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Chapter 10
CONTEMPLATION OF GOD’S MANIFESTATIONS
51. God In Human Form
8. Likewise, how nice would it be if we could see Him in children! Dhruva, Prahlad, Nachiketa, Sanak, Sanandan, Sanatkumar—all these were children, but Vyasa and other authors of the Puranas (the ancient mythological tales) are so fond of them that they are never tired of talking about them, of extolling them with love and admiration. Even as children Shuka, Shankaracharya, Jnanadeva were free from desires and attachment. Nowhere else did the Lord manifest Himself in a purer form. Jesus was greatly fond of children. Once his disciples asked him, “You talk so much about the Kingdom of God. Who can enter it?” Jesus lifted up in his arms a child standing nearby and said, “Only those who are like this child.” What Jesus said is indeed true. Saint Ramdas was once playing with children. Someone asked him with surprise, “What has happened to you today?” Ramdas said, यें पोर ते थोर होऊन गेले। वयें थोर ते चोर होऊन ठेले। (‘Children have attained greatness, while those advanced in age have proved to be scoundrels.’) As the age advances, innocence gets eroded. One becomes clever and presumptuous. Then one hardly thinks of the Lord. The minds of children are pure and unsullied. We teach a child, “Do not tell lies.” He asks, “What is a lie?” Then we explain that the statement must correspond to the facts. The child is nonplussed. How can one make a statement that does not correspond to the facts? It is like telling that a rectangle must be called a rectangle and not a circle. The child is surprised at this teaching. Children are the purest manifestations of God. Adults teach them all wrong. In short, if we cannot see the Lord in the mother, the father, the guru, the saints and the children, we will not be able to see Him in any other form, as these are His best manifestations. One must first learn to recognise Him in His gentler manifestations, wherein divinity is inscribed in bold capital letters where it is the most conspicuous. |
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