Children’s Land – a new webblog

June 1 is the World Children’s Day. And it has so coincided that I have started one more blog called “Children’s Land” (http://littleganeshas.wordpress.com) on children’s upbringing.

Why has such an idea occurred? First, during this year much useful info on this subject came to my e-mail box. Second, in the modern world when the borders between good and evil are being erased (not without the participation of the Mass Media) it is very important to introduce and teach true values to children. And the created blog is like a database where there is already one third of the materials which I have at the present time. And gradually, more posts will appear there. These are the materials on how to teach children kindness, true beauty, collectivity, creativity, etc.

Right now the structure of the “Children’s Land” is the following:

Children’s wisdom and innocence

Images to colour

Motherhood

Photos (kids)

Programs for kids

Shri Mataji on upbringing

Stories for children

Teaching ideas

Each section contains some specific information. For example, in the category “Stories for kids” you will find some wise stories which you can tell your children to nurture their best qualities and positive outlook.

My vision for this blog is that it could be not just a personal blog but a collective resource where we could put and find information on children’s upbringing and teaching.

photo by the author

The Battle inside Us

One evening an old Cherokee told his grandson about a battle that goes on inside people. He said, “My son, the battle is between two ‘wolves’ inside us all.

One is Evil. It is anger, envy, jealousy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority, and ego.

The other is Good. It is joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion and faith.”

The grandson thought about it for a minute and then asked his grandfather: “Which wolf wins?”

The old Cherokee simply replied, “The one you feed.”

photo by the author of the blog

Why not make wonders everyday reality?

Two weeks ago, I got two letters from different people with different content. But the topic of both of them was the same: faith can move mountains.

Faith into what? Christians, Muslims, Jews have faith but not all of them manage to do something that goes beyond the standard limits of existence (for example, recovery from cancer). However, there those among them who have cured themselves and others, who changed life circumstances when it seemed that it was impossible. So, what is the trick?

A Sunday in May

Heat. Some neighbor has said that it is thirty degrees above zero. It seems Central Russia is the hottest area in Europe now. It is so bewitching to lie on the bedding made of mowed grey-haired dandelions and to look into the blue cloudless sky. High above there are swifts flying and seagulls soaring. What are seagulls doing in such heights? It seems they are just enjoying. Enjoying as they do not need to flap their wings but they can only float on the air streams. Verily, Richard Bach chose the right image for Jonathan seeking the truth.

In the wooden house it is not so hot but the warm air is already crawling here, too. Should I go to weed?.. The sun is burning my hands and warming up my head. “Warmth is great, it is pleasant for the body but still… can it be a bit cooler?”

As it is said, pure desire… (and, I suppose, not only mine). At about six in the evening wind arises. It is heard to bow the trees behind the window. “Something will happen!” When you go to have at look at the nature, you can see a rich dark-blue cloud rising from above the close horizon of the nearest village. The wind is bending birches so strongly that their leaves are turning inside out and because of it the chevelure of the birch-trees turn from light emerald into pale green. And around you there are great numbers of little dandelion parachutes whirling in circles.

The cloud has almost approached us. “Fine, I will not have to water the plants today!”

In five minutes the cloud was driven to the right. The wind calmed down. The sun begins to warm up the Earth and everything on it again. I am taking the watering-can (a small one and that is why I have to go to the beds many times) with a thought: “If one does not water radishes much, they will not become sweet”… I have finished – everything is watered!

And at that moment it starts lightening seriously and properly: a lightning on the right, a lightening on the left, two lightening in front. Wow! It was thundering for five minutes without a break. The clouds gathered from all the directions. Except for the wind and thunder, there are no sounds – the nature stands still. There is a clear feeling that something will happen now not only outside but inside as well.

The downpour looked like a wall. The wind brought coolness – the soul was rejoicing!

***

Though it rejoiced only until the water started pouring from behind the roof into the house. It was not in the main room, just in the backyard but from all the chinks unknown to us till this moment. The decision is taken immediately: we are staying in the village house for the night to patch the roof early in the morning.

It was the right decision… At five in the morning, when you are going with your feet bare along the glade towards the rising sun, the blades covered with dew are caressing your feet, like small brushes, so tenderly.

photos by the author

Freedom

…And an orator said, “Speak to us of Freedom.”

And he answered:

“At the city gate and by your fireside I have seen you prostrate yourself and worship your own freedom,

Even as slaves humble themselves before a tyrant and praise him though he slays them.

Ay, in the grove of the temple and in the shadow of the citadel I have seen the freest among you wear their freedom as a yoke and a handcuff.

And my heart bled within me; for you can only be free when

Weather and Life – much in common

It is the same place (Nizhny Novgorod, Russia, the Volga river) which the pictures are taken of.

Watch the time.

At the same time on the other side:

The whole picture was, approximately, like this:

It is like this in life: first it seems that the sun is shining and then that a cloud is approaching (the change of the mood and state takes place very quickly and often). But in nature it is planned so as only having gone through both of them you find what is in the middle – balance, joy and beauty (a rainbow in this particular case ).

