Generation Gap

Author(s): Dada Bhagwan
Publisher: Dada Bhagwan Foundation

Page 49

became very upset and started scolding me. Such scolding is inappropriate. We should show respect when they leave. After that, a little girl was born to us and she too died in infancy. She also received the same welcome and farewell. Now there is no one left except Hiraba (Dada's wife) and myself. (P.360)
and tell Him that you are placing your child in His hands. Ask for his salvation and your child will be cared for. Do not allow yourself to shed any tears. Being a Jain, you should know the prayers for the departed soul. It will do you no good to break down emotionally, it will only bring suffering to your loved one that has departed. You are wise and you are intelligent, so whenever you think of your son, pray for his salvation. It does not matter whether you pray to Krupadudev (a Gnani Purush) or Dada Bhagwan, because although their physical bodies are different, there is no difference between their souls. They may appear different to the eye, but in the elemental form they are the same. And the same would apply when you say your prayers to Lord Mahavir or Lord Krishna. You should repeatedly pray for the salvation of the ones with whom you shared joys and sorrows during their lifetime. You have such good intentions for others, so why would you not do the same for your own family? (P. 353)
After this, Hiraba would worry about who would look after us in our old age, since we had no children. I told her that the children of today only cause more trouble than what it is worth. I asked her what she would do if she had an alcoholic son. She realized later on that what I was saying was true when she witnessed the problems other parents had with their children.
Can anything that does not belong to you ever become yours? Your worries are unfounded. Even when your own body does not belong to you, how can your children belong to you? (P.362)
Questioner: My only son has alienated himself from me.
Questioner: Dada, how many children did you have?
Dadashri: We had a boy and a girl. In 1928, when the son was born I celebrated his birth by distributing pendas (sweets) to all my friends and when he died three years later, I did the same thing. At first everyone thought that another son was born to us. I waited until they finished the pendas and then I told them: "The little boy who was a guest in my house, has now left." We greet them with love and respect when they come, so we should do the same when they leave. Everyone
Dadashri: Even if you had three sons, they may have done the same thing. And if not, you yourself would have to leave them one day. Even if you all lived together, you would still have to leave them one day. So why bother about it? What about the children you left behind in your past life? Do you know where they are?
Questioner: God only knows.