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Is it right that parents
make all decisions for their children?
Religious talks | Festivals
It is but natural that parents are anxious
about their children's future. But is it right that they make all decisions
for their children? This has two disadvantages. First, it makes the child
dependent on its parents, a habit that continues into adulthood. So when the
man who, as a teenager, had all decisions made for him by his parents, has
to make a crucial decision, he doesn't know how to do it. A life of
dependence on his parents has spoilt him. We must not clip the wings of our
children, by not letting them voice an opinion and by deciding the future
for them, said Suki Sivam in a lecture.
Often, parents decide what career their children should take up. They do not
bother to find out what the child's aptitude is. The child, angry that its
ambitions have been thwarted, will not make a mark in the profession chosen
for him by his parents. In the Mahabharata, Karna, although of royal
lineage, grows up in the house of a charioteer. Karna's foster father tells
him to practise how to drive a chariot, for then he too can find a job as
charioteer in the palace. Karna says he has no wish to be a charioteer. He
is destined for better things. He says he does not want to be the charioteer
to a king. Instead, he wants to be a king himself, and maybe get a king to
be his charioteer! Karna becomes a great warrior, and during the Kurukshetra
war, a king does indeed drive Karna's chariot! Salya, of royal blood, was
Karna's charioteer. Had Karna paid heed to his father and curbed his
ambitions, would he have risen to great heights? So, sometimes it is the
young who make the right decisions.
Netaji's father wanted him to become an ICS officer, for a career in the
civil services was considered the most prestigious in those days. Netaji
passed the examination, but soon after resigned his post. He told his father
that he had taken the exam to please his father. But he now wanted to do
what would make him (Netaji) happy. He wanted to fight for India's
liberation. Had Netaji continued in the civil service, to please his father,
would he be remembered today? He would be just one of many who passed the
civil services exam.
Courtesy: The Hindu
http://www.hindu.com/
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