At the beginning of his address, he said, “Being asked to speak on the subject of motherhood is, in itself, a contradiction… In a way, it is women’s right, and it is not appropriate for men to speak about it.” Even as he said that today everyone thinks more as an individual than as part of society, which leads to disintegration, he advocated that women of today must be given opportunities and empowered.

The audience — largely women and several male Sangh functionaries and BJP leaders — also included Union Women and Child Development Minister Annapurna Devi and Rajasthan Deputy CM Diya Kumar sitting in the front row along with BJP MPs Kangana Ranaut, Swati Maliwal and Bansuri Swaraj; besides Mallika Nadda and Lakshmi Puri, spouses of Union ministers J P Nadda and Hardeep Puri, respectively. BJP veteran Murli Manohar Joshi, who had a day earlier, expressed concern over the students’ protests and handling of the youth, was also present at the event.

Bhagwat said, “Being in accordance with the times is also a subject of motherhood that does not require discussion. It happens on its own. Human beings change all their ways according to time.” However, he said that since the focus of the family unit is the mother, she ought to be “sanskari and vichaarsheel (visionary)”. “It is the mother’s role to shape the perspective of her children, and not only their career,” he said.

He said parents should spend more time with their families and maintain open communication with children. He stressed that children learn more through observation than instruction, making it important for parents to lead by example. He said parents should continue to expand their knowledge so they can address their children’s questions and curiosity. The three-hour event, organised by Vishwa Mangalya Sabha, also had the RSS chief interacting with women leaders in a brief question and hour session. The next such session will be held in Hyderabad later this month.