Sri Mata Amritanandamayi Devi: The role of parents in building a value-based society

Children, the foundation of success in life is the good samskāra we acquire in childhood. Every parent ought to bequeath to their child this precious and imperishable wealth. Children must be trained from a very young age, when their character and values are formed.

The earlier, the better. Ideas are easily imprinted on tender minds. What is imprinted then will also remain indelible. We live in an age where political corruption, decline in values and abuse of women are on the rise. What is the cause? The world we live in has become like a supermarket; everything and anything is available to anyone and everyone. Thus, so many things attract our mind through so many avenues: the Internet, mobile phones and so on. To keep our balance in these modern days, we need to build a strong foundation based on dharma and values. Disciplining the mind in this way must begin from childhood, however we must bear one thing in mind: disciplining does not mean punishing, and it should never be so. Just as a bitter pill is sugarcoated with honey, the mansion of discipline must be erected on the foundation of love and affection. We have to lead their minds to goodness.

We have to show them the right way, and when they do something good, we have to encourage them to continue. We should not overburden children with studies. They need enough freedom to develop their imagination, independent thinking, and to explore their emotions. Along with that, we should show them what is right and wrong, what is dharma and what is adharma. Things that cannot be taught by scolding and advice can be taught by encouragement and through an example of intelligent behaviour.There was once a boy who used to waste a lot of food. His father tried very lovingly to make him understand that this was wrong. He even scolded him sternly. But nothing worked. Finally, he decided to show him a video. In the beginning of the video, two girls were shown at a restaurant eating chicken. As they ate, they cracked jokes and laughed. When they were full, they dumped their half-eaten meals into the trash. The next scene in the video was of a poor man going through the trash.

Seeing two big pieces of chicken the girls had thrown away, he became happy and put them into a small plastic bag. In this way, he slowly filled the plastic bag with the food waste of various people who had eaten at the restaurant. Next, the video followed him back to his village, where he shared all the food he had collected with the children there. The faces of the children shone with happiness. Soon, the food was finished.

However, the children were still hungry, so they started licking the insides of the plastic bags. The man’s son, who was watching the video, began to cry. He said, “Dad, I will never waste food again.”Our life’s goal should not just be to earn money and acquire comfort. We need to nurture an awareness in our children that there are more important goals in life. Even if they take the wrong path when they grow up, the noble values lying dormant in their subconscious mind will lead them back to the right path later.If we can do this, society will gradually be uplifted. It is the immaculate character of the individual that paves the way to a country’s progress and prosperity. Only when parents raise their children with love and values can an upright citizenry and society come into being.

Sri Mata Amritanandamayi Devi, known as Amma, global spiritual leader and humanitarian