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yajvan
29 December 2007, 07:36 AM
Hari Om
~~~~~~


Namaste,


I have read in various philosophies, that on the path to moksha one needs to become like a small child. What can this mean?

When I observe children I see a full range of emotions, from love to hate to innocence. I see children taking another's toys, or pulling the cat's tail, let alone putting their sister's pony tail into a paint can. Is this the behavior that will get me to moksha?

What then is the 'secret' of little children? What are your thoughts on this matter?


For me, as I watch and observe children, they are of the unconditioned mind. The "grooves and ruts" have not been established. That means Pure consciousness is closer to everyday life. The innocence of Being is there, unpretentious, and the SELF has the ability to shine through easier. They are spontaneous, all things are possible, the imagination is fertle and vibrant. They can see, visualize, pretend... all is possible and the world is a wonder.


It is these 'grooves and ruts' that when they become established, conditioning over time, one gets locked-in to behaviour patterns that take lifetime to remove.

Your POV on this is welcomed.

pranams,

saidevo
29 December 2007, 10:49 AM
Namaste Yajvan.

1. Children display various kinds of emotions as you say, but finally there is only one emotion that they take to their hearts: love and friendship. While they don't remember the unkind acts done to them, they do remember and cherish the moments they were loved. This is what I think distinguishes us elders from the children.

2. Children live every moment of their life. To them there is no past, no future, only the present moment. This is what our Gurus exhort us for 'moksha': "live the present moment completely and do what you do with all the attention you can give."

3. Though they don't plan the future or grieve the past, children are highly imaginative, which is why so many fairy tales have sprung up for them. Just watch a child playing with his/her dolls. Their world is closer to the world of God than ours.

The games that children played in my father's days included simulated religious festivals where the children used to make clay images of Hindu Gods, decorate them with flowers, sing bhajans and 'namahas' and take them on wooden planks in procession through the streets. When once such a religious procession stood in front of SriMaTham in Kumbakonam, Kanchi Paramacharya came out, offered 'pranams' to the God by bowing with his staff, praised the children and distributed them sweets and vibhuti-kumkuma prasadams.

During my early days, the children played the 'Appa-Amma' (daddy-mummy)games that often ended in quibbles, though sometimes they 'cooked' some rice in a makeshift oven and partook them! Under the influence of the Western culture and the craze for movies, one shudders to think about today's children. All the cable TV channels in Chennai are full of programs that encourage children and youth to come to the TV studios and participate in singing and dancing competitons that imitate the vulgur movie songs and scenes...

yajvan
29 December 2007, 11:23 AM
Hari Om
~~~~~~

Namaste Yajvan.

1. they do remember and cherish the moments they were loved. This is what I think distinguishes us elders from the children.

2. To them there is no past, no future, only the present moment. This is what our Gurus exhort us for 'moksha': "live the present moment completely and do what you do with all the attention you can give."

3. children are highly imaginative, which is why so many fairy tales have sprung up for them.


TV channels in Chennai are full of programs that encourage children and youth to come to the TV studios and participate in singing and dancing competitons that imitate the vulgur movie songs and scenes...

Namaste saidevo,
you bring excellent points... yes living in the moment [be here now], I remember this. I Can remember one day when my attention went from within me to outside of me, to the world. This I will not forget.

This imagination you speak of takes one anywhere, even to Him.

And this TV, a two-edged sword no less. Much good can be offered on this technology, yet with it along comes programs of lesser merit.

In the USA, there is this theme of murder and mayhem, of lots of bad guys with bad habits then the police winning and figuring out how they did it. That is finding 'entertainment' from the grief of others. For a society so scared of death, this notion is curious at best. I continue to scratch my head.

There still is good science programs and nature programs, for without that there is no reason to have a TV as far as I can tell.

Thanks again for your posts, lets see if others care to give their POV.

pranams,

Eastern Mind
29 December 2007, 04:21 PM
Hari Om
~~~~~~


For me, as I watch and observe children, they are of the unconditioned mind. The "grooves and ruts" have not been established. That means Pure consciousness is closer to everyday life. The innocence of Being is there, unpretentious, and the SELF has the ability to shine through easier. They are spontaneous, all things are possible, the imagination is fertle and vibrant. They can see, visualize, pretend... all is possible and the world is a wonder.

It is these 'grooves and ruts' that when they become established, conditioning over time, one gets locked-in to behaviour patterns that take lifetime to remove.

pranams,

Yajvan: I think you hit it on the head. I would add that every time I have met a realized Hindu monk, the vibration has its similarities to that of a child. A pure innocent enjoyment of life. Happiness. Of course the monk can think like an adult, as they have that wisdom too. But the real wisdom is affectionate detachment from the world, the intellect, as you said, the ruts and grooves of life out here in the world.
I would also say that at my workplace, because I work primarily with mostly pre-pubescent children, it is they to whom I go if I need a higher vibration. Its the adults who cause all the stress. Children don't have to recite affirmations like "All my needs will always be met" to eliminate their worry, like we do sometimes. They don't harbour grudges, think negative thoughts much, and a whole lot of other things we do.
Aum Namasivaya

yajvan
29 December 2007, 05:09 PM
Hari Om
~~~~~

Yajvan:

...mostly pre-pubescent children, it is they to whom I go if I need a higher vibration.

Namste EM,

Yes, I have noticed this too, yet now I am not surrounded by the childern as I used to. It was always a joy to go outside and see what they were doing. It was a group of 5 to 7 small children ( including my daughter) that were just rejoicing in life. Didn't matter what the weather was, just having fun.

Then we grow up... yet not certain who came up with this notion that it was really 'growth'.


pranams

Bob G
29 December 2007, 09:09 PM
a tangent:

...the upward pointing triangle can be representitive of where we begin to turn 180 degrees against the tide and or mechanics of natural evolution (which basically involves of the first part of our journey as spiritual children) after that we may start the next phase of the journey which requires spiritual evolution/effort on our part or a growing-up of soul, which nobody else can do for us...although there is help along the way.

Om

c.smith
29 December 2007, 09:35 PM
EM - I like the term that you used - "affectionate detachment", but could I offer "loving detachment" instead. IMHO, affection can be measured, where as love cannot.

Just my thought on the matter.