Acharya Mahaprajna
Question:
The tradition of joint families is breaking down. Families are disintegrating, what is the main reason for this?
Answer:
The head of the family is not as much tolerant and balanced today as he should be. This is the first aberration. Respected Gurudev had given a formula concerning the capability of, and the affection for, the head of the family or society. If these two things were there, the family would not disintegrate. The head of the family should possess a sense of equality. His attitude should be inspired by equality. If there are four sons, his treatment should be the same for all. He should also possess competence and tolerance as well. A family is constituted of people with different likings and different dispositions. All these should be accommodated as far as possible. Affection and feeling of affinity towards all should prevail. This is essential for keeping the family united.
A problem of the present times is that many temptations have emerged and many wrong notions have developed. Among them, the foremost is the false notion of freedom. Among four brothers, three may be weak. In the past, the one strong brother used to take all the three along with him and provide support to them. Today the thinking is different. He wonders why he should carry them along. He wants to make rapid progress and to go ahead on his own. What has he to do with them, he thinks. This selfish mentality has also broken families. Another thought of the present times that is responsible for the fragmentation of the family is that everybody wants to live independently. Nobody wants to depend on or follow anybody. All these are the factors leading to the conditions of disintegration of the family.
