Urmila Devi Dasi

Urmila Devi Dasi, (also known as Dr. Edith E. Best), was born in 1955 in New York City. She is a disciple of A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, the founder of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness. Aside from her leadership among the Governing Body Commission, she is known for having established many educational institutions within ISKCON. [ [http://www.iskcon.com/icj/8_2/urmila.html A Response to: Women in ISKCON; Presentations to the GBC, March 2000 - Vol. 8, No. 1.] ICJ Vol 8, No 2 March 2001 Retrieved on 5 May 2008] [ [http://www.iskcon.com/icj/6_2/62contributors.html Urmila Devi Dasi] ICJ Vol 6, No 2 December 1998 Retvieved on 5 May 2008]

Educational leadership

Urmila Devi Dasi has been principal of elementary and secondary schools in ISKCON. She has developed and taught numerous courses for elementary, high school, college, and adult learners in a wide variety of subjects using interactive and experiential learning in addition to lecture. She is also the author of a book on management and teaching and is a writer and editor for Back to Godhead, an international magazine. Urmila is a member of the Sastric Advisory Council to the Governing Body Commission. [ [http://www.radharani.com/academy_who.html Chief Officer Dr. Edith E. Best (Urmila)] Padma Academy Retrieved on 5 May 2008] He has done a number of reports on Position of Women in ISKCON. [The Hare Krishna Movement: Forty Years of Chant And Change, Graham Dwyer, Richard J. Cole p. 254] [Urmila Dasi, "Prabhupada's Views on Women," www.chakra.org, 2 September 2001. quoted in The Hare Krishna Movement: The Postcharismatic Fate of a Religious Transplant, Edwin Bryant, Maria Ekstrand - Religion - 2004, P. 304] [Report by Devi Dasi, Urmila. 1992.. According to Religious Principles: A Guide to Sexual Relations in a Krsna Conscious Marriage. Hillsborough, NC: ISKCON Education, quoted in "Hare Krishna Transformed", E. Burke Rochford, 2007, ISBN 0814775799, p.58]

piritual leadership

Urmila Devi Dasi currently serves as a senior member within ISKCON. [ [http://www.iskcon.com/icj/8_2/urmila.html A Response to: Women in ISKCON; Presentations to the GBC, March 2000 - Vol. 8, No. 1.] ICJ Vol 8, No 2 March 2001 Retrieved on 5 May 2008] [ [http://www.radharani.com/academy_who.html Chief Officer Dr. Edith E. Best (Urmila)] Padma Academy Retrieved on 5 May 2008] In 2003, she was nominated to potentially become ISKCON's first female initiating (diksa) guru. [ [http://www.vnn.org/world/WD0309/WD11-8342.html ISKCON Nominates First Female Diksha Guru] Vaishnava News Network 11 September 2003 Retrieved on 5 May 2008] Whether she will become one or not is unknown, but she is not one yet.

ee also

*Hare Krishna
*Vaishnavism
*Gaudiya Vaishnavism

References

[http://urmila.me.uk Personal Website of Her Grace Srimati Urmila devi dasi]