In appointing Rt Revd and Rt Hon Dame Sarah Mullally to be the Archbishop of Canterbury, the leaders of the Church of England have made an exemplary statement. They have seen past Bishop Sarah’s bodily identification (a woman!) to her extraordinary personal merit.
One of Sri Krsna’s first teachings to Arjuna in the Bhagavad-gita is that we are not the body we temporarily inhabit; rather, we are spiritual beings, part and parcel of God. Thus a key indicator of spiritually advanced persons is that they see themselves and others as spiritual beings (which is their actual identity) rather than as belonging to a certain gender, nationality, religion, race, species and so forth (which is their transitory housing). The Bhagavad-gita famously declares,
vidyā-vinaya-sampanne
brāhmaṇe gavi hastini
śuni caiva śva-pāke ca
paṇḍitāḥ sama-darśinaḥ
“The humble sages, by virtue of true knowledge, see with equal vision a learned and gentle brahmana, a cow, an elephant, a dog and a dog-eater [outcaste]” (Gita 5.18).
Beyond seeing all living beings as spiritual in nature, Sri Krsna clearly declares that any person can be a spiritual leader if that person is qualified.
kibā vipra, kibā nyāsī, śūdra kene naya
yei kṛṣṇa-tattva-vettā, sei ‘guru’ haya
“Whether one is a brāhmaṇa, a sannyāsī or a śūdra – regardless of what he is – he can become a spiritual master if he knows the science of Kṛṣṇa” (Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya 8.128).
Srila Prabhupada comments on that verse, “As far as Krsna consciousness is concerned, everyone is capable of becoming a spiritual master because knowledge in Krsna consciousness is on the platform of the spirit soul. To spread Krsna consciousness, one need only be cognizant of the science of the spirit soul. It does not matter whether one is a brahmana, ksatriya, vaisya, sudra, sannyasi, grhastha, or whatever. If one simply understands this science, he can become a spiritual master…If one understands the truth of Krsna consciousness and seriously desires to attain transcendental knowledge for the perfection of life, he can accept a spiritual master from any social status, provided the spiritual master is fully conversant with the science of Krsna. Srila Bhaktisiddhänta Sarasvati Thakura also states that although one is situated as a brahmana, ksatriya, vaisya, sudra, brahmacari, vänaprastha, grhastha, or sannyasi, if he is conversant in the science of Krsna, he can become a spiritual master as vartma-pradarsaka-guru, diksa-guru, or siksä-guru.”
We hope and pray that by her teachings and example, Bishop Sarah, the first woman to occupy the post of Archbishop of Canterbury, established more than 1,400 years ago, is able to attract all who hear her to leading an increasingly godly-centric, God conscious life. We have all respect for Lord Jesus Christ, who led such a life, who was a powerful devotee of the Lord, and who did tremendous service on behalf of the Lord.
May the Rt Rev and Rt Hon Dame Sarah Mullally carry on Jesus’s mission with purity, conviction, and enthusiasm. May she share her love for God, His creation, and all His created beings with one and all.
Om Tat Sat