THOUGHT FOR TODAY

MOTHER’S DAY SPEECH

Speech given by Randall Butisingh made at a gathering of people of a mixed religious group.

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We have met today to pay tribute to that most important and lovable person, the Mother.

Here is a quotation from one of your bhajans ( hymns)

Maa teree mamta, kitnee pyaree

Kitnee pyaar jagatee hai

This translates as follows;

Mother, how great is your love

How much love does it awaken in me.

In another bhajan in your Atma Geet, it says; Maata, putra se pyar, kaun karega itnaa.. Yes, the love a mother has for her son, who can exceed that love. And if I may quote a poem I learnt in school as a child;

A mother’s love, how sweet the name,

What is a mother’s love?

A noble, pure and tender flame

Enkindled from above

To bless a heart of earthly mould

The warmest love that can grow cold,

That is a mother’s love.

Yes, mother is the sweetest name on earth. Her love is kindled by the Divine Flame. The ideal mother is God’s substitute on earth. She nourishes her child with her own blood in her womb and suckles it when it is out. She watches and protects it night and day. She tends it lovingly as a gardener tends his precious plants, watering, mulching, pruning, keeping off harmful pests. A good mother is patient and self sacrificing; she sleeps not while her little one is awake, and she is worried when it is ill.

If you look at the lives of some of the greatest men who ever lived, you will find that they owe their greatness, primarily to the care and nurture of their mother, especially in their formative years. She, it was who taught them quite early the path of devotion to God. Gandhiji was one such man who benefited from a devout and loving mother..

Of course, sad to say, there are mothers who have not played that role in the lives of their children as the poet rightly observed; “the warmest love – no other earthly love can be so warm and tender as the mother’s - yet as human beings who are prone to error, that love grows cold, and some mothers relinquish that duty and that obligation, nay! that God-given privilege and responsibility of providing the affection and nurture for their offsprings.

We are not here to condemn any mother. Who are we to condemn. Only the great Creator knows why a mother acts in the way she does. Let Him be the Judge. We are here to honour all mothers. Without them, we could not have been here. We owe them a duty for their labour and pain for bringing us into the world. If we serve them, they will bless us. There is no blessing like that of the mother.

At this time also, it behooves us to remember our Divine Mothers. You who are Hindus in this gathering have Lakshmi Mata, goddess of light and prosperity, Sarswati, goddess of learning, Sita, for her love and devotion to Lord Rama, her consort; Christians have Mary, the mother of Jesus and Mother Teresa that great soul who has become mother for thousands of the underprivileged, homeless, sick and suffering in India and branches in other parts of the world. Muslims have Khadeja and Aisha, wives of the prophet Muhamad. You could add to this list; I have named but a few.

ow, I would like to wish all the mothers here HAPPY MOTHERS DAY and ask God’s blessings on them so that they can continue their demanding role until the end. Also to those who are not biological mothers, but have played the role successfully and are even more deserving of our thanks and appreciation.

HAPPY MOTHER’S DAY TO ALL MOTHERS WORLDWIDE.