Respect for Parents and Teachers

The episode

Three moments show it. As a boy, Ram walked behind Sage Vishwamitra through the forest, slept on the ground, and did as he was told; the story is in the Bala Kanda. On the day of exile, he bowed to Kaikeyi before leaving and asked Lakshmana and Bharata never to speak harshly to her. And at Chitrakoot, when Bharata cursed his own mother, Ram stopped him: she is your mother, and mine.

The reasoning

Respect, in the Ramayana, is not agreement. Ram knew Kaikeyi's demand was unjust. He refused to let one act cancel a lifetime of her care, and he refused to let anger at a parent become his guide. He also saw further than the moment: a family in which children humiliate their elders when they err does not survive the next quarrel.

Towards teachers the reasoning is practical. Vasishtha gave Ram knowledge; Vishwamitra gave him the experience to use it. A student who thinks he already knows cannot be taught. Ram's obedience as a boy is what made his independence as a man trustworthy.

There is a limit, and the epic marks it. Bharata did not obey his mother's wish that he take the throne, and he is praised for it. Honouring a parent does not mean joining them in a wrong.

How to practise it

• Speak to parents and elders with courtesy, most of all when you disagree.
• Separate the person from the mistake. One wrong decision does not erase what they have given you.
• Give time. Dasharatha's deepest pain was separation from his son; most parents want presence more than gifts.
• Thank a teacher while you still can.
• If an elder asks you to do something wrong, decline, as Bharata did, without contempt.

Next: Brotherhood and family. In Ayodhya, the memory of the royal household is kept at Dashrath Mahal.