Story of Madalasa
It
was a small village in Malnadu which was untouched by the modernity. There lived
a small loving family, husband, wife and their child. That child used to play
in the daytime but once the darkness descends, it used to get agitated. It
starts to cry in the night daily. The mother tolerated this behavior for few
days. But this behavior of the child persisted. One day it got to a high and it
was very difficult to manage the crying child.
Mother
told the child, “Look child, there is a demon on the hill now. It gets hold of
the children and eats them. If you cry like this, you are finished” By hearing
this, surprisingly the child stopped crying. Mother was pleasantly surprised as
the idea worked. Whenever the child starts to cry in the night, mother used the
same trick to silence it. This practice went on for years.
Now
it’s been years since this happened. That child is around forty years now. He
is educated and employed, brings a handsome amount of salary too. But when the
darkness descends after the daylight, he becomes fidgety. He can’t face the
darkness of night. Going out in the darkness is next to impossible for him. His
hands and legs start shivering. This is the GIFT his mother gave him in his
childhood.
Our
mind is like a sensitive lens of a camera. As the images of things which fall
on the lens will be captured by the camera, in the same way the things which we
see and heard are stored in our mind permanently. Especially, the mind of
children is very sensitive. Parents and teachers should be very careful. The
frightening thoughts should never be planted in the minds of children.
When
the child is in the womb, the mother-to-be should read the inspiring stories
like epics, Mahabharata, Ramayana and other Puranas. By doing so, the children
will be born brave and intelligent. There was a mother called Madalasa, who
used to put her children to sleep by saying “child you are a pure soul, you are
knowledgeable with no black spot in your character. Stay away from this ‘Maya
of Samsar’.” By doing this she used to awaken the energy of their souls. Her
children became saints when grew up.
Mothers
like Madalasa are the need of today. The future of every unborn child is in the
hands of its mother. This is the truth of life!!
-Translated version of the original article by Dr. Ganapathi Hegde, Sanskrit Professor
