38
Generation Gap
keep scolding them, they will conclude that you are a weak person.
They even tell me that their father is such a weakling because he
keeps scolding them.
(P.183)
Questioner : We should not scold them to the point where
it begins to have a negative effect on our own minds.
Dadashri : Scolding with such intensity is wrong. You should
scold them in a make-believe manner, as though you are acting
out a role in a play. In a play, a person will say anything but he
knows from within that it is not real.
(P.186)
Questioner : What should we do when scolding is
necessary but it hurts them?
Dadashri : You should then ask for forgiveness from within.
If you have over-reacted in anger towards someone, go directly
to that person and apologize. And if that is not possible, then you
must do pratikraman from within. Ask for forgiveness from his
Soul. You yourself are pure Soul(Shuddhatma), and you have to
tell ‘Chandulal’, your relative self, to do pratikraman. You have to
keep the two separate. Tell yourself from within that you should
speak in a way that does not hurt anyone. And despite this, if it
still hurts your children, you have to tell ‘Chandulal’ to do
pratikraman.
Questioner : How are we to ask forgiveness if the child is
very young?
Dadashri : You should ask for forgiveness sincerely from
within. With ‘Dada Bhagwan’, your pure Soul as your witness,
you should first confess your wrongdoing (alochana), apologise
for it (pratikraman) and resolve never to repeat the mistake
(pratyakhyan) to the Soul within the child. This will immediately
reach his Soul.
(P.186)