Social media's favourite spiritual leader Aniruddhacharya Maharaj on Tuesday questioned the upbringing of boys, holding their parents responsible for the rising cases of rapes and sexual assaults in India. Speaking at the ABP Live Impact Makers Conclave 2024 Aniruddhacharya said that parents must impress on their children that every woman is like a sister. "This teaching must be drilled into their consciousness. If they are taught about the sufferings of women and these are equated with the sufferings of women in their own families, men would not have the mentality to look at women with evil eyes," he said.
He quoted Chanakya to drive home his point: "Mata shatru pita bairi yena baalo pathitah; na shobhate sabhamadhye hansamadhye bako yatha [Parents who do not teach their children are like the enemies of their children. An illiterate person can never be respected in the assembly of learned men. He is like a heron among swans.]"
Religion Must In Politics
Speaking on the connection between religion and politics, Aniruddhacharya Maharaj said "religion is a must in politics". While addressing allegations against him about misrepresenting religion, Aniruddhacharya said that it was because of the involvement of religious stalwarts in politics that kings would rule long.
The spiritual leader from Madhya Pradesh said: "There was perhaps no greater dharmatama than Chanakya in his time. And there was no bigger political strategist than him either. Even Rishi Vashishth, the guru of King Dasharath's clan, was active in politics despite being a saint. This led to long reigns of the kings in those times. That's why religion is needed in politics." He said religion is an inseparable part of people's lives.
Aniruddhacharya was speaking in Hindi, in which "dharma" means both religion and righteousness.
'No One Is Researching Quran Or Bible'
Asserting that the Veds (religious and spiritual texts in Hinduism) are the supreme source of knowledge, Aniruddhacharya said: "Today research projects on the Veds are being undertaken. No one is conducting research on the Quran or the Bible... Nalanda was burnt because the entire world converged in India to learn."
He said Indian rishis and scholars were able to calculate the speed and movement of celestial bodies without the use of satellites. "They did not have modern science... They wrote and used the panchaang (Hindu calendar and almanac)," he said.
Aniruddhacharya On Saas-Bahu Relations
Aniruddhacharya, who often delves into the intricacies of personal relationships during his sermons, said that mother and mother-in-law should not be questioned. Seeking to answer a question on saas-bahu (mother-in-law and daughter-in-law) relationship: "One cannot set a benchmark for a mother. One who has given us birth is our mother and one to whose son a woman is married to is her mother-in-law. She is equal to your [ the married woman's] mother. You cannot choose the qualities and vices in your mother (in-law). You need to focus on the qualities rather than the vices to live a peaceful life."