Matha, Pitha, Guru, Deivam

When I was rude to my mother, she taught me about Matha, Pitha, Guru, Deivam. From what I understood then it was the order of respect to be given. She knew this stuff, I think, it was because her second language at school was Sanskrit.

But hearing this from my mother, I did not believe it because Matha was first and she is my mother. Matha is Mother, Pitha is Father, Guru is Teacher and Deivam is God. They are in Sanskrit.

Then I asked her, how does this play with our Catholic religious teaching where God is first. She said if you honor your mother, father and teacher, you are automatically honoring God. I was surprised. "My teacher?" I said. Then she went on to clarify, everyone is your teacher. In other words, I have to honor everyone.

I really liked the explanation but I still did not believe her. Only in later years did I find out what she said about Matha, Pitha, Guru, Deivam was true and not made up so that I will be polite to her. :-)

My mother was a staunch Catholic. At the same time she was very open to learn from other religions. Never once did she put another religion down. Because she likes reading and she read a lot, she would always share what she learnt. Her insight on Hinduism, Buddhism, Parsi, Jainism and Islam were very enriching. I am blessed to have a mother like her. Her name was Meena Verghese.

I personally like these interpretations.
https://isha.sadhguru.org/us/en/wisdom/article/mata-pita-guru-daivam
https://www.infinitheism.com/mahatria-wisdom/spirituality/gratitude-to-matha-pitha-guru-and-deivam/