GOD'S FRESH NEW FARM

 Dr.Madeswaran

6+ year children are the wonderful creation of God. They are compared to new fresh farms. Their mind and is very very fertile with already anagrammed knowledge of many things.

   Without building the compound wall called ''syllabus'' now we need to sown the varieties of seeds of knowledge. Expose the child to maximum level of experiencing the culture, arts, fashions, food, dress, monuments, family setup, friends, all around your town, people, all main sensitive feelings apt to the child's nage level. Be  like a baktha to God.  [ devotee ] . Yes a true baktha just perform his actions without any expectation from God. Like that do all the above things to your kids without any expectation, that they will says it out to others immediately, praise you, study well, write well.

   Today most of us are making them only a computer with information. We are making them as what we need. But a Montessori child is always free to go along its own choice to work.

   Just believe your child. Make them to experience and exercise many feelings and seeds of knowledge to construct the personality. What you have sown in 6+ you can see within them after 25 years.

   Imagine a situation that you are going to a mall. You have purchased a saree [ Indian women dress ]in an exhibition hall. After some days you want to exchange that saree for some other thing ., but when you went that exhibition got over.

   The same example can be applied here. From 6+ till 9 what ever you and the school have exposed alone will be your child. Later if you want them to be some other ''character''...the ages have passed away.

   If you see the great Tamil literature style called ''Pillai thamil'', the hero of the poem will be praised form his birth till his adult age in various ways. The 10 stages of a boy and girl child has been well defined by ancient Tamils and the role of parents were much exposed in those songs.

   In this age ,the exposure and exercise of culture are main. Give  the time and space. How you have kept your home, school, family style, language they  will be anagrammed and seeded.

   Allow the children  to grow by exercising his experiences on his own. Dont do all activities for him and make him a lazy or dull child. Let him do his work on his own. Just be along with them.

Example: My friend's child who is much interested in temples, poojas[religious rituals] have exercised all his learning skills from his area of interest. He learned the colours from the costumes used for idols, he has learned the names of various metals from temple cars, icons, sacred mounts of Gods.

   The boy  has very well learned to do shopping, bargain, decide whether to get it or not just by  being exposed often to temples. He can understand Tamil, Malayalam, English and Hindhi. He is residing in America. He knew all his family members in India. He is a composer. He is a great artist.

   The parents have just exercised the spiritual embryo from pregnancy and living a sacred spiritual life in USA. So parents in abroad do not  say your kids  never follow your Indian culture.But Montessori says, the next most important duty of the parents after pregnancy, delivery is in making the kid to anagram and exercise those seeds of interest all along his child hood to strengthen his perfection. But often our adult mind will be infected with the virus '' my child must live the most comfortable life''. Believe your child , go along with him and allow him to perform his experiences.

Your belief upon your kid is your trust on yourself.

.................................................................................................................IS EVERY CHILD IS AN AVATHARAM[ INCARNATION]:

   Avatharam means ''incarnation''. Montessori says that we all are God's incarnations come to uplift the earth and mankind. Avatharam is the word used for men or women who has  spiritually uplifted and attained perfection in life. All children are seeds of avatharam. But very very few seeds are germinating, others are spoiled by a virus called ''adults''.

   The child of 6+ is very eager  to know many many facts, especially about outer world. Now the child  is no longer your crawling  baby. Nature has made the legs and hands strong to run and walk and brain is more aware and hungry to abstract and exercise.

   So allow the child to move out of the little golden cage of love, and let the child enjoy the nature. The child  need to feel that he\she is not very strange, and pampering angel., he\she  is part of the nature and  must understand that they  need to contribute to mankind.

   We allow them  to play under monsoon rains. They score more goals only when in rains, because of rain. But they will bring extra dress, towels. Every part of the nature has to be experienced by 6+ , let them question about it.

Example: When I was in grade 1 in Virudhunagar, near my house once I saw  an eagle for the first time, gliding very near to land and making sound. I was very much impressed and often started thinking about it .

   Once when my uncle came just for night stay from Coimbatore, I did not allow him to sleep, just I was questioning him about eagles. Those questions, answers and internal exercises are now at the age of 35, have made me to analyze and accept the facts behind Jatayu,Sambathi[2 eagle characters in Ramayana] and uplifted my spiritual emotions towards SreeRama.

