Page 13 - NAMAH-Apr-2019

Namah Protecting innocence

at all ages and it is completely under your others from the Sri Aurobindo community
control. Behaviour is a neural network. You do too. Educational pieces are for spreading
can change it any time. Look at your past awareness, which is not measurable. So,
carefully. Did you complain to your teacher sometimes I feel impatient for change —
when a classmate tried to steal your fancy such as the issue I am going to discuss here,
pen, or eyed your tasty lunch? Did you do for example. To me it seems of the highest
that when you were an adult? Instead of pen importance.
and lunch, maybe these were shirt and shoes.
Didn’t you understand where these needy A child’s growth in the first three years is
people came from? You gave away your old crucial to his entire life. The Mother was
clothes, donated to charities, gave your maid discussing this in 1967, in the Agenda, when
a puja bonus. So that is change in your human the scientific evidences were just coming in (1).
nature. Did everybody else change in the Mothers fondle their babies — it’s an instinct.
same way? No, some are still complaining But what are the effects of not nurturing a
to the teacher. Now find out what triggered child in the early stages of development?
that change in you. Surely not ignorant Human mothers could not be used for this
enthusiasts who analysed the situation poorly cruel experiment, so monkeys were used in a
and applied stopgap fixes. Maybe it was an series of controversial experiments conducted
elder’s advice, a living example, maybe a by Harry Harlow in Wisconsin, USA, in the
story or a film that inspired you. So, now 1930s. He isolated a baby monkey in a cage
you have an answer for the sceptic. And you with two artificial mothers. One was a cloth
have an invitation to engage with life, with rag, the other a wire frame that oozed milk.
the problems that are happening around you, The baby went to the latter when hungry,
if not to you directly. Because every sickness but clung to the cloth rag otherwise. The
in society has an effect on us: social animals. experiment done, the monkey was released
A disgruntled person becomes the criminal to socialise with the others of his species.
who destroys your happiness, and you pay Here is where the controversy deepened.
taxes to keep him locked away in a prison. The baby monkey ran to the rag doll and
But since the root cause was not addressed, tried to hide in it. Some babies used in the
the next disgruntled man is getting ready for experiment became aggressive. They did not
the next criminal act. have any empathy and could not function
in society. Humans are social animals who
Writing and documentary-making and supp- need to be acclimatised to society when they
orting activists are the genres of activism I are born. They need human touch, caresses,
practise. But to have a quick and direct words spoken to them — everything that
impact, a policy-maker needs to be involved. I comes naturally to loving people. War orphans
would hope some day my work would reach from Eastern Europe adopted by American
them. I am a follower of Sri Aurobindo’s and households soon found out they were not
the Mother’s teachings and a psychology loved. Children born in prisons, allowed
student; I have been working in technology to be cuddled by their mothers, grew up
for many years. I would like to participate healthy, but these orphans ended up in
more closely in policy-making, or at least wish mental institutions.

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