Parenthood is defined by love

Parental love is unconditional, and the altruistic efforts of raising a child through adoption are most fulfilling and rewarding. Steve Jobs, co-founder of Apple computers and a visionary entrepreneur, was adopted shortly after birth by Paul and Clara Jobs, both of whom he revered. Late Nelson Mandela, the president of South Africa, lost his father at a young age and was raised by his tribal chief, Jongintaba, a fact Mandela always gratefully acknowledged.

Our mythology exemplifies the spiritual experience of adoption. When the charioteer Adirath and his wife Radha found a beautiful baby boy in a basket afloat on the river wearing kavach-kundal (armour-ear rings), they named him Vasusena, the child of wealth, and cared for him as their own.

The boy grew up to become the beloved Karna known for his valour and benevolence.

Years later, even after his royal origins were revealed, Karna still considered Radha to be his mother, rather than Kunti.

Adoption is a family commitment no different from adding a child by birth. Sita, the wife of Rama, is the most famous adopted child in the Ramayana. King Janaka discovered her in a field furrow and named her Sita (furrow in Sanskrit).

Later, his queen Sunaina gave birth to Urmila, yet Sita is known as ‘Janaki’ the daughter of Janaka.

The adoption of Moses, a central figure in the Old Testament, is also a case in point. When the Pharaoh of Egypt began to feel threatened by the growing number of Hebrews, he decreed that all Jewish boys must be drowned in the Nile. Fearful for her son’s life, Moses’ mother Jochebed placed him in a basket made of bulrushes and left the basket on the banks of the Nile.

The daughter of the pharaoh found the little one when she came to bathe in the river. She took the baby into her family to raise him as her son, giving him the name Moses (who, later on, orchestrated the ‘Exodus’ of the Israelites out of Egypt). Moses credits his adoptive mother for the love, instruction, and material possessions she bestowed on him.

Parenthood is all about tender, loving care. The bond that links a family is not one of blood but of love, respect and joy found in each other’s presence.