Sanskrit Pearl of the day:
लालनाद्बहवो दोषाः ताडनाद्बहवो गुणाः ।
तस्मात्पुत्रञ्च शिष्यञ्च ताडयेन्न तु लालयेत् ॥
- चाणक्य नीति
Transliteration:
lālanādbahavo doṣāḥ tāḍanādbahavo guṇāḥ ।
tasmātputrañca śiṣyañca tāḍayenna tu lālayet ॥
- cāṇakya nīti
Meaning of the subhAShita:
Indulgence has many deficiencies, (and) disciplining has many efficiencies. Hence, discipline children and students. Do not indulge them.
Commentary:
Children do not have an idea of what is good and what is not. Many times, they do not have the vision to see tomorrow's repercussions due to today's choices; and sometimes, they just want to test the limits. These happen due to obvious reasons. 1) they are children and 2) they lack the experience and knowledge required to make their decisions. Most often, it is also seen that they do not have the firmness of mind to stick to their choice either. They suddenly want something else just because they changed their mind!
If parents or teachers indulge in every single fancy of the child, there will be no end to it. Also, the child will never learn the true value of the possessions he has. He will learn to take the things and people for granted. He will not be able to connect bad outcomes to the bad choices he made! His judgment will get clouded and he will be entrapped in a vicious cycle of failure as he grows up.
In this case, what good is achieved by entertaining the whims and fancies of the child? There are more qualms than qualities in such an upbringing!
Instead, if the child is guided through his choices and the pros/cons of his actions, he will make better choices later in life. In doing so, sometimes, the adults may have to hold their stance and discipline the children firmly. The children will still try to test limits. It may be easier at that moment to yield and indulge the child. But then, in the long run, children learn to be persuasive in order to get their way. They will not have learnt discipline, which is very essential. The problem is, if one doesn't discipline himself, the world will do it for him! Isn't it less painful to learn this as children and not go through hardships later in life?
(Although 'tāḍana' literally means 'spanking', it can be taken as 'discipline'. The purpose of spanking in the earlier days was to discipline.)
Teach children 'discipline', through discipline. Discipline is the bridge between goals and accomplishments. Equip your children and students with this one essential skill!
lālanāt bahavo doṣāḥ tāḍanāt bahavo guṇāḥ ।
तस्मात् पुत्रं च शिष्यं च ताडयेत् न तु लालयेत् ॥
tasmāt putraṃ ca śiṣyaṃ ca tāḍayet na tu lālayet ॥
If parents or teachers indulge in every single fancy of the child, there will be no end to it. Also, the child will never learn the true value of the possessions he has. He will learn to take the things and people for granted. He will not be able to connect bad outcomes to the bad choices he made! His judgment will get clouded and he will be entrapped in a vicious cycle of failure as he grows up.
In this case, what good is achieved by entertaining the whims and fancies of the child? There are more qualms than qualities in such an upbringing!
Instead, if the child is guided through his choices and the pros/cons of his actions, he will make better choices later in life. In doing so, sometimes, the adults may have to hold their stance and discipline the children firmly. The children will still try to test limits. It may be easier at that moment to yield and indulge the child. But then, in the long run, children learn to be persuasive in order to get their way. They will not have learnt discipline, which is very essential. The problem is, if one doesn't discipline himself, the world will do it for him! Isn't it less painful to learn this as children and not go through hardships later in life?
(Although 'tāḍana' literally means 'spanking', it can be taken as 'discipline'. The purpose of spanking in the earlier days was to discipline.)
Teach children 'discipline', through discipline. Discipline is the bridge between goals and accomplishments. Equip your children and students with this one essential skill!
pada vigrahaH:
लालनात् बहवो दोषाः ताडनात् बहवो गुणाः ।lālanāt bahavo doṣāḥ tāḍanāt bahavo guṇāḥ ।
तस्मात् पुत्रं च शिष्यं च ताडयेत् न तु लालयेत् ॥
tasmāt putraṃ ca śiṣyaṃ ca tāḍayet na tu lālayet ॥
laalanaadbahavo doShaaH taaDanaadbahavo guNaaH ।
tasmaatputra~ncha shiShya~ncha taaDayenna tu laalayet ॥
- chaaNakya nIti
laalanaat bahavo doShaaH taaDanaat bahavo guNaaH ।
tasmaat putraM cha shiShyaM cha taaDayet na tu laalayet ॥
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