Maatru devo bhava

[1]

Raji P. Shrivastava [1]

I love my mother very much.” Of all the clichéd sentences that a child writes in his school essay, this one is the commonest and, perhaps, the truest. As the child grows into adulthood, the mother worries about his physical and emotional well-being, his academic success and his career goals.
Of countless such hyper-anxious thoughts is a “mother’s day” made.
When the 8th-century saint-philosopher Adi Shankara wrote, “Kuputro jaayeta kvachidapi kumaata na bhavati” (A bad son there might be, but not a bad mother), his thoughts may have dwelt on two mothers. One, the Divine Mother Goddess whom he praised in many hymns, and the other, his own mother Aryamba — to him, no less sacred or beloved for being mortal. The widowed Aryamba had pleaded with her brilliant son not to leave her alone in this world. The determined Shankara gently detached himself from her loving bond to walk his chosen path as an ascetic but only after he acceded to her promise to be by her side when her end came.
Shankara did reach home as his mother’s breath left her frail body. He was an awe-inspiring master who had renounced the world, but at her passing away he was emotionally fragile.
Who in the world can renounce their mother and claim to be alive?
In a touching hymn called Maatru Panchakam, Shankara extolled his own mother; this time, not as a form of the Mother Goddess (which she surely must have been).
“O mother, you cheerfully bore every pain and indignity to carry and nurture me. No greatness I may acquire can ever compensate you for all that you endured. You sang to me every day (chiram stutaa twam), calling me “your pearl, your jewel, your eyes (muktaa manistvam nayanam mameti), your prince, your very life (raajaeti jeeveti). What have I given you in return? Having arrived too late to offer you water or whisper the holy name in your ears, I can only put some dry rice into your lifeless mouth (dadaamyaham tandulamesha shulkam).”
Our mothers are a source of strength and hope in this turbulent world. Yet, we often bestow nothing better than a harsh word, an indifferent glance or a lifetime of neglect on them.
Mother’s Day reminds us to care for our mothers in thought, speech and action. They merit our undying gratitude and affectionate acceptance. “Maatru devo bhava (the mother is a form of God)” is not a mere platitude. Since motherhood is a full-time job for a lifetime, every day is Mother’s Day.

Raji P. Shrivastava can be reached at raji_1992@yahoo.co.in