Living in this dog-eat-dog world with abundant problems, I sometimes wish to become a child again, reliving those carefree days with no responsibilities and pampering from all.
Adults are burdened with the duty of running their families and even their countries that have democratic rule. The atmosphere, to a large extent, is such that many are tired of the antics of some politicians who consider it their birthright to rule over others and amass wealth in the shortest possible time. Corruption in public life has made many honest people shun the field. As a result, they are ruled by undesirable elements.
The idea of the innocence of children is so widespread that it has been the theme of numerous popular stories for years. One tells us of conmen who convince a king that they are dressing him with a unique material that is invisible to normal eyes. They go through the motions of dressing the naked king with this wonder fabric. When the elated king parades through the streets to show off his dress, his subjects, out of fear, nod their heads in agreement and praise the dress, but a child who is not afraid of the king shouts that the king is naked!
Another story of a dreaded criminal describes how innocent he was as a child. As he grew up under unfavourable circumstances, he became a hardened criminal.
Children have a prominent place in the scriptures of all religions. They are recognised as innocent, not sullied by the negative forces that change a person unrecognisably during life’s journey. The young Shri Krishna has many more worshippers than the grown-up one. The Bible says that the kingdom of God belongs to children. Psalm 127:3 states that children are a gift from the Lord and a reward from him. Mathew 18:1-5 says, “Truly I tell you unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.”
Even animals seem to recognise children as harmless and treat them at par with their young ones, feeding them their milk with love. There are many stories of human children, like those of Mowgli and Tarzan, the central characters of numerous movies, brought up by animals in the wild.
As children, people had the licence to drop their dirty linen at any place they liked for washing. They enjoyed plucking mangoes from trees belonging to others, who reluctantly let them off, saying they were just children. They could ask their mothers to prepare dishes they liked without worrying about the bills.
Children who commit heinous crimes that would attract severe punishments if committed by adults are let off lightly by courts of law, who try them under separate laws and send them to rehabilitation centres with the hope that they would reform.
The grown-ups wishfully remember their school and college days when they had no responsibility except studying. They had the best of everything, even no fear of corporal punishment from their teachers. All their requirements were met by their parents. They even envy those afflicted by the rare disease of stopping to grow mentally while their physical growth is normal.