Baba
How to make child a coward
Namaskar,
In various discourses, Baba points out when a child experiences imposed fear then they are scared at that initial moment, and far into the future as well. When they are young and become scared, they suffer from paranoia, nightmares, and other psychic ailments such as crying out non-stop in the middle of the night, or being scared to walk alone even in daylight. All because the child was terrified. But it does not end there. That child's mind will be riddled and encumbered by those unfounded fears for their entire life.
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Way to tear down child’s psyche
Sadly and shockingly, this commonly occurs with children the world over. And why do those fears remain with the child? Remember, the child thinks those so-called monsters, ghosts, and goblins to be real. For them, those creatures are not something imaginary or temporary. Children are unable to remove those fears. Those fears—based on imposed false ideas—make a deep impression on the child's psyche, and remain with them for ages and ages. That is Baba's warning.
Thus we should think a thousand times before exposing our children to horror films, ‘ghost’ stories, and even seemingly innocuous, kid-centered festivals like Halloween. All these things are bound to burden, or even ruin, a child's psyche.
Every parent wishes to raise a healthy, vibrant child who grows up to be physically able, mentally sharp, and spiritually awakened. Yet, in nearly each and every land, community, and even family, concerned parents and / or social norms undermine the all-round progress of the child.
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The mind is our greatest treasure—and the child's mind is so tender and impressionable—yet commonly a child's mind is stricken by fears needlessly, which hampers their growth and development. Such undue fears ruin the psychic realm of the child, today and far into the future. As parents, as well-wishers of society, as educators, and as sadhakas, we should all be keenly aware of this issue.
Sadistic joy by terrifying kids
In North America and parts of Europe, the holiday of Halloween is celebrated, generally around Oct 30, 31, and Nov 1. Kids dress up in scary costumes, participate in haunted houses, hear ‘ghost’ stories, and engage in other fear-based activities. The underlying theme is fear.
Today's filmmakers and authors play off a similar sentiment: excitement through fear. There is an entire corporate business model centered around this. All geared toward instilling the thrill of fear into the mind—in order to turn a profit.
There are so many ways that the entertainment industry and social festivals introduce the fear factor into a child's mind: so-called ghosts, serial killers, scary creatures from outer space, spooky noises, and in other ways. People even get a sort of sadistic happiness from scaring young kids. Fear gets imposed in so many ways.
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As adults we may say, "What's the big deal, they're just kids, they're having fun, let them be, they'll grow up and understand the truth." But it is not like that. For the child everything is real. Whatever you say—right or wrong—they will take it seriously as reality. Because the child’s brain is not fully developed so it cannot process and evaluate what is true and what is false. The brain develops in full through their teenage years. So if you tell a child that so-called ghosts exist then that child truly believes that.
And, in result, that child will be stricken with fear. In that moment, they might scream, shriek, tremble, or even urinate in their pants etc. All because of the imposition of fear. The child really thinks that a so-called goblin will come and swallow them. A huge impression is created in their subconscious mind. So for the child it is terrifying and they carry that fear their whole life. Yet some adults derive a sadistic enjoyment from seeing this.
Lifelong: fear shakes child's bones
The accumulation of fears debilitates the human mind—not just in youth but lifelong. Baba tells us that fear—caused by family, social and religious dogmas—will stick with a person for life. It is worse than child abuse. In extreme cases, a person may suffer from a lack of courage and become afraid of the dark—forever, far into their adult years. Or a person may not even like to remain in the house alone, even as an adult.
And not only that, but due to imposed fear, a person suffers from a low self-esteem and lacks the necessary courage to confidently answer questions in a job interview. Before the interview they may even hide in the bathroom—too scared to walk inside. This is not just a matter of being nervous, rather a deep-seated fear that shakes their bones.
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Thus the fears that get imposed on a child's psyche are baggage they carry for life—in all sorts of shapes and sizes, in all kinds of ways. They suffer as a child and become permanently shackled and that child never grows properly in the mental realm. So we should be extremely careful never to impose such fears on a child.
