Baba
Making child sadvipra
Namaskar,
Some organised religions - Christianity, Islam, Judaism, etc - preach and teach their kids their doctrine from a very early age by enrolling them in daily or weekly religious education schools and programs. They understand well that what a child sees and experiences in those younger years (from 0 - 12) will stick with them their entire life.
Christians put their kids in Sunday school, Jews have Hebrew school, the Muslims put even their 2 year olds in madarsa (Islamic faith schools). In that way, they are able to indoctrinate their children into their dogmatic faith at a very young age. Our Marga is the voice of bhagavata dharma, even then we are struggling to bring our children and youths onto the spiritual path of tantra.
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So while the various religions are very effective in passing their dogma onto their children, yet we are not able to instill the ways of bhagavata dharma within our own youths.
Why children may miss out on this opportunity
So it is really a question of parenting and schooling for all children. If from a very young age they are guided in a particular direction they will have those experiences and ideals for life. Children remember and learn so much in those early moments. Now I really wish I always kept my oldest with me nearby when doing sadhana. I did that with my youngest but not my older one.
Drawing children into the Marga lies almost cent-per-cent with the families and then with the schools later on. So each and every family must be very disciplined in Sixteen Points while raising their children. This will have a direct relationships in developing their children into strong Ananda Margiis.
These days many Christian families are less strict than before, and the degree to which they are remiss is the degree to which the church loses followers in that area. This has happened to a large extent in Europe. In contrast, to the degree that parents are strict in their households - as is the case with many Muslim families - is the degree to which their children get fully indoctrinated into that approach.
As parents in the Marga we should clearly understand this issue and put it into practice. Because unlike the dogmatic religions, we have all the wonders of the universe to share with our children. Our Ananda Marga is the path of dharma. Yet without our prompting and clear-cut approach, our children will continue to miss out on this opportunity. And this is an injustice to them - and it is not the way we are to raise our children in service to Guru Dev.
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Ananda Marga is not just an extracurricular activity
Part of the problem that can happen is that we may feel that Ananda Marga is something viewed as an extracurricular - and not the essential building block of life. There is so much to do as parents that one can get caught up just following the basic worldly checklist without putting proper emphasis on Ananda Marga. When in fact it is the spirituality of Ananda Marga that is the essence of life - not all that other stuff.
We missed this lesson with our oldest child and instead got caught up in general societal values; in result our son did not develop into a sadhaka. In our own way we paid attention to his physical and mental development, yet never inculcated the spiritual side into his daily life, neither as an infant, nor as a toddler or young boy. And now the sad reality is that this is not part of his life.
I would not raise this point if I did not see this happening with other margii families. Many of the parents in my circle of communication are in the midst of similar circumstances - they openly say so.
I suppose the main thing is not to rely on the idea that somehow magically our children will walk into the door of Ananda Marga at the age of 18, when up until that time Ananda Marga has not been a major factor in their lives.
https://anandamargauniversal.blogspot.com/
Practical points to to bring into child's practice
Here is a short list of things we can do as parents to ensure our children grow to be strong sadhakas and active Ananda Margiis.
1. Create a community of friends by having our margii children play with other margii children;Finally, may we all remember that we cannot teach someone about the danger of drowning after he has already drowned. Similarly, we must not passively watch our children grow thinking that they will automatically make it into Ananda Marga. We must be vigilant to guide them every step of the way - the moment they emerge from the womb - and even before then.
2. Bring children to DC and organise a children's dharmacakra;
3. Have them in the room with you when you do your personal sadhana;
4. Sing kiirtan & bhajans with them throughout the day;
5. Tell them Baba stories before bed;
6. Inculcate a spiritual outlook in life;
7. We must remember that our kids see what we do and follow accordingly;
8. if child gets raised in Ananda Marga then they will think Ananda Marga is their home and they will follow the basic do's and don'ts their entire life.
Way to inculcate spiritual values within our children on a daily basis
Baba says, "The main point is this: for want of a little care, children are deprived of the opportunity to become complete human beings, even though they have a human structure." (1)
Thus to bring our children onto the path of Ananda Marga we cannot merely passively wait for that magic day to happen as if they will realise it with their own rational approach. Rather we have to be assertive and inculcate spiritual values within our children on a daily basis. If we fail to do that our children may even grow to hate Ananda Marga. That is what happened with my first born and I feel the fault is entirely mine - not my son's.
The problem has escalated to such a degree that he does not merely passively oppose Ananda Marga, but actively by eating meat, smoking, drinking alcohol and speaking badly about Ananda Marga. In India there is a saying that I have heard, "Those who kept their babies away and did not bring them to DMC etc , then those children got lost, never made it into Ananda Marga." This happened with many margii families within in India and the essence of that problem has occurred with many families outside India, including my own.
