Mother’s Day undermines motherhood

[seshadri sridharan]

Mother’s Day undermines motherhood

Those of us born in materialistic communities should investigate this issue with an open mind. 

"Four kinds of debt are irredeemable - debt to father, debt to mother...The only way to do service to one's mother after her death is to help every female member of the universe to progress on the path of highest development.... But however much service one renders, one will not redeem the four debts until Moks'a (salvation) is attained." (1)

So our social and spiritual responsibilities - i.e. the four irredeemable debts - should be satisfied and attended to on a regular, on-going basis. These debts demand our constant and regular attention. They are part and parcel of our daily life.

View of motherhood in materialistic countries

One other contributing factor to honouring mother's day as just a single day each year is female sensuality. At present, most females are viewed as sex objects. In that case, females value their self-worth on their ability to attract and allure men. When they lose that look, they lose their self-worth. That is why some grown females prefer to be called sexy, baby, foxy, or doll, and not mother. Because all those former terms (sexy, baby, foxy, and doll) speak to one's sexual appeal whereas motherhood does not.

Tragically, for this reason, some females in the west do not like to be known as mother on a regular basis. They think that is negative - in that case, once a year is sufficient. All the other days they prefer to be judged on their sex appeal and sensual qualities.

In our materialistic societies, the tantric ideal of motherhood is not often embraced by the general populace - rather it is usually overlooked entirely. In those materialistic nations, females are victims of the capitalist mindset. They are too engrossed in their own sensuality. And, in many cases, that detracts from their ability to serve as mother. Knowingly or unknowingly, they would rather be seen as sexy or alluring. The dominant male has imposed this debased notion.

For this reason, many females in the west do not breastfeed, nor do they sleep with their children, nor do they have time during the day to be with their children. Mostly those mothers drop off their children at daycare. And then in the nighttime they put their toddlers in their own separate bedroom while the mother sleeps alone with her spouse. As soon as the baby is old enough, that child is placed in its own room away from the parents.

In this busy cycle, even when they have the opportunity to keep the child close, some instead opt to put the baby in a basket, stroller, or carrier, which creates physical separation between themselves and the baby. Psychologists and medical professionals have found there to be a gap in the emotional development of those children who are deprived of the touch of their mother. If children do not have physical contact with their parents - or if that contact is minimal - then that hinders their emotional cum psychological development.

Materialism is to blame

As stated, some in our western, materialistic communities are not eager to breastfeed. Some certainly do - but in comparison to the general populace it is rare. Most prefer to bottle feed etc. And those who do choose to breastfeed then they will usually only do that if they are home, and not when they are out in public or in the store etc, but again there are always exceptions. All these are instances of females compromising their motherly status.

Here, the point rings true that only those societies and communities which do not eagerly embrace the meaning of motherhood are anxious to celebrate mother's day once a year. They can then give lip service to motherhood that day with roses and sweet words and then forget about motherhood the other 364 days. Some children and parents follow this pattern in the west because they do not have a deeply loving link with one another. This is the sad reality and trend in materialistic communities.

Please understand that neither am I blaming the mothers nor am I blaming the children. Just the simple fact stands that materialism drove them in this direction. It is not a question of east or west, but a function of materialism.  The greater overall issue is that if anyone wishes to pass judgment or extend blame, let that blame not be extended to any mother or child per se, but on that trend of thought that coloured their mind in that way: materialism.

Why some think one day is enough

Keeping this in mind, let's apply these principles to mother's day and father's day.

In certain materialistic nations, where the relation between some mothers and their progeny can be quite dry, a few citizens readily embrace the idea of mother's day. Then the idea of having one day a year to pay special attention to one's mother is enough. After that, they are free to be indifferent about their mother or father the other 364 days. This happens in certain select cases. There are always exceptions. Whereas those who carry love for their mother in their heart daily will think it odd to designate just one day a year to honour their mother.

Or let's look at it this way. Suppose one is infatuated with a member of the opposite sex, then do you think one will like to honour and see that person just once a year. Probably not, those sensually involved couples like to be together always. And they will think it weird, heartless, or even maddening to be limited to a single day to be with their partner. Yet that is what they have done with mother's day and father's day.

Here, the point is that those who appreciate doing something once a year do not have the same love and attachment as those who are regularly involved on a daily basis in that endeavour. When the relation is sour then people feel that observing it just once a year is enough, such as with those who observe mother's day or father's day.

As materialism gains momentum across India, females there too may fall prey to this negative mindset of wishing to be valued for their sensual allurement, not their motherly status.

females honoured as mother

We follow the tantric system where motherhood is embraced, and females are honoured as mother and one has a debt to their mother. And that is why we do not fall prey to the pseudo-culture holiday of mother's day once in a year.

Conclusion

We do not give any credence to the pseudo-culture occasion of mother’s day as it contravenes our tantric view of motherhood and goes against our spiritual approach. 

In Him,
Rainjita'
(Rachel Norwood)

Hypocrisy of Mother’s Day

Mother’s Day was created and quickly adopted by capitalists in the west to sell more goods. Mother’s Day is another way to hide the hypocrisy of so-called civilised people. Instead of truly serving their mother, they celebrate this bogus holiday. This is all done to show their greatness of how “civilised” and “refined” they are. But internally they are hollow and do not have any sympathetic feeling or service mentality in their mind. This is the era of superficiality and hypocrisy. Mother's Day is one addition to that list. This year in the US, the pseudo-culture event of mother’s day was held on Sunday, 10 May 2026.