In plain words
A father's joy in his son is not born when the son is born; when people see that son and praise him, on that day he gains a father's joy....
On the day people praise him, “Your son is a very great man, sir, a very good man, sir,” on that very day a father knows the joy of a son.
The Veda taught, “Let your mother be God to you, let your father be God to you, let your teacher be God to you”; it gave the first place to none but the mother. You can see this in our holy ancient history as well. People say ‘Sītā-Rāma’; does anyone say ‘Rāma-Sītā’? They say ‘Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa’, and no one says ‘Kṛṣṇa-Rādhā’; they say ‘Pārvatī-Parameśvara’, and do not say ‘Parameśvara-Pārvatī’. What is the reason? The mother alone protects her children with love, brings them up and lifts their lives. “If you ask what feeling is sweet in our land, what is more worthy of honour than the feeling for a mother?” There is nothing sweeter than the feeling for a mother. Children must keep their mother's mind content. Holy mothers must grow in number. Seeking such growth, we celebrate Ladies' Day on this 19 November.
Easwaramma, the ideal mother
Easwaramma, the mother of this body, used to say many good things. She had no schooling; she did not learn even her first letters at all. But her heart was large. She herself first asked me to have a school built in Puttaparthi. “Swami! When I see little children walking to Bukkapatnam for their schooling, it pains me very much. So please have a small school built in our own village,” she asked. “I have no money!” I said. At once she took off the necklace from her neck. “Sell this and have the school built with that money, Swami!” she said.