Growing up, my parents treated my brother and me with absolute

In the quiet dawn of remembrance, the actress and dreamer Anushka Sharma once spoke words that shine like polished bronze, reflecting both the warmth of love and the strength of justice: “Growing up, my parents treated my brother and me with absolute equality.” These words, though gentle in sound, carry the weight of a timeless truth. They tell of a home where fairness was not preached but practiced, where affection knew no hierarchy, and where both son and daughter were nurtured beneath the same sun of opportunity. Such equality is no small thing—it is the cradle of character, the seed from which self-respect and compassion both take root.

In the ancient rhythm of family life, too often has the balance tilted toward one side. In many lands and ages, the son was deemed the bearer of legacy, while the daughter was told to bow before fate. But in the home that Anushka remembers, this old injustice found no foothold. Her parents, like wise teachers, understood that the soul has no gender, that virtue, courage, and intelligence belong not to man or woman, but to humanity itself. Such understanding is rare and sacred—it is the foundation upon which a new world is built.

Consider, dear listener, the story of Emperor Ashoka, who after years of conquest laid down his sword and embraced the path of compassion. When asked why he taught kindness to all, he replied that it was his mother’s fairness—her unwavering belief that all beings, whether strong or weak, were equal in worth—that changed his heart. From her wisdom grew his greatness. So it is with Anushka’s tale: the fairness of parents becomes the quiet force that shapes the destiny of nations, for every child raised in equality carries within them a torch of justice that lights the generations to come.

Equality, in its truest form, is not sameness—it is balance. The ancient sages spoke of the yin and yang, the harmony of forces that sustain the universe. To treat a son and daughter with equality is to honor this cosmic balance. It does not mean they will walk identical paths, but that both shall walk with the same dignity beneath their feet. It means that neither will be told, “You cannot,” and neither will be told, “You are more.” When a child grows in such a garden, they blossom without envy or fear, knowing that love is not a contest, but a covenant.

Yet how rare is this gift! In countless homes even now, invisible chains bind daughters to expectation and sons to entitlement. A boy is told to lead; a girl, to follow. But this imbalance wounds both. The boy grows without humility; the girl, without confidence. Anushka’s memory, therefore, is not merely a personal one—it is revolutionary in its simplicity. It teaches that true progress begins not in law or government, but in the heart of the home, where fairness becomes the first language a child learns.

Reflect upon this, O seeker of wisdom: the equality of childhood becomes the equality of the world. When children grow believing that respect is shared, they build societies free of prejudice. The echo of Anushka’s words reaches far beyond her life—it calls every parent to awaken, to see their children not as heirs of gendered destiny but as bearers of divine potential. For where equality is the soil, justice becomes the harvest.

And so, let this be your lesson. If you are a parent, treat your children not by what they are, but by who they can become. Give them both the freedom to dream and the discipline to strive. If you are a child, honor your parents not only through obedience, but through understanding—by embodying the fairness they have given you. And if you are yet neither, then be a voice for equality wherever you stand; for each act of fairness is a seed of peace.

Remember this truth, passed down through the ages: the home that teaches equality builds the heart that loves humanity. To love fairly, to act justly, to speak kindly—these are the three pillars upon which the wise stand. And in that standing, we find the path to a brighter world, where absolute equality is not a memory, but a way of life.