Cultivating the attitude of Brotherhood 👬👭...

My dad and mom, were very particular about one thing from the very beginning and that was respecting the opposite person. I even today, can recollect my dad say " you shouldn't respect the person based on his/her position in a job or his/her religion or belief system. But respect simply because neither you nor the opposite person is no less or great. But it's what you give to others makes you a better person." When he said give, as a little girl I always thought he was talking about material needs. Later in life did I realise what the give meant. I grew up in a community where a Mosque and temple were bang on right next to each other. A community where being together mattered more than what we are or followed.;

It so happen that the house we are living in currently has a Mosque nearby. Daily all the 5 times, we get to hear them offering their prayers. My boy, who is 2.5 years old, one day while we were taking a stroll around the apartment, said "mom listen someone is shouting and crying." I shooshed him then and there and said you shouldn't say like that. The next day, while I was dressing him up for walk, the same thing repeated, while the prayer offering started he said the same thing to me. I paused for a while and thought, how should I tell him and what should I tell him. After a few moments of silence, I said to him, you mustn't say like that, it's a temple where people are offering prayer. His questions started to pour in, "then why don't we go there, why don't we offer prayers like that, why do we have to do it at home."; So I decided to take him on a ride, I rode him down from front of the Mosque and showed him the place. When we returned home, I sat down along with him and explained to him, that there different people who go to different temples and offer prayers in different ways and this took me more than an hour.;

All the while, he kept shooting questions at me and I kept answering them, hoping that it would help. Guess what ?? Two days later my husband and he (my son) were sitting in the balcony and sipping away their tea and hot chocolate respectively. My son heard the prayer and immediately said "papa , you know that is a prayer offering and we shouldn't say bad words about anyone." I was overjoyed, when I heard it, my husband was startled. I explained the entire thing to my husband later and he was amazed. We have to as parents imbibe in them the attitude of brotherhood, why not teach them to respect one another from a tender age rather wait for a situation. Today pre schools and schools are taking an initiative to celebrate all the festivals and traditions. But I feel, most kids look at it as a celebration not as something of value to the others actually celebrating it. It important we teach them our own legacy and imbibe in them our own cultural values. But teaching to respect another's won't harm neither them nor us. Infact we help build a happy positive society.;

These views are totally personal and from a personal experience. As a mom, as a parent I feel responsible for everything my boy learns and does. So, it's out of that, this post has come up.;