Men and women are not different species. They may differ, but they belong to the same species. Stop that old nonsense – that the woman cannot become enlightened from her body because she cannot prevent her periods, and that it is the obvious proof that she cannot be celibate. Man can only pretend to be celibate because his period is psychological, he has no visible symptoms.

There has been a sect in India, Terapanth. It says that even if you are passing by the side of a well and somebody has fallen into the well and is crying, shouting, “Save me! Help me!” just go on your way as if you have not heard him at all – because he is suffering a punishment for some wrong action done in his past life. If you interfere he will again have to fall into a well. Why give him unnecessary trouble? You are thinking you are helping – you are simply postponing. It is better for him to be finished with the punishment rather than to take your help, come out of the well and then have to fall in again. He will have to fall in again.

This is one side of the danger – that you have interfered unnecessarily, because nobody can change his fate, nobody can undo his past, he has to go through all the consequences. Secondly, your interference creates bad consequences for you. You saved the man and he commits a murder tomorrow…then you may not be caught by the police and the courts, but the law of karma – which all Eastern religions believe in – will not forgive you. You have to share the consequences, because if you had not saved him, he could not have murdered. You are a partner – unknowingly, unconsciously, but that does not change the law. The law has to be fulfilled in every condition.

This is the logical end of the theory of the law of karma, the law of action and its consequences. That’s why in the East there has been no revolution.

And the question of why women look so graceful, and not as frustrated as in the West, is very simple to understand: they have accepted their fate. The Western woman, for the first time in history, is revolting against all these fictitious ideas about fate, the law of karma, past lives.

It is such a nonsense idea – that you did something in your past life, and existence will wait such a long time to punish you. Who is going to keep the records for so many millions of people?

And we know it in life – you put your hand…that’s what I said to one Jaina monk who was arguing with me about the law of karma. I told him, “There is no problem. You put your hand in the fire, and let us see whether it burns now or in your next life.”

Consequences follow the action immediately. I told him, “Put your hand in…” and he hesitated. I said, “Why are you hesitating? It is a long time…in the next life you will be burned.”

He said, “This is a strange way of arguing. You will burn my hand right now.”