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Parenting Chat with Sat-1.18.25

Conversation with Sat about Kindness-See God-Boring Meditation

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Question 1: Thank You for all Your teachings! I am deeply grateful from the bottom of my heart. Pls help me answer the following question as I am unsure how to approach it to give a deeper understanding. My daughter saw a wasp, which was stepped on by someone and it was suffering. I put the wasp to the side to save it from others stepping on it. But my daughter asked me, “Why are you letting that wasp suffer? It would be better if you could kill it; it’s the kindest act to end his suffering.” A similar event took place after that. What is the best response?

Sat: Well, you know, I don't always have the right answer, the best answer. I would just say, “I'm doing what I think is right. I don't know what is right. I don't know. You make a lot of sense. Yes, it will not suffer, and it dies anyway. But this is the way I feel like it's the best. But if you feel differently, then you act differently because we both had very good intentions. Right?” There is not one right way. We are only an instrument of doing and happening. So I would just agree with her philosophy, hundred percent, but say that's the way you felt. You didn't have the courage to put an end [to it] and maybe this is the way it was supposed to go. But the best thing is to admit to our children, we don't know. It could have gone that way or this way, and I choose this way. So who knows what is best? And that's all I can say on that, because her reasoning is perfect, you know. But again, Me, like yourself, I would rather move them to the side because I don't have the courage to be honest with you. And also, each situation differs from one another, but I'm sure whatever you say is the right thing.

Question 2: In response to how we teach our children about God and spirituality, a mother shared on our call that she asks her child each day, “in what, in who and where did you see God?” We were inspired by this technique and wanted to know if this is something You would recommend for us? We teach our children that they are the light and how to do the Trust meditation. Is that enough? How else would You recommend that we teach our children about God, practically speaking?

Sat: It depends on the parents. If you are a religious person and you grew up with the name of God and you want to teach that God is separate from you (like many people think) and He or She is there to fulfill your desire when you surrender, then you go that way. [But] the best way to introduce God as omnipresent to the young children would be even though God is invisible like air, God is the energy that moves everything and is in everything. And He is silent and He is silence. Seeing God in everything is to teach children to acknowledge the invisible energy that moves them and is in a state of perfection at all times. This is how I did it with My children. So when I would ask them on the way to school, “Where do you see God?” and they would say, “the mountain,” or this, and that, they had a deeper understanding. Or, like I said before, if one of them said, “I see God in a flat tire,” it just felt like he just didn't want to fear a flat tire in the car anymore. So it's not a bad idea to just ask, “Where do you see God?” Meaning that you remind your child that there is a higher power that is looking after you, and it's everywhere.

But it's also beautiful to emphasize the omnipresence of this energy, and always taking it back to the child again and saying, “If you see it in a mountain, you must see it in yourself. You must acknowledge it in yourself, because that's where it is.” In other words, everything that they try to visualize that omnipresent God [in], they should also be able to do that with their own heart. This way it is not another idol outside of them even if they try to visualize it in everything they see. So the most important point that I'm trying to make for the parents, as well as their children, is that we start from within our own heart. We can also say to our child, “You are the light of God, and the light of God surrounds you,” just like Baba says, “then the light of God is everywhere, then can you visualize it in everything you see?” So again, it starts from the heart out, rather than taking this truth and making it more of a worldly experience and worldly knowledge.

Question 3: My son recently asked if everything in this world that he sees and does is real or is it like a dream? I asked him, “Do you think it's real?” And he said, “I think so, but I'm not sure.” I was wondering if You could help guide me on how to talk to him about reality.

Sat: I'm thinking about his age and where he stands. You should say “it is real, because it's all God. It is temporary as a body and mind.” That's all you need to say at this age. Because he is so sensitive, we bring his attention to the temporariness of this world: that people come and go, the situation comes and goes, so he's not affected so much with it. This is true; it is impermanent. But at the same time, he needs stability, and that would be the allness of God, which makes everything real that is invisible and perfect.

Radha: Thank You, Sat. We were worried about how to answer this question because we didn't want him to feel like You said unstable or scared, even.

Sat: I'm glad you said it was your question because there is no one remedy for everybody. We really have to know our children. And, guys, I’ve come to realize that we really don't know our children. We somewhat know their behavior, but we really don't know [them] deep down. So this is why I say, “Watch, watch, watch your child. Watch your child. More than interfering with the child, watch them.” Because this is how we can actually advise them properly and not uniformly. Even with bad behavior, I would accept it in some kids to have bad behavior when I see frustration, because that frustration eventually turns to spirituality. And in some kids, frustration could become meanness, become cruelty. So it's very important for us to watch our children, empty, without any pre- concept or acceptance of any type of ideas.

