Values in Family - Nivedita R Bhide

If we analyze any problem in the world, we reach the conclusion that the root cause of it is we ourselves. If we humans had been self-effacing, less greedy, and more considerate toward our own species as well as toward other species and Nature, then there would have been no problem. This discussion about the need for values in our life invariably takes us to the values in the family, because our life can be shaped best in an environment that a family with values provides.

In the Indian social system, the unit of society is not an individual but a family. Traditionally, every person’s life is divided into four stages. In the second stage, called Grihasthashrama, a person takes to family life and is expected to serve society. Our forefathers, the rishis, had conscientiously set the family on firm foundations so as to ensure the stability of society. It is this admirable family system which led many historians to comment that the law and order, culture, and personal virtues did not suffer in India even under foreign rule or in times of war.

© "Values: The Key to a Meaningful Life" published by Sri Ramakrishna Math, Mylapore, Chennai 600 004. Website: www.sriramakrishnamath.org. Reprinted with permission.

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