Re: Spare the rod, spoil the child
namaste.
I am of course strongly opposed to the use of the rod or strap at school but then I favour the occasional use of rod and that only by the parent at home when their son/daughter does something unbearably naughty as a matter of habit or with the knowledge that what they are doing is wrong.
A subhAShita in the ChANakya NIti says, "Indulge a child for the first five years of his life, for the next ten years deal firmly with him. Once the child is sixteen, treat him as a friend."
The Hindu practice of worshipping Ganesha--the dorbiH karaNam--when used with discretion and limit, could be a great way of reformation for an errant child.
रत्नाकरधौतपदां हिमालयकिरीटिनीम् ।
ब्रह्मराजर्षिररत्नाढ्यां वन्दे भारतमातरम् ॥
To her whose feet are washed by the ocean, who wears the Himalayas as her crown, and is adorned with the gems of rishis and kings, to Mother India, do I bow down in respect.
--viShNu purANam
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