The Characterless Woman

In a village named Dhartipuri, there lived a woman in a hut. She used to live a life of humiliation. The villagers used to believe that she was characterless, and hence she was not allowed to participate in any public gatherings. One day a saint came to village and invited everyone for his public discourse (satsang). The public gathered in a field to listen to his discourse. The woman also came to listen the discourse. But the villagers did not allow her to enter the field. She was insulted and sent back. The saint saw the behavior of the villagers and felt quite sad. The saint cancelled his discourse.

The villagers did not understand and gathered around saint. They asked saint the reason for cancelling his discourse. The saint asked them the reason for sending the woman back. One of the villagers replied, "She is a characterless woman. She would have spoiled the holy environment of your discourse. This is the reason we sent her back." The saint asked, "Where she lives?" The villagers showed her home to the saint. The saint said that he would spend the coming night at her home. Everyone felt strange to hear it.

The saint went to the woman's house and spent all his night there. When on the next morning he came out, everyone was looking at him suspiciously. The saint announced that he would deliver his public discourse in evening. Though the people had started doubting him, still they gathered in the ground. At the decided time, the saint came and started speaking, "I know many of you have doubts. I would like to clear doubts of your mind. Anyone can ask me anything." As expected, people started asking him that why he visited that woman's house and even spent all night there.

The saint replied, "I came here to discuss about humanity and truth. But what I found that everyone is so lost in their own beliefs of holy and unholy values that there is no scope of any discussion left. If you see the nature, it does not discriminate among anyone. The tree that provides shade to the travelers never asks what good or bad things they have done. Nor the sun shines less on any characterless person. When even the God has not stopped gifting breathes to that woman, then who else has the right to claim that she is characterless. My message is for all humans. The message that is so powerful that makes every human being feel the holiness inside of them. How can any human make it unholy? No matter what their past is, I want their present to be righteous. Can anyone tell me that if that woman is characterless, how come all men in this village have good character? I spent the night there because I have faith in my senses and I control them. Also, I knew that I can understand her perspective this way only. Now let me tell you that only one man in this village knew this truth before me about that woman. She was raped by a man of this village. She has one child because of that. She fights the whole world everyday because she wants her child to have a good life. If this is what you people consider characterless, then I respect such characterless woman, and feel bad for principled villagers like you."