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Namah Evolution Next — XV

of the hour, and an inner quietude attentive past or adopting a few others while keeping
to the Divine Guidance within. some of the core issues intact. It is as if the
very core has been shaken. It is not just the
What can therefore be presented are only way of dressing or the outer behaviours that
tentative possibilities, possible ways of have changed; it is the way of thinking and
dealing with children as they grow through feeling and looking at life and relating with
adolescence. But each child is unique and it that has changed or is changing fast. This is
one has to feel for the deeper truth of the the challenge. But as if inadvertently adding
child. The uniform and standardised way of to the confusion, the past generation is either
dealing with each child as a similar unit is completely discarding the new, often making
redundant. Each child is in fact unique and little or no attempt in trying to understand
it is as important to preserve and even foster what is happening in them. This is only
this uniqueness as it is to help the child grow widening the gap leading to more problems
into certain universal values. In fact each rather than finding a way to resolve them.
universal value itself will adapt differently in Half the problem is solved when we look at
each child. For someone courage may mean it rightly and understand it. However we
facing a difficult external situation, for another are rushing to solve it without even trying
it may mean acknowledging a mistake, for to understand it! Secondly, what makes
yet another conquering some habit and so on things worse is that we focus on how to get
and so forth. These universal values are in rid of the negatives rather than inculcating
everyone and it is helpful to appeal to them the positives. Of course, granting that our
in our discussions with growing children. understanding and evaluation of the ‘positive
That is of course, provided we ourselves are and negative’ are right. In nature we see the
practising the values we wish to see in the two are so beautifully interwoven with each
child. That is a big ‘if’ indeed since all our other with a deep purpose, when we see the
words will fall flat and only create disrespect larger picture. But we have the immediate
in the child if we do not practice what we concerns of a ‘limited being’ and know
preach. Children and adolescents see through neither his unique past nor the far-off future
us much more easily than adults do. They are and start setting right what Nature or God
still not conditioned to the ways of the world has willed. After all, what do we really know?
that encourage hypocrisy and duplicity.
Besides there are many things that we term
Universal values as negative but which may actually be the
reverse side of a good and positive quality.
One of the things that is happening as a result of For example stubbornness, tendency to revolt
the confusion is misunderstanding between against authority, going against the grain of
the generations. This itself is not uncommon social and other norms, challenging external
and almost every generation in history authority figures such as parents, religious
has faced it. The difference however is the priests, etc. may all be wonderful things in
rather big gap that has taken place. It is no the making. Rightly oriented, they may be the
more a question of the younger generation making of a great reformer or a discoverer. So
challenging and dropping a few values of the too many things that we take to be positive

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