In English
Parents have to be respected and worshipped
I shall not tell you very complex matters; I shall give only simple remedies for the ills you are suffering from. I find here a large number of students. Well, what are they studying for? What is the goal? How are we to judge that they have studied well? By the salary they are able to get, or the cadre they are able to secure? No. Education must result in the development of wisdom and humility. Educated people must be able to distinguish between the momentary and the momentous, the lasting and the effervescent. They must not run after glitter and glamour but must seek instead the good and golden. They must know how to keep the body in good trim, the senses under strict control, the mind well within check, the intellect sharp and clear, unhampered by prejudices and hatreds, and the feelings untouched by egoism. They must know the , too, for that is their very care; that is the effulgence that illumines their inner and outer selves. This knowledge will ensure joy and peace and courage for them throughout life. Students also must cultivate the art of avoiding the infliction of pain on others. I must also tell the students that they must be grateful to their parents, who give them all the facilities they now enjoy at great sacrifice. In fact, the parents have to be worshipped as visible representatives of the Godhead; they are responsible for your very existence and for all this joy and adventure in the physical and spiritual spheres. For this reason, they have to be tended and respected and worshipped. A boy was begging in the streets for food so that he could keep his bedridden mother and two little sisters alive. One night, when he clamoured in front of a rich man’s house, the master got enraged at his piteous cries. The boy was very unlucky that day and had collected only a few morsels; the hour was nearing nine. So he cried most pathetically, and it aroused the ire of the rich man inside the mansion. He came out and kicked the boy into the gutter. He was already very weak, for he was starving himself to feed his mother and sisters, so when he fell, he breathed his last, wailing, “Mother! Here is a little food for you.” His hand held the bowl firm even when it had become lifeless!