Flowers for the Women Wearing Veils - Volume II — Page 163
163 use of the word s ‘f or sure. ’ He asked her what she meant by ‘ for sure Sayyeds ’ ? She answered , “The rest of the people have been here for hundreds of year s. You cannot be sure that they a re genuine Sayyeds , but the se people are Sayyeds for sure. I personally am a witness to their being a Sayyed , for they used to be m arasis and before my very eyes, converted to Sayyeds. S o , there is no doubt they a re Sayyeds. ” Thus , the land was taken away from them. Therefore , if traditions are maintained, it is easy to ascertain informa tion about tribes and nations. For example , if you ask a Jew - as Jews safeguard their lineage - he would right away reply that so many centuries ago his grandfather was Abraham. However, if you pose the same question to someone of another nation, they would not even remember the n ame of their great - grandfather. Therefore, if a nation jas a long history and it maintains its history and traditions, it will nurture bravery and courage in its people. F or instance, the Rajput nation is known for its courageous fighters. If parents are wise, they would say to their children, “Look! Your ancestors were very brave, they fought in such a way, they sacrificed so greatly. ” These conversations would have such an effect on them that when the circumstances of war arise, they will remember these stories. They w ill not fear for t heir lives and w ill say that when our parents have made great sacrifices, then why s hould we not make sacrifices? Either there is a person whose parents do not push him from behind at the time of sacrifice or there is the person, who knowing his ancestry’s four to five hundred years’ worth of traditions is pushed forward by them at the time of sacrifice. Th us , making sacrifice s becomes easy for him and he is able to accomplish such things. Take the example of the M o g h u ls. They have been well - known for about eleven hundred years. Before this , they lived in the snow - covered area of Mongolia. We don’t know what greatness they held there. History sheds very little light upon th at period. Eleven hundred years ago, they became triumphant. Now, intelligent Mog h ul parents will impress upon their children that their ancestors had character, they w ere fighters , they conquered great countries. On one hand they conquered Europe, on the other, they reached as far as India and China and ruled them for hundreds of years. As a result , the parents can tell their children t o also advance and