This story is about a woman named Sindhutai, who lived in a poverty stricken village in Maharashtra, India. She never really had any education. When she was a little girl and wanted to go to school, her family made her take care of the buffaloes. When she was 9 years old, she was married to a man who was about 30. By the time she was 19, she had three sons and was again pregnant.
A Mafia type of person, who was exploiting the people of the village was especially forcing the women of the village to work really hard, and was paying them practically nothing. Everyone was afraid but Sindhutai complained to the local collector who was overseeing the police, and that person was stopped from what he was doing.
This made him so angry that he went and told Sindhutai's husband a lie : "You are such a fool! Your wife is having affairs with so many men! In fact, the child in her womb is my child, not yours. You have to kill that child! If you don't, I will kill it and you too." The 19 year old, pregnant Sindhutai's husband in anger repeatedly kicked her not only on the chest, but also on the stomach, to kill her and the child. She eventually fell unconscious.
He thought she had died, so he dragged her to a cow shed. He left her amidst the herd of cows so that it would seem like the cows had trampled on her and that's how she died.
On regaining consciousness, she found that a cow was protecting her, standing by her side and covering her from above. There were so many buffaloes, oxen and cows walking around that they were sure to trample her, but this cow was driving them all away. And when her in-laws came to make sure that she was dead, the cow chased them away with her horns.
Under that cow, she gave birth to a baby girl, and the cow protected her and the child for hours and hours.
As Sindhutai gained enough strength, she embraced the cow and promised : "I was in great need of help right now; so you protected me. When someone else needs me, I will definitely protect them!"
She did not even get shelter in her Father's house, since they had a tradition that once married, the daughter could not return home. It was a silly tradition in those days.
To protect herself from being exploited, she began living in a crematorium with that little child. She would collect the wheat that people placed around the dead bodies, mix it with water, and then cook the mixture over the fire of the dead bodies. She found this life to be very disappointing and painful. She decided her child wouldn't live like this, so she set out to commit suicide. She went to a railway track with her child in her arms and laid waiting for the train to crush them. But as she was laying there, she heard the painful voice of someone crying.
She stood up from the track and looked in the direction of the voice, and saw an old man who was groaning in hunger and thirst. He was disabled and physically very unfit. He was crying for food and water. Sindhu Tai could not bear to see this, so she went and begged from people, and brought food and water for the old man.
*In that painful moment, compassion took seed in her heart.* A divine thought came to her that this man was the voice of God. She called out to Krishna and said, "I now have a higher purpose in life, to contribute something to the world! I will certainly not commit suicide."
But as she was sitting in a field later that day, she wondered, "What can I do? I have nothing! I don't know anyone! How can I be of any help to anyone?"
As she was thinking, her gaze fell upon the branch of the tree, under which she was seated with her daughter. That branch had been cut brutally by a woodcutter with an axe, and it was just hanging by a thin string, yet that branch was giving shade to her and the child! Sindhu tai had got her questions answered. She decided that, 'no matter how much I've been beaten, no matter how much trouble I am in, I can still do something for others.'
From here on, she started living for others.
As a result, she started raising homeless and orphaned children. She became their mother and took care of them. Somehow, she learned to sing well, and she would sing and beg to take care of those orphans and keep them safe. Over time, people around her saw how many lives she was changing, and built an orphanage for her.
Over the years, she has always said that she has more than 1,500 children and over 1000 grand children, and there has been a tremendous difference to her own life too. All of her children have a great education, many are doctors, lawyers and prosperous farmers. She experienced something she never could have anticipated. She received a lot of recognition and received prestigious awards from the President, Governors, and various national and international organizations for her achievements.
Years later, an old man came to their orphanage. He was hungry, sick, homeless, and asking for shelter. Within moments Sindhu Tai recognized him as her husband, the man who had tried to slay her mercilessly.
She said to him, "When you left me to die, I was helpless and homeless. Today, you are homeless and helpless, but I have a big enough place to house so many people." It was the most meaningful thing she ever said.
She forgave him wholeheartedly and assured him, "I will definitely give you shelter, but today onwards, I am not your wife, I am your mother." And she would introduce him to everyone who came there, as her eldest son, who was sometimes very mischievous.
In one interview, she said : "I consider all of the tragedies in my life to have been gifts to empower me to make a difference to others." She considered it all the grace of God. She also said, "My life has been a road filled with thorns, but I befriended the thorns and my life became beautiful. Now I can give beauty to so many other people's lives too."
That's one little example of influence without affluence. The power of compassion is far greater than anything that money can do.
When money, knowledge, strength and skills are built on the foundation of that compassion, they are enriched beyond our comprehension and make a huge difference to life.
As far as compassion is concerned, it is inherently present in each one of us. Nothing and no one can take that away from us as long as we are aware. Compassion is an instrument of grace and is a true influence beyond affluence.
On 4 January 2022, Sindhu Tai left this mortal world. However, her compassion and affection will live on for centuries.
Great respect and salute to her
