“In the tender age of childhood, when everyone is bewildered, one passes ten years. Similarly, in boyhood, engaged in sporting and playing, one passes another ten years. In this way, twenty years are wasted. Similarly, in old age, when one is an invalid, unable to perform even material activities, one passes another twenty years wastefully.” (Prahlada Maharaja, Shrimad Bhagavatam, 7.6.7)

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मुग्धस्य बाल्ये कैशोरे
क्रीडतो याति विंशतिः
जरया ग्रस्त-देहस्य
यात्य् अकल्पस्य विंशतिः

mugdhasya bālye kaiśore
krīḍato yāti viṁśatiḥ
jarayā grasta-dehasya
yāty akalpasya viṁśatiḥ

1. Vague conception of time

“When you were a child, where did you go to school? Was your teacher a boy or a girl? How come you had so many teachers? When you were sitting in school, where was I? Did you know Mommy back then? How come you didn’t know her?”

2. Impatient in growing older

“I want to drive the car. Today. Why do I have to wait until I am older? How long is that going to take? You mean I have to count out the months of the year, and then do that again, for ten times? That is way too long.”

3. Not understanding the value of education

“Why do I have to go to school every day? I have already learned so much. I know the letters and the numbers. I can read words. What more do you want me to learn? How long do I have to stay in school?”

4. Inconsistent with habits

“I brushed my teeth last night, remember? Why do you want me to brush again? I don’t understand. I get so tired. It is like you are trying to torture us. Oh, you mean you brush your teeth every day? That is amazing.”

5. A tendency towards harmful behavior

“I want ice cream. Oh, and get some chocolate, too. What do you mean I can’t have it? Why not? I had it yesterday. It tastes so yummy. It is not good for my health? What does that mean? You are not making any sense.”

…

Prahlada Maharaja breaks it down for us. In modern parlance, we could say he is something like a “straight shooter.” He is not necessarily intruding on the lives of others. He is not going around pointing the finger at everyone. He is not condemning an entire population out of spite, out of envy, or out of a gross misunderstanding.

Rather, if the topic of education should come up, if there is something valuable to say, Prahlada will speak truths that are eternally relevant. The words will make an impact on child and adult alike. The people deputed to provide instruction, the teachers of the community, will also learn a thing or two.

Those words from Prahlada can be preserved for future access. We consult some of those words today and marvel at how something so profound could be produced by someone so young. We don’t know of other five-year old children who speak this way. Even the seasoned adult, whose time with us is diminishing, will likely not cover any of these subjects.

With respect to the period of childhood, Prahlada Maharaja says that the individual experiences bewilderment. They have no idea what is going on. We see this from the time of birth. The infant can express emotions through smiling and crying. They are fully dependent on others. They do not hold a grudge for mistakes of the past. They cannot carry distant memories precisely because their minds are always racing. They move from one activity to the next.

Imagine if we had to undergo the same during adulthood. It is like we would be set back for ten years or more. Everything that we wished to accomplish, the progress we hoped to gain, the furthering of goals – these would have to stop. It is like time freezing, except after ten years it is not like we have become any wiser.

In the same way, the wise person considers all such passages of time to be tragic. The bewilderment of childhood. The many hours spent sleeping. The feebleness associated with old age. There is so much of the life experience that gets used up for activity which is not necessarily profitable.

This is a reality which cannot be changed, but to realize the allotment is to create a sense of urgency during the time of vibrancy. My childhood is over. Whether it was good or not, whether I have fond memories or constantly relive horrific traumas, I am here right now. I am here, today. This is my life. I still have time to make the most of it.

बिगरी जनम अनेक की सुधरै अबहीं आजु
होहि राम को नाम जपु तुलसी तजि कुसमाजु

bigarī janama aneka kī sudharai abahīṃ āju
hohi rāma ko nāma japu tulasī taji kusamāju

“The many past births you spoiled can be rectified right now, today, if you start chanting Shri Rama’s holy name and renounce bad association, says Tulsi.” (Dohavali, 22)

Goswami Tulsidas says that what to speak of this lifetime, but many past births can also be rectified. It is like spending so much time in the darkness only to eventually find the light. Once we reach the position of liberation, through attempting to always remember the Supreme Lord, through chanting His holy names and giving up bad association, it is as if the previous experiences transform in nature. They become purified.

This connection with the Almighty is so potent that it can change the nature of otherwise unprofitable times. Childhood can become a period of bliss and progress through the same connection, which is known as bhakti-yoga. If all of my work is for the purpose of pleasing God the person, then that work essentially merges into transcendence. I do not have to settle for a lifetime of squandered opportunities.

गतसङ्गस्य मुक्तस्य ज्ञानावस्थितचेतसः
यज्ञायाचरतः कर्म समग्रं प्रविलीयते

gata-saṅgasya muktasya
jñānāvasthita-cetasaḥ
yajñāyācarataḥ karma
samagraṁ pravilīyate

“The work of a man who is unattached to the modes of material nature and who is fully situated in transcendental knowledge merges entirely into transcendence.” (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-gita, 4.23)

In Closing:

Not the opportunities squandered,
Where time needlessly plundered.

Bewilderment of childhood found,
Sleep and then illusion profound.

Rather, right now finding the way,
Making the vow today.

Holy names of Supreme to chant,
Purification of past lives to grant.

Categories: the five

Tags: childhood, dailyprompt, life, poem, poems, poetry