Childhood is measured out by sounds and smells and sights, before the hour of reason grows. It is a world of miracle and a kingdom where nobody dies. A child is a gift of God. The ecstatic bliss we endure while watching these innocent faces cannot be expressed in a simplistic manner.
But what about those angels who mellow before their age? These are simple beings with acute thoughts. They are the flowers which bloom before time. ‘Manpreet Singh’ of Akal Academy, Ratia is one of those children who have proved that tiny brains do have bigger thoughts. His views and reasoning over life is very different from the children of his age. He is a kid bestowed with blessings of the Almighty and endowed with eternal values. He affirms the famous saying- ‘Simple living, high thinking’. His positive attitude towards life is wonderfully shown in his article. The beautiful message of ‘Sharing and Caring’ which he conveys through his write-up might seem very mild but it has a strong and deeper meaning. He has beautifully summed up his essay by saying “Jeda vand khanda hai, oh khand panda hai” meaning ‘Who shares with others gets sweets in return’.
In today’s contemporary world, where everyone is busy with their hectic schedules and running behind their insane desires, very less people are bothered to transmit spiritual values and moral virtues in their children. In the era of play stations, movies and video games, the children are not at all interested in even knowing the harsh realities of life. Discrimination is in every sphere. Though it may be society or may be in any profession. The talks about equality are actually all vague as the only thing people really have in common is that they are all going to die. In the world where no one is free the prejudices and pride, this young chap of grade 3 talks about ‘sharing and eating together’. The moral values and eternal thoughts are dissipated from our society and neither our today’s education system is interested in getting children aware about these basic manners and etiquettes. Formal education is given more importance than Value based education.
We are startled to see children like Manpreet from Akal Academy, Ratia which is under the aegis of The Kalgidhar Trust – Baru Sahib, with such serene and innocent thoughts even today. They show that humanity and benevolence has not been vanished away from the hearts of people yet. Being harsh and mean will not take you anywhere. We are limited in the amount of help we can give to others. It is far better to help a soul come closer to God- than all the help received. Living for others is always better than living for yourself. A vision of an equal and uniform world from these baby eyes might be unbelievable but not impossible.
Therefore, Victory is not won in miles but in inches as we should not follow where the path may lead, instead go where there is no path and leave a trail.
~ Gurleen Vedi, BA (Eng.), Mata Sundri College For Women,
~ New Delhi, 26th June 2013
