Seven Mothers

On this Mother's day, a curious bit of information.

All of us greatly love our mother and we seek an opportunity to express our gratitude for the blessings which we received from her. Mother's Day is looked upon as an occasion to present her with valuable gifts, take her out for dining, shopping, etc. Our expression of gratitude is limited to the birth-giving mother but the Vedas explain there are six other mothers.

आत्म माता गुरोः पत्नी ब्राह्मनी राज पत्निका
धेनुर्धात्री तथा पृथ्वी सप्तैता मातरः स्मृताः

atma-mata guroh patni brahmani raja-patnika

dhenur dhatri tatha prthvi saptaita matarah smrtah

(1) One's own mother (2) The spiritual master's wife (3) Brahmana's wife (Brahmana is not by birth but by qualification) (4) The king's wife (5) The cow (6) The nurse (7) The earth.

Out of gratitude we can plant trees, utilize her resources only for need without any greed and avoid polluting her resources. Vedas say the best way to express gratitude to mother earth is to utilize everything produced by her in the service of the Supreme Being and sustain ourselves with those offerings.  

Vedic culture does not limit itself to recognizing the above seven mothers. It is such a rich culture wherein apart from one's own wife, every other woman is considered as mother  ― मातृवत् परदारेषु . Unlike modern civilization which portrays women as the highest object of sense enjoyment, Vedic culture gives the highest respect to every woman by treating her as good as one's own mother. This makes the society safe and secure for women to live in.

Modern civilization has to learn how to treat all mothers appropriately. This will make Mother's Day celebration more meaningful.