The pictures are taken by my friend, Ann Myilenkova

How to make the desire come true?

 

Polina

Why is it so that when we really want something it never comes? But it does come when we have reconciled ourselves to its never coming true. Why? It has happened to me so many times already. I really wanted something for years and when I thought that “OK, it’s not for me then”, my desire became reality at the most unexpected moment. And it was such joy (especially because it was a surprise).

This weekend we could see the trick of the whole thing very clearly. Our friends, two adults and two children, came to our village house on a visit. The kids’ desires fulfilled one after another. According to their father, in the morning, when they were going to our village by bus, the children expressed the desire to have the first spring swim in some river or pond. The father assured them that there would be no place to bathe. The kids expressed their desire and then forgot about it.

And when in the middle of the day we all came to the river (without any idea that there could be a chance to bathe there), they were allowed to swim and they took it as something self-evident. But then they wanted a fire (they even collected some small sticks). Andrew wanted to make a fire so much but he was given neither matches nor a lighter. Soon he forgot about it. And the fire started by itself in some time (it turned out that some wood lying on the place of the former fire gave its heat to the sticks). In such a way all their desires came true during the whole day.

And the trick was that they just wished something from their heart not thinking about the result and the benefits they could get. And what is more important – they did not carry their wishes in their own mind. And as soon as one “lets the wish go”, the Divine/the Supreme Power/God gets an opportunity to work with that desire and to arrange circumstances for its fulfillment. And when the children’s desires were fulfilled, they did not get attached to the thing they had got. When I brought ice-cream to everyone (from a shop) which the children, as well as the others, had wanted very much, I was surprised at the easiness Polina put that ice-cream on the beach and went swimming and Andrew gave his portion to his father quite coolly, at his own free will.

Thought for the day: There may be three reasons for our desires not to come true: 1) our desire is not pure (i.e. it does not lead to our development or/and happiness, from God’s point of view); 2) we are so attached to the desire that we are even afraid to “let it go” thinking that only we are the ones who can make it true (forgetting that we are only the instruments of the Creator) and unless it leaves our mind no Supreme power can take care of it; 3) and sometimes it also happens that we desire what we are not prepared for so far and if we got it, we wouldn’t be able to feel its real value (just patience!).

photoby the author

Inborn Power – the way to understand the world around

 

Do you believe that some ancient native Americans could manage the weather? Do you believe that some ancient native Australians could feel and see the soul of nature? Do you believe that some ancient Hindus could find “common language” with wild animals? Do you believe that there are people who can do it in the modern world? Do you believe that you could be among them? 

It’s not magic. It is one of the qualities the man has not developed in full yet. Want to know how it works?

How to Speed up Spiritual Growth?

An Egyptian Family.

During the two weeks while we were in Saint Petersburg and Moscow we stayed at our friends’ places. Spiritual growth is known to go really quickly when you are living with other people. I do not mean living with your wife/husband and kids. I mean friends, acquaintances or even people you did not know before.

Sometimes it seems that such society really makes our already hard life harder. But if we look deeper, we will realize that when being put in the circumstances when you have to face each other several hours every day, “sharp corners” of the whole company are gradually getting round. And one day you notice that being in the collective really brings you joy.

The issue I am speaking about is topical for the West, I am sure not for the Eastern countries like India. I remember living in Bristol in a collective house/ashram for two weeks. We were five there: an English lady and an English man, a Hindu and we (two Russians). We had no problems living together as we are all Sahaja yogis and thus understand very clearly that the disadvantages we see in somebody else for sure exist in us as well (otherwise we would not notice them and react). This experience also gave us a chance to look at the conditionings of each other (I mean the conditionings we got due to the countries we live in) and, what is more important, discuss them. What means trouble for a Hindu (for example, a forced marriage) is never a trouble for a Russian. We also learnt that in India it is quite natural to have big families, I mean from grannies to grandchildren. In Russia it is considered a torture in most cases.

It was the case with us as well as we have been living with my father and grandfather for 3,5 years already.

What did Buddha mean? To keep step with Creator

According to Buddha, all the sufferings come from desires. What did He mean? Should not we have any desires at all?

I felt very clearly what He meant during our trip to Saint-Petersburg and Moscow. When we left from our native city, I managed to leave all the problems and worries at home and completely surrender to Life. It was such a calming feeling when you don’t need to hurry anywhere, when everything brings joy to you, even waiting. Complete peace as you are absolutely sure that everything is taken care of. Even when I tried to hurry to the place which I really wanted to visit and we were obviously late, my husband mentioned that my hurrying would not change anything as we would come at the time we should come. We were late but we really had not missed anything. Yeh, I know, it is easy to think and do so when you do not need to look for work, when you do not need to hurry to work, when you do not have to make money and buy things for kids, etc. But if it worked out once, even though when on holiday, could not it work out constantly? I still need to check it and I will…

Anyway, being in this state of balance 24 hours a day I suddenly felt what it means to keep step with Life.