Question 4: When are children capable of understanding the concept of meditation? Whenever I tell my 11 year old daughter to sit with me and meditate, she says, “it’s boring, it’s just sitting down and doing nothing, etc.” If she goes for a class she doesn’t complain, but if she’s sitting with us and doing meditation, she’s complaining. Is it too early to ask her to do that? How do I explain the wonderful things that come with meditation? Should I continue to do this with her?

Parenting Chat
Jan 18, 2025

Sat: Yea, that's the problem that we say, “Let’s sit down and meditate” or “let's sit down and eat broccoli,” or “let's sit down and watch the program on TV that you are not interested in at all.” Children either have to be interested in the activity or understand the reason for the activity. Again, I've said it before, we don't say, “Let's go meditate.” We say, “Let's have a little bit of silence sitting together in order to calm our body and mind and to see if we can feel the joy and the peace.” And we don't force them, but we make an atmosphere that will affect them, whether they are in the room with us or not. Which means definitely candles, definitely a holy looking area, [and] definitely nice, soft music.

The word “meditation” for children denotes something forceful. So let Me share My approach again. We just went into the Baba room from when My kids were two years old and on. That's when I got to know Baba when My younger child was not even two, [he was] one or one and a half. We always went in that room. This was something the family did. We would go and sit in that room, and they would come with their pajamas joyfully. We would sing and dance, and then we would put music on and tons of candles, and then we would be quiet and they would fall asleep. So it was never a question of, “let's go do this.” We just did what we did before sleep.

Now, because your child is 11, 12 years old and already has her own opinions, and should have, then I would go in there and say, “Honey, come and see the room. Come and see the area. If you feel like it, then join me and we can sing together a little bit, or we can do some drawing or something, and then we'll stay quiet before we go to sleep. And then also, you can explain and say, “When your mind is quiet before you go to sleep, it is like spitting all of the impressions of the day away, and you start the next morning fresh.”

Question 5: How do we explain the purpose of life to kids? Sometimes we discuss God and life with them, but is it too much for them at this point? At some point, I’d like to discuss these things with my children, so they know the purpose of life and don’t get too involved in material life. But I don't know when it’s the appropriate time?

Sat: It is not. It is not. They need to experience this life. They need to experience their destiny. The tools we give are for how to deal with what is to come in their life. We teach them how to let go of fear. We teach them the quality of fear. We teach them the quality of frustration. We teach them how to let go. We don't teach them the goal of life, because, first of all, life really doesn't have a goal to explain. But if you mean the higher, which you do, they need to find their own way. I think by living, not preaching. By giving them tools as the Art of Living, not as a religion, you have equipped them with how to handle life, [and] how to look at life. And because they are our children, they will find their way.

One of My sons came to Me when he was older, and still very young, and said, “Mom, I need to find my own way,” even though he had gone to India many times with Me, and I totally encouraged him. I said, “Absolutely, you go. You do you, whatever it is.” I knew that because I had given them a good foundation, that they would choose something just as good as what they had. To make a long story unbelievable, a situation happened to him when he went to find it and the situation showed him that where he was from childhood with Baba was exactly where he needed to be. But he had to find out on his own. And I was very happy for him to be so independent.

So if we keep talking about the higher goal in life, we're not allowing them to find their own higher goal. But [with] the foundation that the parents on this phone are putting for their children, they have nothing to worry about. Having said that, if the child is really frustrated or has some sort of mild depression or something like that, then we can say that through spirituality you really find yourself, but that's pretty much it.

Question 6: You teach us that with Trust, there is no need to strive, because everything will be provided. I experience this, and I share this with my children, and yet, I also feel it’s important to teach them to work hard. How do I give them both? What is the balance between these two if I should be doing that at all?

Sat: That's a very, very good question. It seems like you either have to be this way or that way and that's not true at all. It’s bringing these two together. And I'm sure that the father or mother who asked this question wants to know how to bring these two together. Whatever you do, do it with Trust. Whatever you do, do it without anxiety because you trust the promise. Whatever you do, don't worry about the outcome of it because you are trusting. The problem is not taking a creative thought about what you are going to create or do in your day to day life; it’s the story around the creative thought, or a thought that can solve a problem, it’s the concern, it's the worry, it’s the fear, it’s the rush, all of that sentiment in the thinking that is not necessary.

And [it’s about] doing anything you are doing with a trust that’s complete; doing it without trust will put us in the middle of [the] contradiction of the mind. In other words, one minute, the mind can say, “I think this is the right way to do your homework,” and maybe another [time] it says, “Why don't you go play instead?” And that carries on in our marriage, in our work and everything we do if we don't remedy it. So just explain that you do everything with Trust; you come up with a feeling that through that trust all is well, all is perfect. And we also need to explain what this perfection means. Perfection has nothing to do with what we are doing. It’s what we are holding on to. It’s the perfection: omnipresent, omnipotent, and omniscient. It is not about the situation, although the situation gets affected by it. It is admitting and standing on the stable ground of God.

