CHAPTER – TWO | TruthArya

CHAPTER-TWO

UPBRINGING OF CHILDREN

Now, we shall deal with upbringing of children.

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A man becomes learned only when he has three proper instructors – the mother, the father and the preceptor. Blessed is that family, and most fortunate is that child whose mother and father are, equipped with righteousness and learning. From nowhere, do children obtain better advice and more good than from the mother.

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It is very essential for the mother and the father that before, during and after the conception, they should avoid the use of intoxicants, liquor, foul-smelling, dry and such substances as are injurious to mental development and should take only such things as contribute calmness, health, strength, wisdom, energy, civility and gentleness, for example, clarified butter, milk, sweets and other useful substances of food and drink, so that the generative juices of the mother and the father be healthy and free from disease.

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A woman should be strictly cautious about her food, clothing et cetra after the conception. She should avoid the close contact of her husband for a year. She should use only such objects as are helpful to brain, strength, beauty, prowess and equipoise, up to the time the child is born.

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The husband and wife who live up to these principles are sure to be blessed with excellent progeny, long life, and gradual progress in strength and valour and all their children will be the possessors of the best kind of strength, and valiance, long life and righteousness.

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When they, that is, children begin to speak, the mother should contrive means that the tongue of the child may acquire flexibility to pronounce distinctly. The part of the mouth with which a sound is pronounced and the vital force with which the stress is put should be clearly marked. For instance, ‘p’ is a labial and and it is pronounced by the contact of both the lips. Similarly, short, long and prolated vowels should be duly pronounced, and the audibility, sweetness, depth, beauty, intonation, letter, syllable, word, sentence, syntax and punctuation be very distinct. When the children are able to express and grasp the words, they should be taught how to use refined language, how to talk properly with the elders, with those who are younger in age, with men of distinction, with father, mother, the king and learned men, how to treat them and how to associate with them. All this should be done in order that there might be no occasion for ill-behaviour and they might command due respect everywhere.

The parents should inculcate in the children the habit of self-restraint, love of learning and good company. Pernicious games, unnecessary weeping and laughing, quarrel, pleasure, moroseness, undue attachment to an object, envy, ill-will et cetra are to be shunned.

The children should not be allowed to touch their reproductive organs as this habit leads to loss of energizing fluid, impotency and pollution of the hand as well. They should see to it that the qualities of truthfulness, courage, perseverance, cheerfulness et cetra be imbibed. When the daughter and the son attain the age of five, they should be taught Dev-naagari script, and foreign scripts too.

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Whatever is unwise or unrighteous and superstitious should also form the subject of advice so that they might not fall prey to false beliefs, for example, ghosts and spirits.

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Answer-Well, Mr. Astrologer, just as this earth is inanimate so are bodies such as the sun et cetra. They can do nothing beyond giving heat, light et cetra. Are they living beings that give pain, when angry and pleasure when satisfied?

Question-Is it not due to stars that the prince and the peasant are happy or miserable in this world?

Answer-No, they are all due to their good or bad deeds.

Question-Is then the science of astronomy spurious?

Answer.-No, whatever pertains to arithmetic, algebra and geometry in it, is all right. But, whatever pertains to fruit, is all false.

Question-Is this horoscope also fruitless?

Answer-Yes. It is not horoscope; you should call it pathoscope, that is, it is not a document of birth but that of miseries.

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If the family is well-to-do, then the horoscope is beautified in red and yellow, and if poor, then it is made plain.

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The children should be told in their very infancy what is the real significance of these fraudulent practices so that they may not fall into the snares of anyone and suffer accordingly. They should also be told that their well-being lies in preserving the virile fluid and their misery in wasting it. For instance, “See, whosoever preserves his virile fluid in his body has his health, intellect, power and energy duly growing and he enjoys pleasure. The means of its preservation is that the Brahmacharins, that is, pupils should shun love stories, company of amorous people, contemplation of love-exciting objects, looking at females, or keeping company with them, or talking to them or holding contractual relation with them in private et cetra. They should devote their exclusive attention to healthy thoughts and acquisition of perfect learning.

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If you fail at this stage of your life, to acquire noble thoughts and knowledge, or to preserve your virile fluid, then you will never again get in this life this precious opportunity.”

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Those mothers, fathers and preceptors, who maintain a strict discipline over their children and pupils, are supposed to be giving nectar to them. Those who treat their children or pupils fondingly are, in fact, ruining them by giving them poison. Undue love makes children and pupils vicious and proper chastisement virtuous. Children and pupils should love strictness and dislike sheltering love.

But mother, father and preceptor should not chastise them with malice or ill-will. They should exhibit apparent awe but intrinsic kindness.

In addition to other teachings, the children should also be told how to avoid stealing, lewdness, sloth, vanity, intoxicating liquor, lying, violence, cruelty, malice, ill-will, infatuation and how to imbibe good behaviour, as, if a man commits in the knowledge of another person, theft, fornication or any evil deed such as telling lies, then up to the time of his death he can never command respect in the latter’s eyes. None suffers so much as one that does not keep one’s promise.

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Ingratitude means the negation of the appreciation of the good done by others. One should be free from anger, shun bitter language, should speak only true and sweet words, and avoid talkativeness. One should speak neither more nor less than what is necessary. One should show due respect to one’s elders.

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the preceptor should always impart good advice to the children and pupils and should also tell them that they should copy only those actions of them which are righteous and whatever vicious they find in them, they should shun it. They should show and propagate only those things which they knew as truth. They should not have faith in any hypocrite or misconduct. They should duly carry out all the proper orders of their parents or teachers.

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They should worship God according to the conception elucidated in first chapter. They should shun the use of flesh, wine et cetra.

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Those parents are perfect enemies of their children, who did not give them education.

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It is verily the main duty, the highest religious obligation, a laudable achievement of parents that they should devote all their energies, mind and wealth to the imparting of knowledge, piety, culture and excellent instructions to the children.

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