence, which therefore remain always a mystery even to the highest thoughtful men, the masters of all yogic power. However, the conditioned soul fallen in the dark well of this material existence can very easily take shelter of Your lotus feet. Thus his deliverance is guaranteed.'
"The gopis continued: 'Dear Krishna, we are always busy in our family affairs. We therefore request that You remain within our hearts as the rising sun. That will be Your greatest benediction.' The gopis are always liberated souls because they are fully in Krishna consciousness. They only pretended to be entangled in household affairs in Vrndävana. Because of their separation from Krishna, He might have asked them to return with Him to His capital city, Dvärakä. But the inhabitants of Vrndävana, the gopis, were not interested in the idea of going with Krishna to Dvärakä. They wanted to remain busy in Vrndävana and thus feel the presence of Krishna in every step of their lives."-KB 82