I say this because many of us get married and we start to neglect that significant part of our lives, of our existence, called 'Mother'; the most beautiful person in our lives. When nobody can heal the pain, not even a doctor, she would sit beside you the whole night, keeping watch because she is called Mother. And when we start to neglect that most beautiful individual in our lives believe me, as soon as the tears of your mother hit the ground, your life will start to go in the worst direction possible because she's the one who gave you the breath you breathe; life so that you exist. She is the most beautiful person in our lives. And very nicely, and very conveniently, man has called her Mother, because no other name would suit this beautiful individual.
We all have mothers and the only time we know what she is worth to us is when she ceases to exist. Even at the age of sixty-one I have a great yearning for my mother because she is the most beautiful person in this whole world. Nobody, not your wife, not your children, can replace that beautiful individual called mother. Her mere existence is prana to you. Remember that. And every success in our lives is only due to the joy of our mothers, nobody else. And to the young ones, especially the young ladies, remember that when you marry, you marry 'into', you don't marry 'out of' a family. And with it comes your second mother. Enjoy that second mother. There's only one way to enjoy her: understand that you are her child and have entered her home as her child.
I had a fantastic relationship with my mother-in-law, and I talk about this often. Because in my worst times, my most difficult times, she's the one who brought joy to us. 'Till this very moment my boys and I talk about this, and we laugh about it because she used to do the strangest things to keep us happy. One of the things she used to do without fail is buy us a five litre tub of ice-cream – my children will tell you. It came to a stage when we all used to look forward to the ice-cream because she used to do it with such joy. And the only reason she could do that was because she's called Mother. I'm emphasising this word 'mother' because nothing in this world replaces a mother – nothing. You can try anything you want, you can have all the money, all the cars in the world, everything you want but if you don't have a mother you have nothing.
The reason she's so important is because in the Law of Manu it has been stated that when a girl child is born she's taken care of by her mother and father, but more her father. When the child grows to a certain age – eighteen, nineteen, or twenty – she's taken care of by her husband. And when she gets older and her husband is deceased, she is taken care of by her son. This is the Law of Manu that cannot be changed. You'll find that daughters are closer to their father, and sons are closer to their mother. That is because of the Law of Manu. When they get old it is our responsibility as children to make sure that they are comfortable in this life – and especially the mother. This is very important.
Maybe three or four months, or ten or twenty months down the line, you'll understand why this discussion was on this day. You'll understand it then – why I talked about mothers today, the very essential part of our lives: mother. And when we lose them we miss them. When we have them we don't care about them. That is how the mind works. This is the message on this day, on the samadhi of Paramahansa Yogananda: that a mother is the most important aspect, the essence of everyone of us here. The fact that we breathe is due to our mother.
Hari Om and God bless you.
