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"Oh your baby is sooooo uttterly precious!!! Don't you just LOVE how INNOCENT they are?!"
When your entire lifestyle is lived barely an arm's reach away from an adorable Rinpoche like Dewachen, you get this comment a lot.
i mean, a LOT!
and yes, She is of course utterly precious...as Precious as Precious gets this time around.
and yes, She is of course innocent.
what strikes me is how often that same word is used by so many regardless of their spiritual (or lack thereof) training or religious affiliation.
why, "innocent"?
Innocence seems to be our natural birthright.
and in the Yogic Tradition, Patanjali soars very deep into this very important quality in His Yoga Sutra #4, Chapter 2:
Avidya Ksetram Uttaresam Prasupta Tanu Vicchinodaranam
which, as Swami Satchidananda translates;Ignorance is the field for the others mentioned after it, whether they be dormant, feeble, intercepted, or sustained.
Because babies and small chi-ldren are still fresh from the Formless Bardo, their Atman (Soul Energy) is in-deed, what we can call, Innocent. they are, seemingly, a 'fresh slate'...ready and quite capable to be 'brainwashed' by any form of parenting that their Guides so choose or are capable of imprinting. a simple visit to a small chi-lds playground or gathering will soon elevate these impressions surfacing in the quixotic behavior of the chi-ldren.
However, as chi-ldren grow, so too does their kleshas or inborn dispositions. Babies do not remain innocent. This is obvious to each of us in our own lives. Kleshas blossom or ripen in tune with destiny. Parents - mere Guides of these God-sent Souls - can only provide what they TAF is the most loving, safe, and empowering inner and outer environment for their chi-ldren to soar.
Speaking of Soaring...
ilg has got to go get the Baby Chariot and mountain bikes ready...Ananda and i are cycling Dewa down to another 'preschool interview'...big m(om)ents...these.
Ilg will be right back with more Sutra Study...
May Father Sun stream Divine Light into each and every one of your cells today and may your Sweat be sacred and helpful to All Beings Everywhere...
