Monday, June 4, 2018

Great Indian value system of respect for elders ..

My friend sent me this picture yesterday.  I somehow found it very attractive and eye-catching. There are reasons why I felt so.

In this pic are included all great human qualities of respect, devotion, humility, understanding, intelligence and reverence .. The student submits himself to his grandmother and asks for her blessings before starting his new academic year in Kerala, India on the fourth of June 2018, while the grandmother in all humility and grace, holds the head of her grandson to bless it and wish him and all future generations her blessings and God's peace.

Where in the world can one see such a respect for elders ? 

One of the great truths of our life .. Matha, pitha, guru, deivam .. In ancient Sanskrit and Indian culture and traditions, the first position in any society goes to the mother, then father who has the next greatest responsibility of taking the child to the outside world, then comes the guru, who exposes the child to the truths and the unknown extent of nature and the universe and finally everything fuses to be one with the unknown force, which is God. 
While the world is feeling pity for the crumbling western civilization and values, societies which follow these ancient traditions are a solace to humanity.

The challenge for the eastern mystical societies and the oldest civilizations and cultures of the world from India and China will be - how they are able to take technological and social development together while upholding the traditional value systems. Do modern living and technological developments have to be at the cost of traditional values, beliefs and practices practiced by majority of the population in this country ?
Silence is an ocean, speech is a river - Rumi .. 
Let the intelligent, if he can, understand the meaning of this silence.

george.