Father's Day...

Father's day.... 

Today is Father's Day. I am reminded of a very famous shloka from the Shantiparva of Mahabharata which reads as ,

"पिता स्वर्गः पिता धर्मः पिता परमकं तपः | 

पितरि प्रीतिमापन्ने सर्वाः प्रीयन्ति देवताः ||२०|| 

My father is my heaven, my father is my dharma, he is the ultimate penance of my life. If he is happy, all deities are pleased!"

It has been my fortune to experience this shloka in my father. At ninety-four, he stands tall as a man of principles, one who has learned to adapt himself to each and every situation he encountered in his life. 

Backsliding from a life of comfort to abject penury due to losses in the family business and then rising up to be a man of modest means must not have been without challenges. Yet he consistently rose to the occasion with a balanced mind and mature adaptation. Leading a healthy life he set an example by abstaining from smoking and drinking,  exercising and maintaining his weight, while indulging in mentally stimulating activities like suduko and crossword. His emphasis on being  happy through relationships and more importantly the fact that money does not lead to happiness have been the greatest lesson. He taught us to see the best in people and lead a life of Dharma, which essentially encompassed the path of law, of righteousness, of duty, compassion, love and joy as the right way of living.

Father's day has not only given me but all others an opportunity to discern our existence to our father and mother.  Keeping them happy is therefore our foremost duty. 

In fact the Garuda Purana says,

पितॄन्नमस्ये निवसन्ति साक्षाद्ये देवलोकेऽथ महीतले वा ॥

तथान्तरिक्षे च सुरारिपूज्यास्ते वै प्रतीच्छन्तु मयोपनीतम् ॥ 89.27 ॥

पितॄन्नमस्ये परमार्थभूता ये वै विमाने निवसन्त्यमूर्त्ताः ॥

यजन्ति यानस्तमलैर्मनोभिर्योगीश्वराः क्लेशविमुक्तिहेतून् ॥ 89.28 ॥

पितॄन्नमस्ये दिवि ये च मूर्त्ताः स्वधाभुजः काम्यफलाभिसन्धौ||

प्रदानशक्ताः सकलेप्सितानां विमुक्तिदा येऽनभिसंहितेषु ॥ 89.29 ॥ 

"I bow before my father, in whom all the deities of all realms reside, truly he is my deity. 

I bow before my father who resides in the formless guise of Paramartha, who is worshipped by blameless yogis for liberation from all conflict (of samsara).

I bow before my father, in whom I see all Gods and who fulfills all my aspirations. He is the inspiration for achievements, and he relieves me from all worries. I pay my obseisance to my revered father. " 

If we close our eyes for a moment and ponder about all that our parents do for us since the time we were infants this shloka would become so relevant. Fathers stand by us as we roll, crawl, take our first baby step, walk, run, study and grow up. They also help us to fire our imagination, set goals for ourselves and encourage us to achieve them. They are not daunted by our failures and such is their belief in us that they are forever encouraging us in all our endeavours. They guide us and mentor us or silently support us till we reach our goals.

As children I don't think any of us remember being worried about anything with our fathers around. Depriving themselves of every little comfort they ensure that the smallest of our needs are satisfied. As children we rarely doubt the propriety of our father. In fact we have full faith in his ability and strength to guide us. Things sometimes go amiss if we are blinded by the brightness and the glamour of youth. On such occasions it is very easy to forget our duty towards our father and overlook all that he has done. 

Only somebody extraordinary like Maryada Purushottam Ram in Ramayana can put forth the thought,

" यतः मूलम् नरः पश्येत् प्रादुर्भावम् इह आत्मनः||

कथम् तस्मिन् न वर्तेत प्रत्यक्षे सति दैवते || २-१८-१६ meaning, "A man can see his father as the cause of his existence, (so) why wouldn't he want to behave (towards his father) as if his father were visible God (pratyaksha devata)." 

Lord Ram is an example of that ethereally dutiful son which may perhaps be a bit too much to expect in modern times. However what prevents us from doing little things which makes our father and our parents happy?

For a country deep-rooted in the culture of " Matru-devo bhava, pitru devo bhava, acharya devo bhava, where our parents and our gurus, teachers are our Gods , Father's Day can just be a reminder of our glorious tradition. However let's not limit our love and respect for our father to this single day. Let this be a reminder of the dharma or duty towards our father to be practised everyday.....

Let everyday be father's day.....