A sad tale of a young man who became a criminal
Virtues such as patience, kindness, and mercy are rapidly fading in today’s society. We have reported on a number of incidents that demonstrate this over the past few years in the ‘Mawrata’ newspaper. Although we express our hope at the end of each article that such unfortunate events will not occur again, it has been confirmed that this is only a wish that never come true.
Every effort is made by the parents to give their child to the world as a healthy child with good virtues from the moment he or she is born into this world. When parents learn that a child has been conceived in their womb, they go to the temple and pray for a virtuous child to be born into society. The most important aspect required to provide a good child to the world is love and attention. To make a tree beautiful, proper nutrition is required.
The branches of that tree should be cut and allowed to grow beautifully. Only then will a tree blossom and grow beautifully. Even a small child is like that. Parents have a great role to play in order to bequeath a child nurtured with virtues to the country. Parents should perform a priceless duty for that child, such as constantly looking after the child, providing good social support, and providing proper nutrition. Where there is no such attention, what is seen is the birth of a child who is an idol and a nuisance to the society.
Even in the distant past, it is mentioned in our ancient books how the children who lived in the past nurtured their parents with the noble qualities of ‘metta karuna mudita upekkha’. Those children served the country and society well and lived righteously.
The duties to be fulfilled by children to their parents and by parents to their children have been shown in the Sigalovada Sutra. It is the responsibility of parents to free children from evil and establish them in good. Also, it is the responsibility of the parents to allow the children to associate with good friends, provide education, get married at the right time, and hand over the resources of the family as much as possible. Otherwise, it may turn into long-term disputes between parents and children.
Nowadays, many parents are struggling to provide good education to their children by following only the competitive education pattern. Apart from that, little or no attention is paid to the development of children’s values.
Two brutal murders committed by a son who has little or no sense of such values was reported on the night of last 4th, the from Ballakotu Navelagama area. This man had brutally killed his grandmother and grandfather with an axe. 75-year-old R D Edwin and 69-year-old E.D. Gunawathi was killed in this way. Preliminary investigations revealed that the suspect had always been bothering the couple, who were his grad mama and grandfather, for asking for money, and that he had committed the murder during an argument due to their refusal to give money to his grandson.
The grandson of the suspect who committed these murders is a 22-year-old soldier who is an army deserter. Grandparents, who were seriously injured by his axe attack, died while undergoing treatment at Demodara and Badulla Hospitals. It was learned that the suspect fled the area after the murder, and further investigations into the incident are being conducted under the supervision of the Bandarawela Senior Superintendent of Police Mr. Pradeep Kalupahana.
Grandparents love their grandchildren as much as they love their own children. They may have given the grandson money when he asked for it. But how to give money when there is no money? How could this elderly couple fulfil the request when they are being bothered for money? No matter how much they say they don’t have any money, this rude grandson probably won’t care. If his mind had developed enough to understand good and bad, this innocent grandmother and grandfather would still be alive today.
The values of today’s society have deteriorated. Children’s minds have become distorted. A child should be given Dhamma education from an early age. Virtues such as respect for elders, respect for the truth, etc. have been lost in the present generation. Both children and adults can’t bear the sudden anger.
In the past, grandparents used to tell stories to little children, beautiful stories about nature and the essence of Buddhism. But due to the busyness and competitiveness of today’s society, children have lost such opportunities. That is why we see very few children with good personality and good qualities in the society. Instead, a generation of mindless children like robots chasing after money is being born in the society. Some mothers leave their children to their grandparents and go abroad. Then all the responsibility in the life of those children is transferred to that elderly grandmother and grandfather.
Some children love their grandmother and grandfather more than their mother. The first thing many grandparents do after receiving their pension is to buy gifts for their grandchildren. No matter how much they have to buy, they don’t think twice about sacrificing it all for their grandchildren. There are countless adults in this society who give their beds to their children and sleep on the floor. Grandparents may not be highly educated. But they dream of seeing their children and grandchildren rise to the top of society.
For some children, when they say ‘mother’, they think of their grandmother, not their mother. It was because of his grandmother that his life was built.
Young children in today’s society have become victims of toxic drugs like ganja, heroin, and ice. Every moment children are lost from their parents’ attention that is the terrible fate of those children. If we do not pay close attention to the children until they reach the young age, there are many chances that the lives of those children will suffer an unfortunate fate.
The grandchild who caused this tragedy that we reported today may be someone who did not receive the love and attention of his parents when he was young. A person who has received the love of his parents in this way will never commit such a murder. Therefore, the whole society is requested not to allow their children to get into this situation.
Alagiyawanna Mukaveti’s comment in the book ‘Subhashitaya’, ‘Even if you have a hundred sons, it is worthless – a son with good qualities is very honourable’ this brings a very important message to today’s society. It is the children who are full of wisdom and virtue that are important to the society.
Only if children are nurtured with all these virtues, the thick darkness of this world can be removed. Only then can the world be beautify and light up for tomorrow. Keeping that thought in mind, all parents should nurture their children and grandchildren with values and inculcates patience, mercy and kindness in their children’s hearts.