Question 7: My daughter recently got sick and she asked me a few times why people have to get sick? I wanted to explain like Most Precious does, but I didn't because I wasn't sure if she could truly understand or really listen. What is the best reply for her?

Sat: Oh, God, that's what sent Me on a spiritual path. Exactly what she said. Why is there suffering? Oh, jeez. It's a very, very good question. I think she needs to find out by herself. She needs to question it more and more. Giving an answer will finish her search for finding out. I would tell her, it’s a very, very good question. Question it more whenever you feel like it, and I'm sure the answer would come from within your own self. And also, when she is not feeling good, which is very irrelevant to her question, emphasize that she can heal herself. She has the capacity to heal herself. If she doesn’t emphasize in her mind about her not feeling good and goes beyond not feeling good to a place of perfection.

Well, it was very nice to hear everyone's care. In the world, not too many people are after finding the true answer, the true way of life. You know, there are so many books, so much advice on Instagram, on Facebook and on the news, dos and don'ts and the only thing I can say is it’s the blind leading the blind. Please go to your heart as a mother and father; all the answers are there. This is what I did, and this is what I encourage you [to do]. Of course on the parenting [call] you take advantage of this time. If you have a question that you could not get an answer [to], I welcome you to bring it. But I just want to also tell you the source of knowledge is within your own heart. Seek it.

And also, once you feel in contact with this omniscient Self that does not order you around, it is a very, very loving, caring source, then you can share it with your children. What I mean by that is, I told Radha and I think maybe a few other people, that you sit down with your child when you want to solve or know something, or solve something in front of you that you need to do as a family. Just sit in silence and see what each of you gets from within, and then compare it with each other so that you create in your household this feeling of going in for a solution, rather than going out. Now, if anybody has a sharing or has their own question that has come up, we have a few more minutes.

Farnaz: Hi Sat, thank You for this time. I just wanted to share something quickly. Last night, we were talking about something, and Mansour mentioned to Shervin that our mind does not have the capability of knowing everything, of solving everything. And out of blue, Shervin said, but the good thing is that we have something else and pointed at his heart, and I feel more and more the impact of You and Your direct advice in our life and in his understanding. I just want to say thank You and express my gratitude. Thank You so much.

Sat: Very glad to hear that Farnaz, thank you for sharing.

Anitha: Hi. Sat, this is Anita. Thank You so much. It's a very simple word to say, because me and Kaira, we received huge blessings from You. And I see a huge difference in Kaira with the life situation we are currently in. I see this little one is keeping very calm and navigating very easily, which was my biggest worry when I took the step. Everything is going well with the grace that we receive from You. When I started this call, we used to argue a lot. Her agitation and frustration used to come up a lot in her way of answering to me. We don't do it nowadays. We live simple. We listen. She runs to me in the morning and asks, “What do you want me to help with?” And then mornings become easier. Even if I'm 5 min late, I’m not allowing myself to be anxious. Thank You so much, Sat, because she is inspiring me in some ways. I look at myself and say, “God I have to learn from her.” So this platform helped me so much to feel this thank You so much.

Sat: Well your daughter, when I look in her eyes she's pretty advanced so yes I'm not surprised that you are learning from her. She has a spiritual background, and I can see it in her eyes. I can see our connection through her eyes and her looking at Mine. There is a kinship between us, an unspoken kinship. So you're lucky to have her.

Anitha: Yes, I struggled to get pregnant, and I believe that she was a gift for me to get to this spot. Thank You so much for all of Your blessings. No words can explain it.

Sat: I'm very happy, Anitha. I'm really happy that what you are experiencing is joyful.

Janani: Good morning. This is Janani. Thank You so much for having me in this call. I'm learning a lot. You've said a lot of things, I have to hear it again. But one of the things that I took today was, “Watch, watch your child.” I believe that I don't know my kid, that is true. The bottom of my heart says I don't know my kids and You said the same. So I should continue to watch my kids rather than interfering with them and let them live their life and give them a good foundation and that starts with working on myself, speaking the answers in me. So, thank You so much for having me on this call and thank You for all the beautiful words You've said today.

Sat: Yes Janani, I'm very, very glad you came because as a parent, it is so important that we guide our children in a more eternal peace and not so much give them dos and don'ts to impress the society. I was not a child that would impress society, but My frustration did me a lot of good. And yes, the reason I want everyone to watch their children more than interference is because their child's soul has gone through many incarnations and reincarnations. It's hard to gauge just by an ordinary way of parenting. They come here to get rid of their weaknesses, not to pile [on] more fear and anxiety. So by watching them, we learn where their weaknesses are, as we watch our own self. You said a very good point that I'm glad I'm on the phone to help myself. By helping ourselves, by knowing how to deal with our fear and hesitation and resistance, then we're equipped to really watch our child and come in at the right time and give them something that they can get rid of their own weakness. This is the arena of waking up: this birth, or any birth. So why waste it?

