4. FAMILY & SOCIETY

A supportive and caring family or environment can help you grow into a fulfilled, positive, and productive person. As a social being, your mental health and happiness often depend on things like love, understanding, and support. However, it’s important to remember that your happiness starts with you. By appreciating, cherishing, and forgiving others, you can strengthen your relationships and create a home filled with kindness and affection. This positive energy can then spread throughout your community, city, and even the world.

The word family is a complex term that encompasses a multitude of meanings and definitions. It is often said that family is what you make it, and indeed, there is truth to this statement. A family is a group of individuals intimately connected and bound by ties of love, loyalty, and mutual support. They are essential to you, know you better than anyone else, and are always there for you, no matter what life throws your way. Whether they are related to you by blood or not, family is a source of comfort, strength, and belonging that enriches your life in countless ways.

As you go through life, it can be easy to take your parents for granted and forget about all the sacrifices they made to provide you with a better life. Your mother, in particular, is your first teacher and guide who cares for you even before birth. She gives you her blood, sweat, and tears, creating an unexplainable connection. There is nothing that can compare to a mother’s love.

As a parent, you must recognise your significant role in your child’s life. While it’s essential to focus on educating your children, it’s equally important to remember to prioritise leading a quality life yourself. Your well-being directly impacts your child’s development and happiness.

You will need a strong foundation in your divine identity to form distorted beliefs, relationships, family and the world around you. The child adjusts to what the adults in its environment do and feel. So you must give them an example and be a role model. For instance, by spending “family time” on the phone all the time, you are setting the wrong example to your child. If you want to teach them that “family time” is essential, show them how. They will follow your example. Live the values you want your children to follow.

Yes, there will be problems in every family. Children will still argue or misbehave, no matter how empathetic, patient, and understanding you are. Understanding your nature and yourself will give you and your children the strength to deal with difficulties. Develop a mutual understanding, trust, and love within your home. Pray for harmony and peace so that you can solve problems and rely on each other during a difficult time.

Shri Shivakumar Swamiji Nasimath thought of three principles that would create a strong foundation in the family and society. By following them, you will strengthen yourself and your family members’ bonds. Those principles are to adapt, adjust, and accommodate; you can apply them in every aspect of life.

1. ADOPT – accept and embrace each other as they are. Everybody is different, but in this diversity lies beauty and growth. Any development starts with adopting and embracing someone or something. Start with personal understanding and behaviour toward your family and society. So, you need to adopt, understand and accept others and their faults and qualities. Through that, you can learn and develop at all levels of existence.
2. ADJUST – Every change starts with you. Constant grumbling and expressing dissatisfaction and unhappiness will not change it. So, learn to accept what’s coming and try to change yourself. Develop patience, peace and acceptance. You need to recognise other people’s feelings and accept and forgive their mistakes. Any kind of argument or dispute is not necessary. The past is gone; you can’t change it. So, why fight or argue over that? Try to communicate and talk things through. Co-living is about compromise and communication, whether it is about family or friends.
3. ACCOMMODATE – Whatever you have learned or achieved makes you what you are now. Specific knowledge and situations are necessary to develop strength, stability and courage. Don’t be afraid of progress. Move on and apply what you know. Be humble, and don’t ever stop learning. In that way, you will constantly grow and develop.

Spend time together to develop harmony in your home. Play, communicate, and pray for unity and peace at least once a week. It is essential to share, appreciate, and respect each other.

There is a saying: “You don’t know what you have until it’s gone.” In most cases, this is true. You take for granted what you have, assuming that it will always be there. But the truth is that everything in life is temporary. Whoever is born will die, and whatever is created sooner or later will be destroyed. Therefore, understand, appreciate, and respect the people around you.