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THE FAMILY AND THE NATION
Mamatva is a psychic instinct,1 linked to its opposite, the feeling of self-assertion. Everyone loves freedom. Even a child likes freedom, leave alone the grownups. If either the feeling of self-assertion becomes unlimited or the chain of dependence too long, we cannot create a healthy family. In order to get rid of the feeling of self-assertion or the tendency of dependence, one has to make oneself free from mamatva. The feeling of self-assertion should not be allowed to become limitless.
The twin aphorisms of freedom and mamatva are: (1) The feeling of self-assertion should not take the form of unrestrained freedom; (2) Respect others' freedom. The human tendency to enslave others is linked to a feeling of self-assertion and the feeling of self-assertion is linked to mamatva. The solution to this complicated problem is relinquishing the feeling of mamatva or possessiveness, or at least placing a limit on it. A healthy person is one who considers both mamatva and the relinquishment of mamatva from a relative standpoint.
The first step of our action plan is to build a healthy individual and the next step is to build a healthy family and a beautiful home using healthy individuals as its building blocks. Each person thinks differently and has diverse interests. Conciliation and coordination among different members of a family is indeed a tough task. The individual is not alone in reality. He carries within him a family of myriad ideas and thoughts. Ideas too never remain uniform but change constantly.
THE PHILOSOPHY OF ANEKANTA
The family is a chain of relationships. Each link has its own significance. The two fundamental factors that create the chain are emotion and thought.
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