“Celebration of love
Is relationship
Celebration of blessings
is gratitude
Celebration of God
is faith
Celebration of life
Is TRUE LIVING - mahatria Ra
It is an Indian tradition to celebrate special occasions. Religion has given us so many festivals that we celebrate with the family. It is an occasion for everyone to come together, wear new clothes, rejoice and have a happy meal together. Oneness is established and there is harmony in the family and in society. Spirituality says that happiness and celebrations, when experienced deeply, ushers in more such occasions in our life. That is why we should never miss on celebrations. In fact, life should be filled with moments of celebrations. In India, the birth of a child is a celebration, the cradle ceremony, the naming ceremony, the rice ceremony, turning one, puberty, thread ceremony, weddings, are all celebrated, and not to miss on the many different festivals. I remember the grandeur of celebrating Diwali in my childhood. We used to wait for the festival. We would join our cousins to celebrate the festival. There is so much science behind our religious practices. It aims at achieving a positive mind.
Our school celebrates Guruvandanam every year in order to teach children to respect their teachers and also to create a bond between the teacher and the students. It is such a solemn occasion. Students prostrate at the feet of their teachers and seek their blessings. In order to bring in a feeling of gratitude and respect for the parents, the school decided to celebrate Mathru Pithru vandanam. We happily planned how to celebrate the occasion. Fostering a relationship of mutual love is very gratifying. But to our surprise, very few parents consented to participate in the celebration. We spoke to the students and motivated them to bring their parents for the celebration. We assume that children are either ego involved with their parents, or they are shy to do the rituals in public. The same students who whole-heartedly participated in the Guruvanadanam celebrations, are reluctant to bring their parents. This is a major concern. It is a wake-up call for us.
Are we moving away from our tradition and mindlessly aping the West? It will be so beautiful if we can follow our practices and not give it up. We are rich in our tradition and culture. That is our identity. If children grow up in an environment that is rich in its tradition, it will help them to strengthen relationships, build a bond and also create a sense of belongingness. We realized that these practices should begin when they are young so that it becomes a habit. Else, as teenagers they will be reluctant. Parents should hug their children enough, invest quality time with them and build a strong bond. Let us not relate to them only in terms of marks. The basis of relationship was emotions during our childhood. Today, the basis of relationship is information.
As the world keeps evolving, every generation will be different from the previous generation. Lifestyle has changed, but timeless wisdom and values alone continue to be relevant. Love, respect, gratitude, unity, integrity, loyalty, trust, kindness, empathy, compassion, etc are a few of the values that have been handed over to us by generations. Let us not miss out on any of these, because, this is what contributes to the well-being of a family and the society at large. Let us connect with our children, let us bond. Else, there is an imminent danger of the society breaking into fragments. Celebrating our togetherness is called FAMILY!!!
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