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

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.

Everything done is for the best!

 

I remember that for many years the words “Everything done is for the best” were my motto in life (“were” because now I have a more progressive motto but this time it is not the topic of my post). These words are not only just words which help us to overcome some hard times but they are also absolutely true. All our life is a big experience given to us for our growth (and the person who has developed an ability to enjoy it is really lucky). Life constantly arranges such situations for us which are meant to help us get rid of some negative features or, better to say, substitute them with something positive. And if one does not understand what lessons he should extract from some events which seem to be “difficulties” and “obstacles” (very often only at first sight) the same situation will be repeated sometimes even in a doubled size. Isn’t it what is called the wheel of sansara? For us to pay attention to something, God slaps our shoulder at first very tenderly but if we do not hear Him He gives us a stronger slap. But! Each of us is given such trials which he/she can endure! Not more.

This time I will tell you a story about an acquaintance of our friend. It is a very nice middle-aged lady who lives in one of the cities of Russia. There could be a film based on her life experience. I will not go into details and draw the whole picture but already a sketch will give you an idea what I am talking about.

When she was a child, she lived in a Siberian village together with her parents. Everything was perfect: the nature around and the tender feelings between her parents and of the parents for her. It was a really happy childhood. Seeing such perfection around, she was sure (as she now says herself) that all her life would be like this. So, she was waiting for a prince to come and take her as his wife.

Why are we so joyful when someone else does a good thing?

Today my friend and I remembered about an event which happened to the father of one of our acquaintances in winter. Neither my friend nor I know that man personally but we have read in our acquaintance’s blog what a good deed he made.

Her father works as a road sweeper. And he is proud of his profession as he realizes that he helps people (especially in winter) – that is already one good thing about him. One day in winter while working he suddenly saw an owl in one of the snowdrifts of our big cosmopolitan city (the population of which is 2-million people).

The Wedding. Interesting Traditions

True marriages are said to be made in Heavens. But the earthly wedding plays an important role as well: it is a kind of acknowledgement of the new family from the part of society (which is a very important psychological moment for the newly married). And especially it is so nice when no rude traditions (like excessive drinking or fighting) spoil the wedding. One gets such a pleasant feeling when everything happing at the wedding is pure (by the way, in the West the white color of the bride’s dress is meant to highlight purity).

I have visited many weddings (as a guest and as a photographer) but only at the wedding of my friends last Friday I saw what I had never expected to see – an unknown to many wedding tradition.