Children of God

My Master says that children below seven years of age have no need for any meditation. They are naturally free and independent in spirit and blissful. They are not conditioned. He himself is like a child. I have seen Him playing with toys with intense awareness that would have done a four year old proud. ‘Why do innocent and free children grow up to be monsters’ I asked Him. ‘I did not say they were innocent. I only said they were already in bliss.’ He said. ‘They are in bliss because they are innocent and corrupted, aren’t they?’ I asked. ‘If you call innocence a state of total lack of conditioning, total lack of engraved memories or samskara, then newborn or even unborn infants are not innocent. They too carry the samskara of previous birth known as prarabda karma. But, if the level of conditioning is limited to this and not added on, they can still be bliss.’ He said. ‘I don’t understand’ I asked, ‘if they do have baggage that they carry, they will still be affected, and depending on the baggage, they can be sad as well.’ ‘If you keep children away from adults’ He explained, ‘and do not expose them to yes and no, do this, don’t give these instructions till about the age of seven they will do everything naturally. They will not be afraid to explore. They will not be limited by conditioning, which is what induces unhappiness.’ ‘Let me tell you a story’ He went on,’ two pet dogs met on the road being walked by their owners. One said to the other ‘My name is Jackie’. The other said ‘I am Don’t do that Harry’. ‘What’, queried Jackie, ‘what a funny name!’ Don’t do that Harry explained: every time I do something they always call out, Don’t do that Harry. That’s what I think my name is.’ He laughed, ‘that’s how we bring up children too.’ ‘What will happen then, if parents do not at all control children? Would they not be in danger? Will they not get into accidents?’ I was doubtful where this was leading. ‘When you design households and living spaces in a manner that you need a PhD degree to operate a TV remote, you are asking for trouble. We design dangerous places with floor level electrical outlets, steep staircases, slippery floors and unsafe roads, and expect that we learn to live in such dangerous places. Why children? If you bring someone from a rural area and leave them in the middle of a traffic junction in Bangalore, that person has a good chance of ending up in a Hospital.’ He was warming up. 'So, are you saying we stop the world, move back from civilization and rear children', I sounded incredulous. 'Well, that certainly will be an improvement from where we are now. What you call civilization is a monster house, if only people are honest enough to admit it' He laughed, 'but you don't need to go that far. For a start we can stop educating children the way we do. We can teach them by example rather than by preaching. Children learn from our walk, not our talk.' 'So, you say that we lie to them all the time.' I was incredulous. 'Of course we do' He calmly explained, 'we tell them not to lie, and when someone is at the door we tell them to say we are not home. We tell them not to hurt other people, and father and mother are fighting all the time. Do you expect to believe what you do in front of them, or your lies?' 'You cannot make occasional events standard behavior. Most of the time parents do what they tell their children to do.' I tried to reason. 'You are a bigger idiot than I gave you credit for' He was unmerciful in being honest, 'Look around yourself and you will realize what I say is right. Take children away from adults and you will find that they are happy. That is how the ancient Hindu education system of gurukulam worked. Wise teachers took charge of children at a very young age and brought them up in natural awareness. Parents in turn learnt the wisdom to bring up the children without conditioning them till they were ready to go to these teachers.' 'Ok, I think I understand; but, I am not finished yet. I shall be back!' I was a bit miffed at being told the truth that I was an idiot!