Is the woman the gateway to hell?

Is the woman the gateway to hell?

There are many people who object to the view of the Sanyasis that woman is the gateway to hell. Ladies should not be offended when they read such scriptures. The saints and Sanyasis have great regards and admiration for women. The same scriptures and saints who censure women in one place praise them in another. They say, "Women should be honoured. They are manifestations of sakti or the energy of Lord. Only those who honour women can attain prosperity." Therefore 0 Women ! Try to know the heart of the scriptures and the saints and become wise. Certainly woman is the creatrix, generatrix and nourisher of the universe. Lust is a potent force, very difficult to get rid of. That is the reason why the saint and scriptures have criticized women in order to create dispassion and discrimination in men and wean them from lustful tendencies and aggressive attacks. Women also can keep a mental picture of the component parts of the body of a male in order to create in themselves disgust for the physical body of a male and develop dispassion (Vairagya).

In this connection there it will be instructive to narrate a story of a young Sanyasi. While passing through a village street, he saw a marriage procession. He asked the people what it was. The people said, "The man sitting on the horse is a bridegroom. He is going to get a girl as his wife and thereafter they will sleep in a bed together etc.." The young Sanyasi did not comprehend the implications fully. Engrossed in the thoughts of the couple, the Sanyasi walked on and stopped to rest on the platform of a well. Being exhausted, he fell asleep within a short time. In sleep he dreamt that he and his bride were sleeping on the same bed. His wife told him to move over and he moved. The bride repeatedly asked him to move further and the Sanyasi actually began moving in his sleep. But his body was gradually reflecting the actions of dream by moving on the platform towards the well. So he fell into the well. The people passing by the road heard the splashing sound of someone falling into the well and came running. They managed to pull Sanyasi out by a rope. The people asked him as to how he fell into the well.

The Sanyasi narrated them the story of his seeing the marriage procession and of his subsequent dream while sleeping on the platform of the well and then he said aloud, "If the momentary company of a dream-girl could throw me into the well, God knows where the groom's real wife will throw him."

The moral is that mere thinking of a woman with sexual feelings causes a Sadhaka's downfall. Therefore, beware! Try to know the heart of the scriptures and saints and take its benefits by following it. Do not find faults in their teachings. Do not blame them for criticizing women.