NURTURING BETTER HUMAN BEINGS
Through Education and Home
A woman’s role as a mother is to prepare the next generation. Humanity is like a flowing river, where the old water constantly flows away, making room for new water. The same is true for the human caravan; the previous generation passes away, and the new generation takes its place. A mother’s duty is to prepare this new generation, ensuring that each time, she sends forth better human beings.
Education is just as important for women as it is for men. Without education, both are incomplete. Ignoring education is to risk not reaching their highest potential and dying with a sense of failure. Education is so crucial for both men and women that no excuse is acceptable: If you have a good excuse, don’t use it.
The importance of education is not just for a job but for building a better life. In today’s world, everything is connected to knowledge and education. Neither men nor women can afford to remain uneducated because being uneducated means being unable to live a truly human life.
Everyone is born as a biological being. It is education that elevates them from the level of a mere animal to that of a human being. The difference between an animal and a human is education. Education enables a person to realize and actualize the hidden potential within themselves. This can never be achieved without education.
By education, we do not mean only professional education but value education—the kind that brings one into the world of knowledge and wisdom. Professional education might only secure a job, but the pursuit of knowledge and wisdom elevates a person to the highest level of humanity.
A better human being is someone who has the courage to live life, who rises above negative thinking and embraces a positive mindset. This person is capable of planning life constructively and does not create problems for society. They are a “giver member” of society, not just a “taker member.”
In this regard, a mother should instill in her children the quality of maturity, ensuring they do not enter society with an immature mindset. Let’s clarify this with a few examples.
Nancy Alva Edison, an American woman, had a son named Thomas Alva Edison (d. 1931). Edison was born with hearing difficulties. His schoolteacher noticed that he couldn’t hear properly in class and wasn’t able to do his schoolwork well. The teacher became frustrated and labeled Edison as a “retarded boy,” expelling him from school.
However, Edison’s mother played a constructive role here. She instilled in Edison the belief that he was not a disabled child but that his disability was a challenge he could overcome by using his natural abilities. She made his education her mission. As a result, Edison’s name is recorded in history as a great scientist.
It is commonly believed that a person born into a wealthy family is fortunate, while someone born into a poor family is unfortunate. A mother’s role here is to teach her child, if born into a poor family, that being poor is not a deprivation. Such a mother should teach her child that while a wealthy child may have money, a poor child has an increased incentive to strive, which becomes a source of strength: If a rich person is born with a silver spoon in his mouth, the poor person is born with an incentive spoon in his mouth.
A mother should tell her child that every wealthy person’s father or grandfather was once poor but became rich through hard work. Similarly, the child can achieve anything through hard work.
Another misconception is the division of society into the “haves” and the “have-nots.” This is a false dichotomy. We often see that a person who belongs to the “have-not” category in childhood later becomes a member of the “haves.” For example, individuals like C.V. Raman, G.D. Birla, Mr Oberoi, Dhirubhai Ambani, and Dr Abdul Kalam were seemingly from deprived backgrounds in their childhood but later became prominent members of society. Therefore, the true dichotomy in this world is not between the “haves” and the “have-nots” but between the “potential haves” and the “actual haves.”
