Acharya Prashant: Parents have first of all committed the mistake of bringing another person into this world of agony, longing, and suffering that they compensate for by investing themselves in raising the kid. That is why it is imperative for parents to bring education to the kids, give food to the kids, and spend money on the kids. It is a compensation.
Have you seen how much of the parents’ time, especially the mother’s time, gets spent on the kid? It has to be done; it is a thing of justice. It is not a favor to the kid; the parents owe it to the kid. And the kid is very justified in asking, “Did I really plead to you to bring me into this world? Did I send a formal application? You, in your moment of personal wisdom and planned indiscretion, or unplanned lust, gave birth to me. Now, I sue you. Now, I demand damages.”
And all the money that gets spent on the kid is actually compensation—compensation for that moment of indiscretion. It could be a conscious indiscretion, by way of a planned birth, or it could be an unconscious indiscretion, when you say, “Oh, the child just came; we didn’t plan it.” Whether conscious or unconscious, the fact is that it is an indiscretion. Because it is an indiscretion, so you pay for it.
Now you know why you have to pay so much for the kid’s school fees: it is a fine. It is a fine that you are paying. You are being penalized by existence. Now you know why the mother has to carry the kid for nine months: the mother is being severely penalized. What made you go so blind in emotion or in lust that you allowed yourself to get pregnant? Now, pay the fine. Now a shrieking, screeching thing will come into the world. Pay the fine. It begins by paying the hospital fees. No kid gets born without the hospital charges being paid. Does that not tell you that the whole thing starts as some kind of a penalty?