So please allow them  to see and feel the nature and wait with patience for their growth.

.................................................................................................................

HE / SHE  IS IN NEED OF EVERY THING IMMEDIATELY :

6+ is the age level, they are growing fast mentally and  physically. So they are in need of all they wanted immediately from us. But in case we cant provide them .

    There are limitations for us based on culture, finance, place etc. But we need to make them to understand why we are not providing them the needs.

Example: When my friend's child  came from USA, he wants to light and experience a big Kerala bronze lamp in his grandparent's home. But the mother stopped it. The child was so sad. Than him I  was sad.

   After some time the mother explained why she refused .The lamp has to be taken from the showcase and cleaned and much oil will be consumed. That night they are also flying back and it takes much work for the old grand ma to clean and put it back. We both have assured that he will be lighting that lamp in his next trip. Then he was also asked to learn and come how to use match box. The boy  left India peacefully.

    Often when I was in a rush for a meeting, or to catch  the school bus in evening, students  will come and say many things .I just spend  few seconds and listen to them It has strengthen their emotions, love and behavior.

   Yesterday when I  was rushing to my director's room, a 4th grader stopped me. '' Tamil sir,do you know that Suren got hurted badly?''[already we knew,we have medicated that Suren] , Then I stood for a second and answered , ''let me come and see Suren after a short meeting.If anything serious just meet your class teacher''.

    This much of humbleness, patience and sense of listening must be there. Dont think that they talk nonsense and fun. No they all are incarnations. They all knew everything.

    We all worship and admire SreeKrishna . He was given the opportunity to evolve as an incarnation, just by allowing to be on his own by Nandha and Yashodha.[Krishna's parents]

  The enormous freedom, choice to exercise and experience given to Krishna have made him as Paramathma.[the ultimate truth]

   Think we all have little Krishnas,  Ramas and  Devies  [female  incarnations in Hinduism ] playing in our hall.

................................................................................................................

OTHER QUALITIES :

*The child  wants to build its own personality by own judgment. When we are the ideal role models, we need not worry about him.

*The child  wants to understand all exercises by itself. We should not be emotional, worried that he/she  is not listening to us. Go along with the child and  guide .Give the child all  the basic guidelines and allow  to exercise all  area of interest.

*The child  learns soon indirectly. Expose many things naturally. Dont preach or dictate. Again you exercise.

    When a new song was taught by traditional way to my  USA friend's boy, he just sang and went to play. After a month he called in skype an started singing the song like as little vidhwan [ genius ]. The mother said that every day she sang during poojas and slowly he too joined and exercised.

*Appreciate and honor and also recognize even  small work. Reward at correct time but dont bribe for extracting work.

    Often we give tokens of appreciation to my friend's kid in proper intervals of time and also we explain why we have given that gift.Now the child  is moving to outer world,  slowly the child  mingles or make his own peer group. The child  follows a leader, frame responsibilities. So now the child  is responding to mother especially., so mothers need not worry. They are no more 2 year babies. Be a hen or mother dog and allow this little chicken or puppy to explore in independence. But just behind them and observe them.

*Spend time with the child, have a natural talk, dont extract all details about all his work, day in school.

*By 8years slowly explain about his-her private organs, toilet habits, hygiene. Tell him-her not to allow strangers to touch them .Make them  aware about friends. But dont blame their friends.

*Often have good social gathering, outing. Make sure the child  knew how to contact you, guardians, neighbors, how to communicate you in emergency.

*Make yourself available at anytime but slowly make the child  to understand areas of restriction.

*It is an ocean to stir and extract the facts of a child. Now for time being I am concluding.

    Let us listen to Dr.Montessori.'' he has an unlimited future which will be decided by himself, but it is polluted by adult's expectations. Answer all his mental needs, do not dictate. Put many choices before him for the satisfaction of his own mental needs.''

Let the 6+ children in our homes evolve as incarnations to lead the future.

    Living with 6+ is the real spiritual exercise. Now we are claer why often Krishna or Devi appeared before bakthas as 6+ child form.

It is very simple ,6+ are God's form.

Thank you!!!