Mohan Bhagwat calls for including knowledge of Hindu gods in school textbooks

Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat has advocated including knowledge about Hindu gods in school textbooks saying parents should also be equipped to answer childrens questions about their faithAddressing an event on Yuganukul Matrutva Contemporary Motherhood on Friday Bhagwat said children often return home with questions about Hindu deities but parents are frequently unable to answer themChildren often come back and ask questions that need answers Questions like Why does this god have a monkeys face Why does this god have an elephants face But often the father does not know the answers and neither does the mother he said reported PTIThese things should be there in textbooks from the very beginning They should be readily available Whatever we teach children is the knowledge they will acquire In the first 12 years their upbringing is in our hands We must inform them and for that we should also learn Bhagwat saidParenting should focus on dialogue not dictationThe RSS chief also said the present generation requires a different approach to parenting with greater emphasis on dialogue than dictationWhen we were children if our mother said something or our father said No argument we simply accepted it There was no questioning or arguing because we knew they had seen life and understood things betterToday it is no longer like that You cannot be rigid You have to explain things to children They grow up in an environment shaped by material influences and constant publicity from every direction We have to help them find their way out of this maze Bhagwat said reported PTIWith PTI inputsThey need a great deal of affection They need our time And they need dialogue Not dictation but discussion Not orders but consensus he addedMobile phones have replaced family conversationsExpressing concern over declining interaction within families Bhagwat said mobile phones have replaced conversations at homeToday people have stopped talking in families Every member of the family has a mobile phone Both husband and wife return from work the children return from school everyone eats and then each person is absorbed in their own mobile They come home yet they dont really meet one another This is something all of you must have experienced he saidWe have to understand that if we make time there will be conversation And when there is conversation children will open up On that foundation we will be able to resolve their curiosities he addedParents must lead by exampleBhagwat also said children closely observe the conduct of their parents and are quick to notice any gap between what they are taught and what they see at homeWhat we tell them should also be visible in our own lives Otherwise they will not believe us Children observe very carefully If they see something different from what we preach they conclude Father is lying They even tell their mother Why are you saying this when he himself doesnt do it Their IQ is sharp and their emotional quotient is strong Therefore we have to correct our own conduct he said reported PTIValues are transmitted through affection through dialogue and through personal example These three are indispensable This is true everywhere in the world If this foundation is strong it becomes much easier for children to come out of the trap of technologyEven if they get caught in it for a while they will be able to find their way back But we have to prepare them in that manner and remain closely connected Bhagwat addedWith PTI inputs