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The third Sunday of June is observed as Father’s Day in North America – a holiday which focuses attention on the role of fathers in society. Father’s Day is also be observed across the world at different times of the year – as a celebration honoring fathers and celebrating fatherhood, paternal bonds, and related influences and influencers. One may imagine that any relationships with our fathers (and father-like figures), and our roles as fathers (or those we may influence in a paternal manner), come with some built-in complexity.

The role of “fathers” goes beyond mere biology (and perhaps even beyond the “male”) – paternal figures can be relatives, friends, and of course, spiritual guides (or masters). Many religions and their scriptures have very powerful “father” figures who have very high influence and importance through scripture and tradition. In addition, there is the role of those who do double-duty in maternal and paternal roles in families. Our thoughts also go out to those who may have lost a paternal influence recently, and may be healing. Or one who may have lost a child, and hence may be trying to re-discover their paternal role in life.

It is indeed a big task to discuss the spiritual influences of our “fathers” – or our paternal influence on others in a short conversation on twitter. Some questions that come to mind are – What kind of influence did your paternal figures have on you? Did you receive any influence at all? Did you benefit from that influence or was it a detriment to your growth in life? Are you in the role of a paternal figure or influencer for someone? Are you passing on a spiritual legacy to them? How do ‘unresolved’ or ‘unhealed’ paternal issues affect our spiritual progress? Do you feel that these issues need healing for you to move ahead spiritually?

I invite you to join us in our weekly #SpiritChat discussion to share your thoughts on “Fatherhood and Spirituality” on Sunday, June 16th at 9am ET / 1pm GMT / 2pm UK / 6:30pm India. Thank you.

Kumud

Update: Here are the questions asked during the chat. Enjoy, and feel free to answer in the comments… The full transcript and statistics are available at http://bit.ly/sc-tr-0616

Q1. What feelings/emotions does the word “father” invoke in you? #SpiritChat

Q2. What qualities did your father pass on to you that have helped you the most in life? #SpiritChat

Q3. Do you think you are a paternal influence on others? How so? #SpiritChat

Q4. What advice would you give those seeking paternal influences in their lives? #SpiritChat

Q5. Did your father convey his spiritual beliefs to you? How did that affect your spiritual growth? #SpiritChat

Q6. What is the connection between forgiveness and fatherhood? #SpiritChat

Q7. What do you think your paternal influencers could have done better to help your spiritual growth? #SpiritChat

Q8. Say a few words – to those you influence paternally or those who influence you as Dads? #SpiritChat