The power of moral values

Beyond the welcome shade of the central tree, large and looming in the middle of the Gramshree Women’s Center, a colorful statue of a mother cradling her child sat content and happy. Eye-catching as this statue was, the most striking thing about it was what lay behind it; a Gramshree woman cradling her own child, personifying the statue just a few feet away.

As the woman looked after her toddler, both in the statue and in real life, the power of moral values was pushed to the forefront of my Niswarth experience. Gramshree, an NGO focusing on empowering women, values the strength of families and communities, imparting those sets of values to its workers. Similar to Gramshree, in Manav Sadhna, value-based education is stressed on and implemented. I’ve found that the kids there work just as diligently, or even more so, than students back home due to their values.

The importance of moral values in these communities has definitely made me reconsider their importance and role in my life. I’ve always thought of myself of believing in a generally rigid set of morals, but there are many instances where I’ve ranked other aspects of my life, such as success or personal gain, over them. I know that I should pay more attention to them, but if I do that, will I suffer in other areas? Or should I just be content with the moral satisfaction that following values brings? I’ll need much more of Niswarth to find out.

--Mihika