Friday, April 18, 2008

When I grow up! I want to be a little boy

Hello Friends.

Welcome to Anbusivam’s blog page.

Chinmaya Mission, Bangalore gave me a great opportunity to spend three days of my last week in a serene atmosphere at Chokkahalli 60kms away from Bangalore. I was with wonderful children of 8th, 9th and 10th grades. Being with them brought back my childhood days, which made me write this post...!!!

Do you ever yearn to be a child again? “Sure I do”

Joseph Heller said “When I grow up! I want to be a little boy”

Well, we all were children at one point of time with a lot many dreams and beliefs about our life when we grow up. As a child we never had any problems, worries, sadness, tension, anger and sense of failure. Children celebrate other’s victory because they know that they don’t have to be best at everything they do.

An infant's mind is unconditioned for it is not influenced by the world. Such Pure mind is free of imprisonment from false ego — lust, anger, greed, delusion, jealousy, selfishness, fear, desires, confusion, conflict, fear, grief. As an infant, we all were born with such a pure mind! However, afterwards, while growing up, we were programmed and trained to identify with the feeling of "mine, mine!”. In the process, side by side, false ego gets developed as we grow from infancy to adolescence. The moment physical ego becomes stronger in us, we become prisoner of cravings, fears and delusions. To all of us too-serious, on-the-edge, busy-and-preoccupied adults Many of us miss the freedom of childhood

Have you ever keenly observed children playing…..watching the child’s play is a wonderful experience. Child doesn’t care about consequences, it has no inhibitions, it has no fear, and all it knows is happiness, happiness and happiness.

There is a small kid next home in my home town and I used to play with him whenever I go home. One day he came back from school complaining about the girl next door who is his classmate. He was telling his mom, that he had a big fight with her in the school; she had taken his eraser and broken his pencil too. He had decided that he will never talk to her or play with her.

Then a little latter I saw him going to her home and call her to play, and both were playing, laughing, giggling as if nothing happened at school. I just went near and caught him and asked that he was telling that he will never play with her just a few minutes back to his mom. He told me something that instantly caught my mind, that I can never forget, that was “Anna! That was in the morning, this is evening…that was at the school, this is home!!!” The children never carry all the way with them, the big baggage of ego as we grown up do always. Children have neither past nor future; they enjoy the present, which very few of us still can.

Have you not seen a child in anger, at one moment, kick, scratch, pull the hair, beat, cry in the lap of its mother, sometimes cry rolling in the floor? But as soon as that anger is gone, the same child in all its pure love freely runs to its mother laughing, giggling, kissing and making mother totally forget all the past and get her ready to do anything to protect and nourish the child? Have you watched this? In a child's heart, the clutter of failure and judgment are not there for us to stumble over. In a child's heart the fears and pain of life's wounds have not shortened the stride or clipped the wings of imagination. In a child's heart, the eyes do not see the boundaries of nation, state, race or culture.

Be then a child in life, but let's understand it dosen’t mean being childish, ita all about being a child like. There is a huge difference between childish and child like. That’s what our great ancient masters insisted….get into the state of “Bala - Buddhi”.

“Bala – Buddhi” also characterizes the state of complete inner surrender.

“Bala - Buddhi” is transparency, Pure Truthfulness.

Let’s all rebounce back to our Own Nature, “Bala – Buddhi” i.e. Child like.

As it is said in the great book of Christ -

“Who ever humbles himself like a child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven!!!”

Thanks for visiting my page.

With Love
Anbusivam

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hey,
Siva: I liked the article and particularly this line:

However, afterwards, while growing up, we were programmed and trained to identify with the feeling of "mine, mine!”

>> My 2 cents on this :) I agree with this and most of us are so much into me..me thing that they forget the word US....Diverting from your article, I may say that "US is always very important and only US can make you WIN , ME can never do anything alone :) "

Kids dont have this attitude but slowly this comes up when we grow up in life, but in some people this ME-ME attitude is so much, that they are hard to come along with and the only companion for such people is ME/MYSELF :)

Great one again on your blog...Very realistic and related to life ...

-Himanshu Sheth

Unknown said...

Thank you so much, Himanshu.

These were the most encouraging words for me to bring in more and more good stuff in my posts.

-Siva

Anonymous said...

Your blog keeps getting better and better! Your older articles are not as good as newer ones you have a lot more creativity and originality now keep it up!