|| Shri Hari |

Duties in a Household Life

 continued

Question -  What should the parents do if their sons don’t serve them in their old age ?  

Answer -  In such cases parents should have no affinity (leave all attachment, sense of mine-ness) for their sons.   They should hold that they are not our sons.  They feel sad only because they expect to receive pleasures-facilities and comforts from the members of their family.   

‘Aasha hi param dukham, niraashyam paramam sukham’   

If the parents expect nothing from the children, they will become happy.  So they should  renounce this sense of expectation and should think that by God’s grace they have received this golden opportunity of austerity in the form of unfavorable circumstances;  and if the members of their family begin to serve them,  they would get entangled in parental affection infatuation.  But God by His grace did not let them get entangled in it !   

Man should renounce such expectations,  and should see the lack of facilities and conveniences as a form a austerity.   Man should feel thankful to God,   that he has received His great kindness to do the austerities by himself,  and not let man get entangled anywhere.  He has removed all obstacles and is leading us to salvation.  

Man gets entangled in attachment and sense of mine-ness.  These infatuations or attachment are an obstacle to spiritual progress.  Man should feel grateful and indebted towards those who help in removing those obstacles -  thinking it is for our supreme good,  their grace is showering on us !    

If a man receives service from the members of his family throughout his life, he has a keener desire to receive service from them in his old age also (because of his physical incapability).  Therefore he should be cautious and careful from the very beginning,  by thinking that the human life has not been bestowed upon him for taking service from others,  but my aim is to render service to everyone such as gods, sages and saints, manes, beasts and birds and God etc.  So we should not expect to receive any comfort or convenience from anyone.   from the very beginning, If we don’t receive any comfort or convenience from anyone, we shall not feel sad if no one provides us with comfort or convenience and serves us in our old age.  The feeling of rendering service to others will rouse in our mind.   

(to be continued....... ) 

 ‒From the book ‘Jeevan ka Kartavya' by Swami Ramsukhdasji