Janini: Sure. I hope to see You in person one day.

Sat: You're doing very well. Fathers, what's the difference you feel with the understanding you’ve given to yourselves in how you can now deal with your kids?

Vijay: Hi Sat, this is Vijay. I would say there are several big changes for me. For one is that I think parenting used to take away from my own peace quite a bit, because I would leave that silence in order to parent and tell them what to do. And now I'm able to bring that silence more into my parenting, where I'm not leaving that foundation myself. And at the same time, it has more benefit to the kids, because I'm doing less. I'm showing by my example, rather than my words, which weren't really going anywhere. I would give them the same lectures over and over, and I was busy, and I was doing and my mind was moving, and I would lose my peace, and now it's all become one. Parenting has become part of my life, part of my spiritual life, and I feel that the kids are seeing that in me and getting more stability out of it.

Sat: Amazing. Ah, that was beautiful. That was beautiful. Beautiful. Can you imagine how much you took away their peace by hurrying them and doing things and rushing? Now your harmony is giving them peace too; I love that.

Vijay: Thank You so much. I’m still working on it. I still have my moments.

Sat: We all do have moments. But just the fact that you're realizing this and you're striving for more of this than that, it just makes the situation so much more harmonious.

Mansour: Hi Sat Jan. I was not a regular attendant to this meeting for a while. But I have been processing the transcripts and I am reading all the past exchanges and teachings that You provided over time and I'm so grateful to have that opportunity to make up for that. There are so many aspects that I'm learning from You, of course, about my own self, but also about how to apply them to my son. One of the things You mentioned is, as they get older, they're going to be resistant to hearing that they're the light. So just wait for when they are hurting and that's a good opportunity for them to hear that and to exercise that and to see that.

I want to give an example. Just the other day, he was having a panic attack because he was so far behind. It was late at night, and it was really a bad situation for him. I just kind of helped him calm down and to see that none of that fear was him. And You mentioned helping them understand the quality of the fear, the quality of anxiety. And so I was in the context of teaching him math to get him ready for tomorrow's exam. When he calmed down, I said, “See this, you're the same person. You don't have to go with that. You're not that fear.” So many things, so many other things that You've taught us, and I try to put to practice, and they all work so amazing. I am just beyond grateful for all the insight You've given me to apply. So that's what I can share. Thank You.

Sat: Beautiful. Look at that, just a few minutes of talking about fear, you have put a seed in his heart and his mind that will be effective for the remainder of his life. So isn't that better than saying, “Don't fear. Don't fear. Just do your homework.” They have to understand what the quality of fear is and how to release it. And every time a child has released the old impression in themselves, you have allowed that child to experience this divinity. Imagine that.

Mansour: If I can add, before You taught us all these great wisdoms, my only focus was to get him ready for society and just teach him some worldly skills. I mean, I'm doing that too right now. But my focus, thanks to You, and the main agenda is to teach him to understand, to go back to his own self and to experience peace and not make concepts even out of spirituality. Like, meditation is not something we have to do. The other day he said, “Dad, you're going to go to your room to meditate?” I said, “You know all I do is stay silent. It's not some thing that I do.” And he just watches me, and he sees this, and he's learning in action. Just wanted to share, thank You.

Sat: Beautiful. Let me share something very important. When the soul is born in the body, as we all are, I'm talking about these realms, I'm talking about the creation of Earth, the destiny of that child rose. It is not our job as a parent to pull and push this unfoldment of humanhood in them. In other words, pushing them to study a lot or asking them to become a doctor or this and that. This will go whether we force or we don't force. But what they were born for is how to deal with this rolling of the wheel of this cosmic rebirth. So imagine that: that the worldly affairs are already going to happen the way it happens. The only chance we have is how to look at it, how to deal with it, how to advance with the situation at hand. The tendency of a child to study is born with it [or] the tendency of a child not to study. The tendency of a child to become a certain role in life is already there. But what we don't know as a human is how to decrease suffering and pain during this travel. So you, in helping him with his math, it's an ordinary event that, again, it already happens, whether you do it or not, it just happened that you need to do it because you're in the role of a father. I'm trying to explain the importance of what we're doing. It is the Art of Living, not only living in this realm, but other realms. So how lucky we all are to be guided for all of this understanding and the truth of how to look at this situation of life on Earth? By investing in ourselves, which translates into every role that we play, whether it is a mother, father, cousin, grandchild, to someone, it branches out into all the roles we play on this arena of play of God.

Well, on that note, namaste to all of you. Have a wonderful weekend.

Everyone: Thank You, thank You, thank You, thank You.

Parenting Chat
Jan 18, 2025

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