MOTHERS’ Day will be here again tomorrow. A time for gifts, for nostalgic memories of warm loving mothers, of introspection and gratitude for millions of things that mothers have done for us.
On Mother’s Day, this article is a tribute to my own mother and to all mothers the world over. This article describes some traditional Indian concepts and definitions of the nature of mothers and their value to society.
To Indians, “mother” is a most respected word.
The earth is dharti mata. So is the country, bharat mata. The rivers, too are mothers, for example, Ganga mayia (mata and mayia mean mother). Their waters are the milk of the earth that feed and sustain the earth and its population. Thus nature, the great teacher, defines the characteristics of motherness.
The earth is ever giving, ever forgiving — of use and of abuse. Although we are undeserving, the earth gives unselfishly of its bounty; it is unconditionally, unceasingly kind. We put in a hundred seeds and it gives us tonnes and tonnes of produce in return.
And mothers are like the earth; they are ever willing to do, to give, to help, to nurture their offspring, even the most undeserving of them. This is the divinely noble and loving character of mothers. In fact, there is no greater love than that of a mother’s — we see evidence of this on a daily basis.
In Hindi, there is a word for mother’s love — mamta. This loving nature is their most outstanding characteristic which they display through their gentle indulgence, their selflessness, and even through their strictness.
It is worthwhile to note that this word is used to describe a father’s love, and even for God’s love. It is a word that is synonymous with love.
Even the harshness of mothers is ultimately for the benefit their children. That is why, when Kaikeyi, his stepmother, asks for forgiveness for having him exiled, Sri Rama utters these sublime words; “a son can be a bad son, but a mother can never be a bad mother”.
Indeed, the ideal mothers like Yashoda, Kunti, Sita, depicted in our sacred books, have been the role models for Indian women for many millennia.
Many people might know that Hindus worship Lord Krishna as baby Krishna. Why? To treat God as one’s own child is one of the greatest expressions of love for Him because there is no purer and more selfless love than that of a mother. This is a remarkable recognition of the defining feature of motherhood.
The earth rotates on sacrifice, the ancient Hindus said. Nothing is greater than sacrifice. The Indian ethos recognises that a great deal of self-sacrifice is entailed in the performance of one’s karma, the mandatory duties of one’s station in life.
This concept is rooted in the cultural psyche and for a very good reason. It is what sustains mothers. After all, it is they who struggle through pregnancy and childbirth.
Through years of the 24-hour job of motherhood with its mental and physical exhaustion — sometimes with callous and thankless children. Or even with wicked and selfish ones.
No one can make greater sacrifices than mothers. Mother India is one of the greatest films made in India. It is an iconic film, a wonderful and deeply inspiring rendition of the greatness of motherhood. Anyone who has not watched it should do so this Mother’s Day.
Indians believe no one can ever repay the debt they owe to their parents. This is called pitr rin. Parents are venerated as divine beings; matru devo bhava, pitro devo bhava, this means the mother and father are godlike.
Mothers, say the shastra, are 100 times more venerable than a father, and a 1000 times more so than a guru because mothers civilise and socialise children – they teach them to eat, walk, talk. They teach them good habits, values, manners, discipline. These concepts show how greatly society valued mothers, thus inspiring and encouraging them in the performance of their karma.
A society that does not value and respect mothers for their great responsibility, will soon produce dysfunctional families and unhappy children.
In fact, in Hinduism, God is a mother, shakti. What could be more appropriate than God as mother of the universe? This is the ultimate and matchless recognition of the Matru shakti, the invaluable role and matchless influence of mothers.
It is a fashion in our shallow world to say “It’s my life”. It is not. This life is a favour our mothers (and fathers, and our societies) did us, a gift they gave after going through much hardship and risk. It is a life we owe them. So, we should always be good to our mothers every day of our lives.
Respect for motherhood is an aspect our society would do well to inculcate into the common psyche because many mothers maybe struggling with the stress of motherhood, feeling undervalued, and wondering how and why they should go on.
These beautiful concepts can help encourage and motivate them. And help children and society to value mothers for their unique and invaluable contribution to the welfare of children, family, society and the world at large.
A blessed Mother’s Day to all the mothers of Fiji.
* The views expressed are the author’s and not of this newspaper.