Woke up to the sad news that mother of our Prime Minister Narendra Modi has moved on to a new life. Death is a loss. And the death of a beloved mother is a great loss to a child. You cannot define or explain the love of a mother and a child. It is magical, it is divine.
I have never had the opportunity to meet with Narendra Modi’s mother Heeraben Modi but I can through the life of her son confidently state that she was a woman of immense conviction, fortitude, and most of all love for humanity, for our nation. She was an Indian mother at heart. She was a warrior in spirit. Heeraben Modi’s teachings to her son Narendra Modi and the values imparted to him have been instrumental in shaping India’s future. Prime Minister Modi is a reflection of his mother in his devotion and dedication to Bharat Mata.
It is never easy for a mother to see her child face tribulations and struggles in their life. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been through a living hell and continuously fights off vicious attacks on himself and his agenda to do good for India. Every mental, physical and emotional strain on Narendra Modi would be a mental, physical, and emotional strain on his mother. But it is in the trials of life that the warm love and hugs of a mother become one’s strength and shield.
It is never easy for a mother to give up her son to serve a nation. The love of Narendra Modi for his mother is so visible in Narendra Modi’s love for the nation. Only immense love for one’s own mother can spur immense love for one’s motherland. And it takes a woman of substance to sacrifice her child in the duty to serve one’s nation.
The beauty of Narendra Modi as the Prime Minister of India is that he is a simple man on a mission to make India better in the eyes of us Indians and the rest of the world. He does not covet echelons of global power to hand over to the next of kin. He did not splurge on his family or his mother after reaching the topmost seat of power in the country.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi is a man on a mission derived from a deep conviction and belief that it is his duty to contribute to his motherland. This inherent quality of sacrifice for one’s nation is something I am certain Prime Minister Narendra Modi learned from his mother. His mother lived a life of simplicity. Her son learning from the mother lives a life of simplicity.
Having met Prime Minister Narendra Modi personally last year and having been touched by his simplicity and non-political aura, I can tell you having met many people in high places in politics the most striking quality of Prime Minister Modi is that he is a common man, who looks at life through the eyes of a common man. That is exactly how his mother has brought him up.
Prime Minister Modi’s mother was a common woman, living a common woman’s life even though her son is the most powerful man in India. She could have had loads of high-end cars, tons of gold ornaments, living in prime real estate. She could have had the best in the world at her doorstep but she did not covet such airs. She just lived her life in her own simplicity and with her values.
For a long time, India looked to women leaders from aristocratic families to draw inspiration, I find sometimes the most inspiring women in India come not from aristocratic political or business families but from the homes of common men and women. Prime Minister Modi’s mother Heeraben Modi is an inspiration to me.
She is an inspiration because she taught her young son Narendra Modi to be a fighter and to be a visionary. She instilled in him the values that are intrinsically Indian, she made a soldier without a uniform out of her son to fight for the present and future of our nation. To me, she is a real inspiration because she gave all that she had for the betterment of India and took nothing back in return in material gains but love and prayers.
In his grief, Prime Minister Narendra Modi knows that his mother’s love, blessings, and prayers will always be with him and India as she moves on to her heavenly abode. He will continue to walk the path shown to him by his mother and continue to strive to make India better.
Heeraben Modi has silently shaped the future of India through her son Prime Minister Narendra Modi. And the future is simple but promising.