TEACHINGS OF QUEEN KUNTI
Chapter Three:

Srimad-Bhagavatam 1.8.20
tatha paramahamsanam
muninam amalatmanam
bhakti-yoga-vidhanartham
katham pasyema hi striyah

TRANSLATION

You Yourself descend to propagate the transcendental science of devotional service unto the hearts of the advanced transcendentalists and mental speculators, who are purified by being able to discriminate between matter and spirit. How, then, can we women know You perfectly?

JOURNAL:

Srila Prabhupada writes in his purport: According to these references (BG 4.13, BG 9.32, SB 1.4.25) women, sudras, and dvija-bandhus are considered to belong to the same category. The word dvija-bandhu refers to one who is born in an exalted brahmana or kshatriya family but who has no qualifications of his own. When Queen Kunti says; "How, then, can we women know You Perfectly?", she speaks of this entire category.

I have always considered myself a sudra because of the nature of my work, although I was born into a family of teachers (kshatriyas). Thus I feel that the Queen is asking the question for all of us. How can we come to know the Lord?

Srila Prabhupada writes; In Bhagavad-gita (9.32) Lord Krishna says:
mam hi partha vyapasrityaye 'pi syuh papa-yonayahstriyo vaisyas tatha sudras te 'pi yanti param gatim,
"O son of Pritha, those who take shelter in Me—though they be lowborn, women, vaisyas, or sudras—can approach the supreme destination."
Thus although women, sudras, and vaisyas are ordinarily considered to belong to a lower class, when one becomes a devotee he or she goes beyond such designations.

Srila Prabhupada defines the words "paramahamsanam" and "muninam amalatmanam" for us. Thus bhakti-yoga is for the paramahamsa, one who knows that Krishna is the central fact. The word muninam refers to those who are thoughtful or to mental speculators, and the word amalatmanam refers to one who has no dirty things in his heart.

So, to start, I must take shelter of the Lord. I need to be convinced that Krishna is the "central fact" of my existence and I need to clean the "dirty things" (lust and greed) from my heart by chanting the Holy Names. And all of this must be done with humility. As Srila Prabhupada writes; Now here also, in this verse, Kunti continues to express herself with humility. This humility is very good in devotional service. Therefore Sri Krishna Caitanya Mahaprabhu teaches us, trinad api sunicena taror api sahishnuna: "One should be more tolerant than the tree and humbler than the grass to make progress in spiritual life."

Hari Bol Prabhus!