Inheritance of Integrity
Thursday February 17 2005 08:27 IST
By Karmayogi
Parents get concerned
if there is no issue in the first year of marriage. A child is a visible,
tangible extension of the bodies of parents. The arrival of a child is a
fulfilment that stands no comparison. Man works hard to provide for the future
of the child of which material inheritance occupies the most important place.
A rich inheritance makes for stability, formation of character, poise, the
values of a gentleman, ability to manage affairs or even the country. In sum,
wealth is character. In the absence of any inheritance, one has to start from
scratch, work all by himself, learn to defend, husband, and build. All
successful men in America are men who made it themselves, who
made it in the first generation. Therefore, the general belief in America is, the son should
be on his own, reliance on wealth prevents the formation of ability.
Bill Gates, having made 64 billion dollars, gives away his wealth. He has
endowed each of his two sons with one million dollars each. He believes the boy
will be a success if he starts from nothing and any substantial inheritance will
spoil him. Our tradition is happy and proud to leave as large an inheritance as
possible to posterity.
Europe has practised
primogeniture, passing on the estate to the eldest son and leaving all the
other children to their own resources. In England, most of the shining
talents of the English came from the second sons of a Lord, as they were on
their own, while the eldest mostly dissipated the wealth inherited.
Eight hundred randomly chosen individuals with a minimum of $125,000 a year
income in USA were studied. It is about Rs. 50 lakhs a year, or
5 lakhs a month. Most of them are embarrassed to be called rich or wealthy. Nor
do they desire to furnish their house luxuriously. They want their children to
be on their own, and do not cherish the idea of their inheriting great wealth. What
they want to pass on to their children is high values such as integrity and
honesty.
The wealthiest nation in the world has learnt a valuable lesson that Integrity
in the child is more valuable than inherited wealth. India has a richer
inheritance to pass on if only the Indians believe in it. Mostly parents feel
it is their duty to educate their children, marry them and get them a job. Beyond
this, they try their best to give them the capacity to succeed in life.
Often it degenerates into a training in cleverness. Our inheritance is
truthfulness. It is of the Spirit. It is difficult to get Indian parents
enthused about passing on Spirit and Truth to their children in preference to
wealth. Parents around 60 would do well to examine all the cases they know of
in the light of this statement. Should they so arrive at the Truth, it will be
their own study and experience. It is of value.