Poor child startled: fear of so-called ghost
Here is Baba's teaching - where He warns how even family members impose a fear complex on young ones. This is an English summary of His 01 January 1986 Bengali discourse in Kolkata, "Existential Flow & Its Culminating Point":
The small babe did not want to drink the milk. So in order to get the baby to drink the milk, the family members said, "Look, a “ghost” is on the palm tree - it will come and get you if you do not drink your milk." So you drank the milk out of fear of being caught by the "ghost." After many years, when you were no longer two, but became twenty-two years of age, that mental ghost still existed in your mind. From time to time in your dreams you will still see that "ghost." In consequence, while remaining in a lonely place your heart will become startled and frozen due to fear of that "ghost." (English Summary) (1)
Listen Sound File: A link to the sound file of the above teaching has been appended below.
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Namaskar,
At His feet,
Jayanti
(J. Davis)
Here is a link to the sound file: https://archive.org/details/InfusingFearInTheMindOfTheChild
Insidious fear entire life
Ananda Marga philosophy guides us, “The method of extracting work by terrorizing the minds of children is not only made use of by a particular type of teacher, it is also often still more harmfully practised by parents. They frighten their children, tell them lies, engage in scurrilous brawls before them, and deceive and torment them; but they still expect that some day their children will become respectable members of society – that their children will bring glory to their family name. When their children are reluctant to drink milk or sleep, they terrify them by invoking imaginary ‘goblins’ or frightful ‘ghosts’. Children initially have no fear, yet a fearful panorama is played out before them. Through this practice the parents may achieve some temporary gain, but even if the children wait a lifetime, they can never be compensated for the harm done to them. Even when these same children attain young adulthood, the thought of ‘ghosts’ will not leave their minds – ‘ghosts’ will become their permanent companions.” (2)
References
1. Existential Flow & Its Culminating Point, English summary of original Bangla
2. Prout in a Nutshell Part 2, Education
https://anandamargauniversal.blogspot.com/
Namaskar,
At His feet,
Jayanti
(J. Davis)
Here is a link to the sound file: https://archive.org/details/InfusingFearInTheMindOfTheChild
Insidious fear entire life
Ananda Marga philosophy guides us, “The method of extracting work by terrorizing the minds of children is not only made use of by a particular type of teacher, it is also often still more harmfully practised by parents. They frighten their children, tell them lies, engage in scurrilous brawls before them, and deceive and torment them; but they still expect that some day their children will become respectable members of society – that their children will bring glory to their family name. When their children are reluctant to drink milk or sleep, they terrify them by invoking imaginary ‘goblins’ or frightful ‘ghosts’. Children initially have no fear, yet a fearful panorama is played out before them. Through this practice the parents may achieve some temporary gain, but even if the children wait a lifetime, they can never be compensated for the harm done to them. Even when these same children attain young adulthood, the thought of ‘ghosts’ will not leave their minds – ‘ghosts’ will become their permanent companions.” (2)
References
1. Existential Flow & Its Culminating Point, English summary of original Bangla
2. Prout in a Nutshell Part 2, Education
== Section: Important Teaching ==
Ananda Marga philosophy says, "So humans were created only to do sadhana and attain emancipation. Those who do not do sadhana for their mukti (emancipation) even though they were created for this purpose, go against the wishes of the Supreme Entity. They defeat the very purpose of the creation of human beings." (1)
Reference
1. Ananda Marga Elementary Philosophy, What Is This World?
== Section: Important Teaching ==
Why: wrong to collect maximum material wealth with intellect
Ananda Marga Philosophy says, “Today the world is following either capitalism or extreme materialism [i.e., communism]. Under these systems, those who are endowed with greater knowledge, intellect or physical power go on misappropriating more and more material wealth. People have forgotten that together with physical wealth we also receive subtle wealth from Prakrti [the Supreme Operative Principle]. A member of a family who does not feel a sense of unity with the other family members and does not recognize the logically-acceptable necessity and the lofty principle of joint rights, cannot be regarded as a social being. According to a universal spiritual ideology, the system of individual ownership cannot be regarded as absolute. This is why our [Ananda Marga’s] concept of society does not support capitalism.”
Reference
Prout in a Nutshell Volume 1 Part 5, The Responsibility of Society
== Section 3: Links ==
Halloween - 31 Oct 2024
Diipavali - 31 Oct 2024
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