The mother’s day hype is over and soon my Facebook feeds will go back to discussing politics, sports, business, technology and travel. Most people will forget about their mothers till the 2nd sunday of May in 2015. I also wished my mother yesterday but frankly I have never appreciated the hype around mother’s day or any other day for that matter. I didn’t post any message or photograph about mother’s day so a friend asked me whether I did anything for my mother. I found that question a bit strange because my bond with my mother is not dependent on this particular day or the public announcement of it.
I grew up in India and for many years I didn’t even know that we were supposed to celebrated mother’s day till the brands started marketing it. I never understood why one particular day is more important than other 364 days. My mother is special and I should try to make her feel special every day. I know I may not fully succeed in that effort but I can definitely make her feel special for more than 100 days in a year. I somehow find the entire mother’s day messaging a bit artificial as I have personally known people who post great things on that day but every time their mothers are visiting them they say ‘my life is stressed or what a pain’. For such people there is certainly a requirement to have a day where they can mask their real feelings and show it to the world that they care. Many people don’t even know why mother’s day (you can read it here) is celebrated and who started it. Hats off to Anna Jarvis to start a movement after her mother’s death but she was critical of the commercialisation around this day.
For me I think of my mother every day. I try and talk to my mother every day. Some days I agree with my mother, some days I argue, some days I agree to disagree but there is not a single day in my life when I don’t care for her or love her. And I’m sure there has never been a single day in her life that she has stopped caring for me or loved me any less. Every time I’m faced with difficult choices in life I think of my mother and she provides that guiding light that helps me in walking on the right path. I’m pretty sure that there are many many many people like me who appreciate their mothers (and fathers) on a daily basis.
There is a beautiful verse in Sanskrit. It says: Matru Devo Bhava, Pitru Devo Bhava, Acharya Devo Bhava, Atithi Devo Bhava. It simply means be one for whom the Mother is God, be one for whom the Father is God, be one for whom the Teacher is God, be one for whom the guest is God. If we simply followed this ancient principle of treating our parents, teachers, and guests with the god like respect, this world will definitely be a better place.
I’m not passing judgement on people who celebrate mother’s day in a big way but for me every day is a mother’s day and I try very hard to stay connected with my mother every day. Mothers deserve our love, care and attention for life and not only on mother’s day.
Enjoy this video produced by the Jubilee project on the occasion of mother’s day.
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DUfyDrsLNn0[/youtube]
