In plain words
And third, the debt to parents. The parents alone have the true right over our body. The mother carries you for nine months, gives birth to you, rears you and brings you up. The father teaches you learning and good sense, provides food, clothing and the rest, and supports you in every way. Should you not give thanks to such parents? The Veda taught, “Let your mother be God to you, let your father be God to you, let your teacher be God to you, let your guest be God to you.” Only when you love and serve your parents will you have repaid the debt to parents. Once these three debts are paid, you reach the presence of the three divine forms.
Children today have no respect at all for their parents. If the mother calls, ‘My dear, come here a moment,’ they grumble, ‘What should I come for?’ From the time he is born, man grows up in his mother's lap. The mother nurtures him with great love; the father supports him in every way. One who does not honour such parents, who shows them no gratitude, is a wicked man, a traitor, a Kīcaka! First of all, you must honour your parents. Laying her child in her lap and singing lullabies, the mother is the very first to teach it good qualities. So the mother herself is the first guru. The father is the second. The guru is the third, God the fourth. That is why it has been said, ‘Mother, father, guru, God.’ The mother is the embodiment of Prema. Generally the principle of Prema and the Bhakti and surrender found in women are not seen in men. In a royal palace men can go only as far as the durbar hall, but women may go straight into the inner apartments. In the same way, those who have Bhakti and surrender enter the heart of God. Praising the good fortune of Kausalyā Devī, who gave birth to Śrī Rāma, the Avatāra, Tyāgarāja sang thus:
“That she might kiss that face with its shining cheeks, Kausalyā of old— what tapas she did, I cannot tell; that Daśaratha might call, ‘Śrī Rāma, rārā!’—of old what tapas he did, I cannot tell.”