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Children

“If children do anything wrong, they should be advised and they should be made to understand.  But if you hit or beat them, they become obstinate.”

“If the child is beaten, and then that thing he remembers, and when he grows up he will think that he was beaten up many times unnecessarily by his parents.  And when he grows up then, he can reply back to them, which the parents may not like.  But if you try to explain things to the child and if you advise them properly, then the child will listen to you.”

“Swamiji tells people to take care of their children and to take care of their parents also.  He is very hard and strict about it.  You give a hundred complaints about your mother but Swamiji would still tell you to go and bow your head to her.”

“No matter how bad the mother and father were, if you take care of them well in their last moments before death and they die in peace, they will get a better life the next time.  If they die without peace that will be bad for them.”

“Who feeds us milk as soon as we are born? It is the mother.  If the affection and relationship is continued like that, the foundation becomes stronger.  What happens here is that after a short while the mother thinks that it is only a relation of the body.  Then she leaves the child.  That is affecting the foundation again.”

“If you take care of the children properly then they will be healed.  If you show any partiality in favor of your children or if he shows any partiality in favor of his children, then they will get hurt more.  If you trouble his children because you have your own children then you will be in trouble later on.  There will be a lack of peace.  If you two work together and take care of both your children and his children, then they will all grow up well.  You will not have any trouble.”

“Hey! What type of a person are you that you cannot be patient with children? Why did you scold them? They must be feeling terribly upset and sad.  I myself was a child when Shankara Bhagavan made me sit for tapas and that is why, as far as the universe is concerned, my mind is like that of a child.  That’s why people may find me childish naughty.”

“Philosophy should be taught in one’s childhood.  Children can pick up bhakti marga [the path of devotion] easily as their minds are less diluted towards the worldly things.  Ego is almost nothing.”

Children were running around, making noise, and generally being a disturbance at a program. One man complained to Swamiji that the parents should exercise more control or leave their children at home.  Swamiji answered, “If the children disturb you, then you can stay at home.”

 

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Divine Play:   Shivabalayogi’s life and blessings, 290 pages and over a hundred photos.  Generally available in bookstores and online.

Swamiji’s Treasure:  The most comprehensive collection of biography, experiences, conversations & photographs of Shivabalayogi.

Tapas Shakti:  Published at Swamiji’s request in India, January of 1992.  Contains his biography, conversations & experiences.