The Bhagavad Purana, an ancient Hindu text contains a list of predictions pertaining to the decline and end of the period of Kali Yoga, which some authorities consider to be now. Its 11th prediction states: men will no longer protect their elderly parents.
In 2nd Timothy 3:1-2 Paul writes: In the last days…people will be disobedient to their parents.
Two religions located thousands of miles apart with scripture written at different times both indicate that the lack of care for the elderly and parents portends the collapse of society.
How does respect for the elderly and care of parents impact society? What negative conditions arise from the neglect and abuse of the elders? As mentioned in my last essay, the family is the structure that keeps humankind together; if the family is destroyed human society will collapse; disrespect for elders and neglect of parents begins the destruction of the family and collapse of society.
The question remains: In what way does disrespect for the elderly and parents impact society negatively? Firstly, the accumulated wisdom and knowledge of generations becomes lost, or at least clouded over when elders are neglected. Our present society confuses information with knowledge and wisdom. It believes that the learning obtained in schools, laboratories, research centers, and industry is knowledge. It isn’t. It is information about the material world that Western thought has created and has little to do with truth and knowledge, which come from the unseen and from the experiences of the elders, male and female alike.
The elders developed a system of ethics and moral behavior that held the tribe together for generations or even centuries. Elders also provided a relationship with the world that God created—nature.
Secondly, the care of elders and parents provides society with purpose and vision. Proverbs 29:18 states: A nation without vision shall perish. When society focuses on the propagation and preservation of the species it provides it with a vision of the future. When young men and women focus on family it strengthens the race. While not all women might have children, all women can nurture the race, and while all men might not have children they can nevertheless work to provide the environment and means for families to prosper.
Our present society shows the consequences of the two major affects of the neglect of elders. Women have been yanked out of the home and removed from centuries of accumulated knowledge of nurturing activities. Now they no longer know how to heal, nurture or partake in the infinite details of home making. They rely upon the government for all their information. Men are no longer in the home and moral standards have disappeared. Unwed motherhood has become the norm as the number of confused mixed up children proliferates. The number one health issue of Western society is mental illness.
Aside from the degeneration of society which takes place as a result of the lack of family influence, especially on the part of elders and parents, a more compelling third reason for people to respect elders and parents is for the benefit that accrues to themselves.
Paul writes in Ephesians 6:1, Children obey your parents, for it is right that you should. Honor your father and mother is the first commandment with a promise attached, in the words, that it may be well with you and you may live long in the land.
He states in 1st Timothy 5:1: never be harsh with an elder, appeal to him as if he were your father.
Leviticus 19:32 states the following: “You shall stand up before the gray head and honor the face of an old man, and you shall fear your God: I am the Lord.
Proverbs 20:29 states: The glory of young men is their strength, but the splendor of old men is their gray hair.
Scriptures of all religions emphasize the respect of elders and parents for the well being of all concerned.
Spiritual growth can only be attained through focus on the family, which includes respect for elders. Attempts to have a peaceful, society without fulfilling this requirement can be seen through the failed efforts of the New Age Movement, which began more than a century ago but became popular in the last 50 years. It was thought that if we became vegetarians, sat in the lotus posture, meditated on our navels, and chanted Om, the world would get better. After 50 years the world has gotten much worse by every measure and the New Age Movement has crested. The attempt by Western society to incorporate into its gross materialistic thinking a spiritual system, without changing its thinking amounted to reliance on gimmickry.
A last example on the importance of respect for elders and parents has to do with the determination of the nature of the environments we are born into. We can either believe that the souls of children are looking down and determining which homes they will be born into, or we can believe that God decides who their parents will be. In the case of the former, we chose our parents and shouldn’t complain about our choice. In the case of the latter, God determined who our parents would be and it’s not advisable to complain about that decision.
In order for society to survive and for its members to grow spirituality the family must be its focal point, which necessitates respect for parents and elders. Only then can men work cooperatively to provide the means and environment for women to nurture the race as humankind proceeds on its spiritual journey.
E.G.
