Seeing God in your child

As parents, you should feel that your children are dear to you precisely because God is inside them. Again, you should feel that you are dear to your children because God is inside you. While you are talking to your children and trying to discipline their lives, you have to feel the presence of the living God inside them. The way to feel the presence of God inside your children is to feel His presence inside yourself first. Then it is easy to see the presence of God inside others. If you maintain your own divinity within yourself, then no matter whom you see, that person will be a projection of your own divinity.

Unfortunately, most people do not feel the presence of God inside themselves, let alone inside their children. They look upon their children as their possessions and feel that they have every right to mould them and guide them according to their own sweet will. But if you can feel that you love your children precisely because God is inside them, then there will be a spontaneous flow of divine love going from you to your children. At that time, your children will feel that you have something special to offer.

Of course, when your child smiles, you really do see the presence of God in him. But the moment he screams and does a few undivine things, at that time do you see God there? No, you simply say, "This is my fate. This kind of God I do not want." This moment you will see something divine and the next moment you will see only imperfection and say that God is not there.

But from the spiritual point of view, it is very important to try to see God inside your children. When you speak to your children, you have to feel that you are offering your love to the Inner Pilot in them. When you are giving them wisdom, you have to feel that between you and your children there is somebody who is a bridge, and that is God. You are loving your dearest ones precisely because God the eternal Love is inside you and inside them. You are showing compassion to them because the eternally compassionate Source is inside you.

So in all your actions you have to feel that you are offering your soulful service-light to the Supreme in your children. Before you feed your children, think of the Supreme. While feeding them, say to the Supreme, "O Supreme, I am offering this food to You." Then, each time you do something for your children, ask the Supreme inwardly to do the same for you. When you feed your children, say to the Supreme, "You also please feed me, since I am Your child." At that time the Supreme will definitely feed you spiritually. And after you have fed your children, when they are quite happy and peaceful, pray to the Supreme to^ feed you once again. In this way, even though you are feeding your children only once, the Supreme is feeding you three times. Why is He feeding you? Because you are crying for His inner food.

The Supreme should always come first in your life. When your child gives you a smile, do not feel that you have achieved the highest. Instead, feel that you are a child of the Supreme and when He smiles at you, when He is pleased with you, only then do you get the greatest joy. When you get something from the Supreme, you have to feel that that is the only thing you need. Once you get it, then you can give it to your children, to your husband, to your near and dear ones. Everything that you want to get, try to get from the Supreme, and then give it to your dear ones. If you try to get something from your children, you will only bind yourself.

To gain access to the Supreme and to increase your receptivity to the things that He is offering you, you have to learn concentration, meditation and contemplation. If you are a mother, easily you can find time to meditate, provided you are willing to do first things first. Early in the morning, before your family wakes up and you have to enter into the hustle and bustle of life, you can offer a few seconds to God. If you know that at a particular hour your children will demand food and other things from you, then you can easily get up ten minutes earlier. If you know that at six o'clock they may create problems for you, then you can get up at five-thirty and meditate in secret, like a divine thief.

There is a world of difference between praying and meditating for your children and then taking care of their earthly necessities, and only taking care of their earthly necessities. Please do not feel that you are taking proper care of your children if you are only meeting with their outer necessities. And please do not think that if you spend hours with your children, pleasing them in their own way, that they will be spiritual. If you want your children to become spiritual, you yourself have to be spiritual. You have to pray and meditate and you have to teach your children how to pray and meditate. Anything that is good you have to teach your children. It is also better for the family to meditate together if it is possible. Then there will be a real family feeling. As you eat physical food together, so also you can eat spiritual food together. Spiritual food is prayer and meditation.