All posts in this series
- Hindu Parenting
- Walk the Talk
- Conducive Home Environment
- Family Time
- Planting Seeds of Dharma
“How do I impart dharmic education to my children?” – This is an important question asked by parents today.
It is good that many parents wish for meaningful education for their children and are keen that dharmic values are passed on to the next generation. If parents are wise their children will not get spoilt.
Start dharmic education early
The best time to plant potent seeds of dharma in our children is when they are young. The effort starts even before the child is conceived. As parents are blessed with children, they must ensure that they do their best to give them a strong foundation in their tender years.
Jagadguru Puri Shankaracharyaji shares some important tips for Hindu parents:
- Read the story of Madalsaji’s way of bringing up children as given in the Markandeya Puran. Emulating this way of parenting would help children develop well.
Madalsa Rani gave the education of dharma, spirituality and the guiding principles of life to her children. She imparted profound teaching through lullabies:
शुद्धोसि बुद्धोसि निरँजनोऽसि
सँसारमाया परिवर्जितोऽसि
सँसारस्वप्नँ त्यज मोहनिद्राँ
मँदालसोल्लपमुवाच पुत्रम्।Meaning: “You are pure, enlightened, and spotless. Leave the illusion of the world and wake up from this deep slumber of delusion”
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Keep children away from cinema/magazines and instead use good storytelling as a means of educating them.
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Get important granthas from Gita Press and have them accessible for study at home. One family member may read out and others can listen. Then, all may contemplate and discuss it together.
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Listen to discourses of Gurus together and make your home like a gurukul.
- Gurudev was taught by his brother to do 1000 gayatris before consuming food, every morning. He also shared an example on how He saw the discipline of children who had a bath in the morning, did 20min of puja and then only ate breakfast and went to school. Such daily routine must be followed (as per varna adhikar/tradition of the family)
Raise your standard of education, as parents
As per the Taittiriya Upanishad. Mother is first guru, second is father and third is Acharya. Agni is the Guru of agnihotris and the word “atithi”(guest) has been used for this agni.
The fifth canto of the Srimad Bhagavatam says that a mother is not a mother, a father is not a father and a guru is not a guru if they cannot give us the knowledge that can free us from the fear of death.
They must give the education that inspires children to attain Paramatma, and do something for the country to be aligned with Ram Rajya. Parents who just teach their children how to fill their stomachs and have a family are misdirected.
The education system is such that mothers know nothing about dharma and adhayatma in order to teach their children. Instead they just teach them not to say “kela” and say “banana” instead. Parents are also copy cats of the West. If parents do not have the knowledge of dharma they cannot pass it on to their children. Those who appear astika today, may have nastika children.
Today, the father does not have the potential to help his children have faith in dharma. The reason is the strong influence of TV and mobiles. Parents are not able to answer the questions posed by their children. Thus, children view parents as useless and foolish.
Even a small 5-year-old challenges a grandparent. Thus, parents are compelled to educate themselves better to be able to guide children. Modern kathavachaks and education system have destroyed the intellectual level of Hindus to the extent that dharma is getting destroyed.
Parents, hence, must raise their own standards and improve their level of intellect to be able to pass on dharmic education to children. Instead of criticising youth, parents must question themselves as to why they kept their children away from satstang and gurus of ancient lineages.
They must Listen to traditional Gurus and start reading our rich ancient granthas.
If parents present themselves in balanced way, based on the harmony between science, philosophy and practical applications, youth are deeply drawn to principles of sanatana dharma just as iron is drawn to a magnet.
Impart good values
Passing on correct values is very important. Jagadguru shares the example of a teaching given by his elder sister. She said that if there are some good sweets given to you and you share them with everyone and eat them, you will become a king. If you eat it alone silently, without others knowing, you will have a downfall.
The influence of this profound teaching was such that even if Gurudev received amrita, he would not be able to have it alone so He would share it with others. Whether He got to consume it or not, He would have to offer it to others. When He got poison (which was given to Him a couple of times), He had it alone.
Teachings given at a tender age form very strong impressions.
If proper lessons are not taught when we are young or our ways are polluted, even after trying a lot, the good and right ways are very hard to develop later in life.
Therefore, parents must toil hard.
Common fears & obstacles
Sometimes youth get spoilt in bad company. However, if they start connecting with Acharyas and listening to satsangs, things can change. The lack is in the parents. Only exceptions maybe there when children are born with the nature of Duryodhan and Kansa, explains Jagadguru Puri Shankaracharyaji.
Commonly, materialism has such a strong grip that even astika (loosely translated as having faith in vedas & shastras, in dharma) parents often fear that their children are getting deep interest in dharmic matters. Not just having darshan of saints, they fear even when their youth are studying granthas like the Srimad Bhagvatam. Parents in this situation have come to seek the guidance of Jagadguru Puri Shankaracharyaji. They are fearful that their children will take sannayas.
Jagadguru says that it is certainly important to be vigilant owing to the all types babas these days (and such vulnerability must not make their children fall in traps), but this apprehension must not be there when trustworthy paramparik Gurus are involved in the guidance and the child has genuine inclination.
Many parents have this strange thinking that satsang must not influence their young. Even those attending satsangs do not follow anything they learn. It is wrong to keep youth away from satsang.
Jagadguru Puri Shankaracharyaji’s aunt (chachi) who used to make Him sit in her lap and listen to kathas of puranas when He was little. To make a child follow the path of dharma and be a desh bhakta needs great effort and alertness in parents. We all praise great saints and bhaktas like great Prahladji. We all are in awe of rashtra bhaktas who sacrificed for the country. However, saints and rashtra bhaktas are best appreciated when born in other peoples homes. Else, they would “destroy” the family due to their devotion towards Bhagavan and the nation, is what the common perception is. A child with such a tendency will not be capable of following materialistic parents and current education system.
Those who came to Gurudev in their youth have become a great boon for the math, their families, Odisha and the country.
A misunderstanding is created by the thinking, “What is special about the babas? You must go to Britain, Germany etc and get good degrees and return to earn or settle there itself.” Indians think we (Gurus) just sit and ring bells. While, people from the foreign countries are wise and they come here to learn things. Parents are happy when their children are lovers of material pleasures so that they become financially successful. Youth are sent abroad for education and for settling down while scholars and great professionals from foreign countries visit the Shankaracharya for knowledge from the vedas and shastras.
Often parents think that their child has been born the first time and necessarily needs to experience a householders life, while we are all going through endless re-births. We are not aware if our son may have been our father in our previous birth. We must keep this in mind.
Parents need to correct their course of thinking to guide their children in the correct direction. Youth have immense potential.