The Upanishads place one’s mother and father right at the top of those who should be honoured as devas. And yet, death is a certainty, and everyone is going to lose his or her parents at some point. Lord Narayana and His Consort Mahalakshmi are the parents we must revere as our parents forever, because our connection with Them is not bound by karma, or limited to one birth, said Velukkudi Krishnan in a discourse. In that case, is it not enough if we just worship the Lord? Why are we commanded to look after our parents? The Lord is our parent always, and this Divine parent tells us that we should honour our mortal parents, and so it is imperative that we obey His command. We see in the Ramayana an example of what the Lord wants us to do. Rama is unperturbed when told that He should give up the throne to Bharata and depart for the forest. He calmly tells Kaikeyi that instead of asking Dasaratha to convey the decision to Him, she could have told Him. He would have obeyed her. When Lakshmana loses his temper and speaks harshly of Dasaratha, Rama pacifies him.
Thus, the Universal parent shows us that we must honour our parents on this earth. Kaikeyi was cruel, and yet Rama would not change His rule that parents deserve respect. So while we acknowledge the Divine Couple as our Universal parents, we must also treat our parents in this birth respectfully.
