Generation Gap
7
good values in them. Pray with them, so they will learn from you.
This is your duty as a parent. Everyday, you should also have
them sing “Dada Bhagwan Na Aseem Jai Jai kar Ho” (Prayer to
the Lord within). Many children have benefited from this and their
concentration in their studies has improved. From a very young
age, they will learn that God is within them. So many children
have changed for the better that they no longer feel the need to
seek other diversion. Going to movies is no longer their prime
source of enjoyment. At first they raise objections, but after a
while they remember how good it feels to say the prayers and
they respond positively.
(P.24)
IT IS MANDATORY, SO WHY COMPLAIN?
There is reward for good deeds a person does of his own
volition (marajiyat), but people expect to be rewarded for their
obligatory duties, which are mandatory (farajiyat). Parents expect
appreciation from their children because they feel they have made
a lot of sacrifices for them. Why are they looking for praise, when
everything they have done and are doing is mandatory and
obligatory?
A man was upset with his son because he had incurred a
large debt from paying for his son’s education. He kept
complaining and reminding his son that he had taken out a loan to
pay for his education and that if it hadn’t been for him, his son
would be nowhere. So I rebuked him and told him that he should
not say such things and that whatever he did for his son was all
mandatory. His son was wise but the man himself was lacking in
commonsense and understanding.
(P.30)
You should do everything for your children. But, some parents
do not stop, even when their children tell them that they have
done enough. Understand that it is a signal for you to stop when
the children themselves tell you so.