Cultivate values in children, Justice Hegde tells parents

Mysuru: Exhorting parents to cultivate values, and impart social education to their children, former Lokayukta and Supreme Court judge Justice Santosh Hegde on Sunday said, “Failure on the part of parents to instill values in their kids is what has led to this confusing state of affairs in society today.”
Justice Hegde, who released the book ‘Sachchidananda Sri Guruvardhana Grantha’ as part of the 77th birthday celebrations of the seer Sri Ganapathi Sachchidananda Swami on Sunday, reminded the audience about the importance the forebears had given to social values. “Today, since both parents have to work for their subsistence, they end up dragging their problems from the office to their homes, which leaves them with little time to teach their kids some invaluable lessons about life. Parents should take the lead in teaching values of humanity to their wards,” he added.
Meanwhile, writer Hampa Nagarajaiah said that ashramas, mutts and religious centres must not turn into breeding centres for terrorists, and as storehouses of weapons. “They should be centres where there is love; they should be abodes of knowledge, which should be used for betterment of society,” said Nagarajaiah.
Vice-chancellor of Karnataka Samskrit University Padma Shekar opined that a varsity’s contribution to society hinged on the probity of its top brass. “True Dharma lies in helping those in distress. Mutts and ashramas must be lauded for the many welfare programmes that they run to serve the people,” she said.
Sanskrit scholar HV Nagaraja Rao, writer CP Krishnakumar, Kannada film actor Srinath, University of Mysore vice-chancellor Prof G Hemantha Kumar, Tumkur University VC YS Siddegowda and author K Lalitha Prakash were among those who participated in the celebrations.