The Dharma of Respecting Our Elders

All traditional (i.e., well-functioning) societies stress the importance of offering our deepest respects to our elders as an indispensable aspect of spiritual culture. In this very important talk, Sri Dharma Pravartaka Acharya explains to us why having respect for our elders is foundational to Vedic civilization and spiritual progress, and how such respect is to be offered today.

“Seeing an elderly person, one should get up and salute him or her with folded palms. One should not sit with the elders, nor should one quarrel with them on any account.” (Ushana Dharma Shastra, 1.28)

“Even for preserving his own life, one should not injure or speak ill of elderly persons. Even when endowed with other accomplishments, a person who injures elders goes downwards.” (Ushana Dharma Shastra, 1.29)

“Of all elderly persons, five types are to be particularly adored: the father, the mother, the spiritual guide (guru), the teacher and the priest. Of these, the first three are the foremost; and of those three, a mother is to be particularly adored.” (Ushana Dharma Shastra, 1.30)

“One who gives habitation even for a day, one who gives instructions even for a moment, the eldest brother, the protector, and the husband in case of a woman, are the five gurus, (elderly persons worthy of respect).” (Ushana Dharma Shastra, 1.31)

“With one’s best personal exertion, these five should be adored by one seeking his own well-being, even to the point of the renouncement of his own life.” (Ushana Dharma Shastra, 1.32)

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