Mothers are the best creation of God on earth!

Everyone craves for recognition by others. This is a psychological need of every one. But animals never crave for recognition since they have no mind at all. When we move among friends, we invite their attention somehow. When we attend parties, we crave for the attention of the host. In families, the hard work and toil of the lady of the house go unnoticed many a time. Hence there are frequent quarrels between husbands and wives.

From ancient days, our society has not given prominence to women members. Though every scripture highlight the honor to be given to the mother first, this has not been given the due regard. In a way, the degradation of today society can be attributed mainly for non-recognition of mothers in society. From Vedic times, India has brought forth many virtuous ladies who excelled man in many respects. Be it Vedanta knowledge or absolute patience, none can equal them. Here I would like to highlight some of those illustrious women who guided the character of their noble children.

None can forget Mahatma Gandhi. He was considered as a true nationalist. He sacrificed his everything for the sake of freedom of India from colonial rule of the British. It is his mother who inculcated great principles in the young mind of Gandhi. Though she had no formal schooling, yet she exemplified a best teacher. She had a peculiar vow. She will eat her meal only after she look at the Sun. During rainy days or cloudy days, she will fast until she sees the Sun. Once Gandhi was given the task of waiting for the sun to be visible and inform his mother. But out of his affection for his mother, after a long wait, he uttered a lie stating that the sun is visible. She came out and found that there are clouds and she admonished her son for the lie. She said that one should sacrifice his life to uphold truth. Then onwards, Gandhi upheld Truth as the most valuable virtue in life and he never again uttered a lie.

The second woman that comes to my mind is the mother of Sivaji, who was an emperor in India. She inculcated bravery into the mind of her young son. She told him many stories about the valor of many of his ancestors and thus Sivaji has become a brave king.

The third woman is Savitri who fought with the god of death to part with the life of young husband. She questioned him on many truths about life and sought from him a blessing for her marital life. The god of death unwittingly granted a particular boon for which the husband must be alive. Realizing the intelligence and tenacity of Savitri, the god of death spared the life of her husband.

None can forget Sita, who is the consort of Sri Rama of ancient Treta yuga. Though he was an incarnation of god, he acted as though he is an ordinary king. When Rama was asked by his father to retreat to the forest for fourteen long years, he wanted his young wife to remain at the palace and serve his parents. Sita questioned him the duties of a true wife. Instantly Rama told her that a true wife should attend to the needs of her husband. Then Sita asked him, “It is my duty to serve you even in the forest”. Your mother will take care of your father. Rama could not prevent her from accompanying him to the forest.

Then there was a great woman known as “Anasuya”. She was one hundred percent virtuous and devoted to her husband. The gods wanted to test her virtues. They presented themselves as wayfarers and came to her house begging for food. When she was offering them food, they refused flatly stating that she should feed them as a baby is fed by the mother. She immediately prayed and sprinkled water on the gods. They immediately become babies. She took each one and fed them as per the condition. But they could not be restored to their original forms. The wives of the gods came searching for them. They found that their husbands were transformed into babies. They begged Anasuya to restore their husbands to them. Anasuya sprinkled water once again on the babies and they were restored to their original god forms. All of them praised Anasuya as an exemplary and virtuous one on the face of earth!

India boasts many such illustrious and noble ladies throughout history. Any society which degrade their women folk are sure to recede to abysmal levels of existence. Whatever we are witnessing today around the globe is the result of indignity shown to the women in society. In fact, god created mothers as the noblest creation on earth. They exhibit self-sacrifice and pure love for their families and children. There may be one or two cases contrary to this. But by and large, mothers are the best creations in the earth.