Do women require initiation?
Since by serving the devotee husband, a chaste wife advances in Spiritual life. Why is the necessity of Initiation in Spiritual life?
The vedic process is perfect, simply by serving husband faithfully one advances in Spiritual life. We (fallen souls of kali yuga) aren't perfect, we make mistakes in the Service to husband because of material contamination. So initiation is required to purify the soul of material contamination.
Same thing with chanting the holy names of the Lord is perfect enough to liberate oneself why do we need Initiation from a bonafide Spiritual master?
Srila Prabhupada answers this in purport to Cc Adi 7.76
. It may therefore be questioned why there is a necessity for initiation or further spiritual activities in devotional service for one who engages in the chanting of the holy name of the Lord. The answer is that although it is correct that one who fully engages in chanting the holy name need not depend upon the process of initiation, generally a devotee is addicted to many abominable material habits due to material contamination from his previous life. In order to get quick relief from all these contaminations, it is required that one engage in the worship of the Lord in the temple. The worship of the Deity in the temple is essential to reduce one's restlessness due to the contaminations of conditioned life. Thus Nārada, in his pāñcarātrikī-vidhi, and other great sages have sometimes stressed that since every conditioned soul has a bodily concept of life aimed at sense enjoyment, to restrict this sense enjoyment the rules and regulations for worshiping the Deity in the temple are essential. Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī has described that the holy name of the Lord can be chanted by liberated souls, but almost all the souls we have to initiate are conditioned. It is advised that one chant the holy name of the Lord without offenses and according to the regulative principles, yet due to their past bad habits they violate these rules and regulations. Thus the regulative principles for worship of the Deity are also simultaneously essential.
Caitanya caritamrta Adi lila 7.76
The Qualificationsfor recieving mantra diksha according to Hari Bhakti vilasa
Chaste and saintly women, and saintly-hearted çüdras are qualified to be initiated in the chanting of mantras from the
Tantras.
Text 195
In the Småty-artha-sära, as well as in the Padma Puräëa, Vaiçäkha-mähätmya, in a conversation of Çré Närada and Çré
Ambaréña it is said:
"Following the path described in the Agamas, women and çüdras may faithfully worship Lord Viñëu and meditate on
Him as the Lord in the heart.
Text 196
"Following the path of the Agamas, which themselves follow the path of the Vedas, women and çüdras may worship
the Supreme Lord by chanting His holy names.
Hari Bhakti vilasa
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