Tending a tender plant

                                          Tending a Tender plant


             Everyone possesses a kind of inner force that guides him to his life ' path and goal for which he is born. Each one is born with some talent. Some develop slowly. Some when given proper environment, bloom. Some manifest the talent suddenly. Talent may be inborn in some cases where even without proper surroundings, blooming is seen . Precociousness in a child is due to his storage of talent in memory carried from his previous births . Indian philosophy advocates karma ( deeds ) and rebirth  . According to it, man reaps good and bad fruits in this life ( pleasure and pain ) what he has sowed in his previous births ( in accordance with his good and bad actions done by him in his previous births). But human intelligence and reasoning, his unique possession endows him with free-will and limited freedom which gives him mental strength to overcome the bad situations with his personal efforts.So talent can be cultivated. With learning and effort, talent can be developed. Learning can do wonders for people's self-confidence .

As a seed needs rich soil, water and sunshine to grow into a healthy plant giving flowers and fruits.Taking out weeds around is also equally important to accelerate its healthy growth. So does a child needs care and protection from bad company . The capacity to learn is essential in any field. The home is the real school and the parents are the real teachers. In addition to learning in school, parents should provide children with opportunities to learn, explore and identify things in a wider perspective. The child's mind is very pure and unsullied. So it has the capacity to retain the impact of good and bad things that lasts for ever. Visiting museums and sacred places like temple, church and others helps the child to develop a broader outlook towards life in this impressionable age. They create an atmosphere where learning and higher pursuits of life are seen and valuable. Exposure to stimulating surroundings like science exhibition, zoo, flower-show, games, music concerts, trekking, nature-walk, trips to historical places, library especially book-stores will fill his or her memory with useful facts, ideas and interest. Sometimes dormant interest in the child gets awakened . When a child is exposed to a variety of books on different subjects and topics, some may attract the child's interests.instances are not rare. In many cases , children develop interest in geography, history and languages. Sometimes these impressions embedded pave way for choosing a fitting career by the person on his own. Many became famous players in the field of Tennis, Chess, Football etc were inspired by watching their fathers practising and playing in the field in their childhood. Those days and even now apprentices would learn the trade by watching their masters and imitating them as closelyas possible. When Marie curie was four years old she wandered into her father's study and was inspired by all kinds of laboratory instruments for chemistry and physics experiments. She dreamt imagining all sorts of experiments she could conduct with those instruments. This childhood obsession paved way for her career as a researcher on the discovery of radium which won her nobel prize. Thus it seen that the environment sparks a curiosity that is deep. This inward learning connects one to the innate for force and provide clarity and the person will find his way to his career path. In order to master a field, you must love the subject and feel a profound connection to it. Your interest must transcend the field itself. Then the creativity and innovations will become a natural product on its own. Every moment of life will be new and thrilling.


Infact, learning starts when a child is in the womb of his mother. In Indian society, when the child is in the womb itself, pregnant women are exposed to classical music especially stringed instruments, Veena in particular



Scientific researches prove that as a baby develops in the womb , the rudimentary ears appear within a few weeks of conception. By four and a half months, the ears are complete and functional.. Thus for half of its time in the mother's womb, the baby can hear well and respond to sounds, especiall music. Relaxation sessions to melodious music for mother and unborn baby are encouraged. Hearing forms the fundamental basis for learning. The entire ancient scriptures like the vedas were learnt, developed and preserved through listening only.

Hearing in the early months of life is vitally important. In the weeks after birth also, as the young baby detects each sound especially for the first time, it moves its eyes rapidly ( REM, rapid eye movements ) and turns its head, attempting to locate the source of the sound. Even at this early stage, evidence shows that sounds are stored in the brain's auditory memory bank, providing resources for physical and mental co-ordination and intellectual development in later life.

According to Padma purana, Prahlada, the son of Hiranyakashipu , the demon was a learned brahmin and a devotee of Lord Vishnu in his previous birth, and when he was born as the son of Hiranyakashipu, he ( Prahlada ) still retained his ardent devotion to Vishnu.

According to the epic Mahabharata, when Abhimanyu was in the womb of his mother Subhadra, he happened to hear his father Arjuna explaining the art of entering and breaking through Padmavyuha( a peculiar battle array in the form of a lotus ) to Subhadra. Among the Pandavas  Arjuna only knew the art of breaking into that vyuha, killing the enemies and coming put of it unhurt. During the Mahabharata war , when the Kauravas at the advice of Drona formed this difficult vyuha, hoping that Arjuna was away at that time, none of the Pandavas would be able to break through it. Abhimanyu, the brave young boy assured his uncles that he was ready to try, if they only assisted him.He reconnected immediately with his knowledge received when he was in the womb and accordingly entered the vyuha, killed many warriors on the Kaurava side , but could not hold out long against fearful odds, and was atlast overpowered and slain as he learnt only one part of Knowledge namely breaking into the array and not the other part of coming out unhurt from that from his father.

In short, a child is a precious gift from God . An opportunity to tend a child, nourish him with proper surroundings, watch him grow into a healthy, responsible citizen of the world is a blessing and a unique joy in itself. So a child a rare treasure to be cherished.