The point is that we must bring our young ones into the fold by including them in all Marga activities and building a strong social network for them. By Baba's grace we did this with our youngest and it worked out very nicely.
https://anandamargauniversal.blogspot.com/
Namaskar,
in Him,
Sulekha
(Sarah Darrow)
~ In-depth study ~
Parenting is big responsibility
Baba tell us that forming children into proper human beings is a big job. The most difficult task is to make children into proper human beings.
To do that we must follow the example of the great mother Madalasa who taught her children from their very infancy about, "Why you have come into this world and what is your goal."
Ananda Marga ideology guides us, "“Dear son, although you are but a child in a small human frame, you are the veritable expression of the Supreme Consciousness. You are an ever-holy, ever-enlightened entity. As long as you think that you are only a small child, you are spiritually ignorant, but when you realize that you are a part of that Supreme Entity, you become that Supreme Entity, you become spotless (nirainjano’si).”...“My dear child, there is no black spot in your mind. You are spotless. You are unassailed by any kind of sin.” Sam'sa'ra ma'ya' parivarpito’si: “You are beyond the spell of the illusory ma'ya' of this mundane world. You are the embodiment of the pure and unblemished self.”...“This is how Mada'lasa' teaches her son.” (2)
Dharma will be in their bloodstream
We must teach our children about Ananda Marga from a very early age. When we go to our Marga functions then all families should bring their children. If we instill the values of Ananda Marga early then they will embrace it as their own and feel linked. Then even if those children want to give it up and walk away, they will not be able to do it. Because our Ananda Marga way of life will be in their bloodstream. In contrast, if we keep our children separate then they be lost in the sea of materialism and dogma.
Baba says, "Children will become assets of society in the future to the extent that their parents or guardians discharge their duties properly." (3)
Story: Man softly pinched his mother's ear
Once there was a man who was about to be hung for the many crimes he committed. Before the hanging, he was granted one last wish and he requested to talk to his mother. When his mother arrived he asked her if he could whisper something in her ear. She said, "Why of course my son" and and leaned towards him. Then the man softly pinched his mother's ear.
The mother felt some pain and asked, "Why did you do that?"
The son replied, "Because you are the cause of my imminent death. All those years when I was a young boy stealing and thieving you never disciplined me nor told me that what I was doing was wrong. Because I did not get that important teaching, I grew up to be a criminal. And now today I am going to be hung."
Here the whole point is that as parents we have a huge effect on what our children become in life. It is our duty to do right by them and bring them along the path of dharma, otherwise they will meet all kinds of troubles and even blame us for their problems - and rightly so.
Ananda Marga philosophy states, "The mental outlook of children has already been moulded in a particular fashion by the influence of their family environment before they start school. No matter what or how much they learn at school, it is extremely difficult for them to free themselves from the influence of their family. Drawing on what they have learned in the family, the immature minds of children begin to learn about the world and understand it, and to receive ideas and master language so that they can express those ideas. Unhesitatingly they adopt their elders’ way of looking at the world. Hence the primary responsibility for acquainting children with the world lies with their parents or guardians. Children will become assets of society in the future to the extent that their parents or guardians discharge their duties properly."
"I have no hesitation in saying that today’s adults have not yet developed a scientific method of training children’s minds. Even most so-called educated and refined people, let alone average adults, are either ignorant about or indifferent to the education of their children. Their ignorance may be pardoned, but how can we forgive their indifference? The family into which a child has been born will naturally have to bear the primary responsibility for the physical, mental and spiritual development of that child." (4)
References
1. Human Society - 1, Education
2. Ananda Vacanamrtam - 7, The Place of Women in the Spiritual World
3. Human Society - 1, Education
4. Human Society - 1, Education
== Section 2: Prabhat Samgiita ==
Age of neo-humansim has come
"E gán thámibe ná,e dábi damibe ná'..." (Prabhat Samgiita #4795)
Purport:
By His auspicious blessing, this song of neo-humanism will not stop. The demand of establishing one human society will not be compromised. We are the followers of Parama Purusa; He is our Destination. We will march forward on that very effulgent path which Parama Purusa has shown us. In the mundane world we will take help of Prout. And we will establish one human society by His krpa’. The song of neo-humanism will not stop; it will go on and on.
Since ages we have tolerated immense exploitation, injustices, humiliation, and the falsehood of various isms. Now, enough is enough. We can't tolerate it anymore. We will not allow this hell to continue any longer. Moralists of the world are getting united to raise those demons to the ground - to pulverize them. Till today, the demons have been intimidating and overpowering the moralists. Now, the righteous people are ready to destroy those devils.
In the eastern horizon the dawn is fast approaching and the cimmerian darkness of misery is fast fading away. After long reproaches, humiliation, and sufferings, ultimately the effulgent bliss is showering; we cannot bear any delay. We have to welcome the new era of sadvipra samaj. We all living beings are kith and kin, our Father is Parama Purusa and we belong to one family. The property of the universe is our collective property. Human society is one and indivisible. This song of neo-humanism will not stop by His grace. Parama Purusa Baba is with us...
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