The importance of parents in our lives is repeatedly emphasised by the Dharma Sastras. For an atma to gain liberation, it must first take birth. Since our parents are responsible for our birth, they deserve respect, said Velukkudi Krishnan in a discourse. Secondly, parents protect us and provide for our needs. So they play the role of a poshaka — protector. Thirdly, they do what we like and also what is good for us. It might sometimes happen that the two are contradictory. For example, a child may want to eat something that is not nutritive. The parents indulge it by allowing a small portion of what it likes. But they also ensure that the child takes good food, which will strengthen it.
When children err, the parents correct them. We often find that when people have broken some law, the parents are quick to say that their children are not inherently bad, but have picked up wrong notions from others. Even while trying to reform a child, a parent makes excuses for the child’s conduct. This quality is vatsalya. When a parent scolds a child or punishes it, the parent feels more pain than the child. Lord Narayana has all the above qualities.
We take birth according to our karma, and He gives us a birth according to our karma. The Lord protects us. He is full of forgiveness towards us. That is why the Lord and His Consort are considered Universal parents.
