If you want your children to consider the suggestions that you are making, don’t try to discipline them. If it works – if you try to discipline them and it works, unfortunately it means that you have dumb children. If they’re smart, it just won’t work. Really, isn’t it so? You don’t like this?
If they’re just dumb, helpless children, it’ll work. Otherwise your damn disciplining won’t work. Yes, here and there maybe you put your foot down a little bit. But that right also you get only because you’ve built a relationship. You’ve built a very close, friendly relationship – so somewhere, you can use your privilege of being older than them, and put your foot down in a few things.
But you can’t go about disciplining them. You must drop that idea from your mind. Because it won’t work. If they don’t like your discipline – it’s just a few months away that they don’t like you. If – a few years away – they hate your discipline, then you must know that much time away, they’ll also hate you. There is no question about it, isn’t it? So don’t get yourself into that situation.
The most important thing is to provide him [child] an atmosphere which is joyful, loving, and inspiring
The most important thing is to provide him an atmosphere which is joyful, loving, and inspiring. Inspiring him to stand up and find his full potential. If this atmosphere is provided, you don’t really have to worry about disciplining. Discipline will happen by itself. Discipline does not mean control. Discipline means that you’re focused towards knowing.
The word discipline in English means learning, or to learn. So when you say I’m disciplined, that means you’re always willing to learn. That you’re not stuck in some mode. So discipline is not just doing something someway, you’re willing to learn which way to do everything better. If you’re constantly striving how to do everything better, you’re disciplined. You’re just doing something in a particular way, that’s not discipline. If you bring yogic practices into a child’s life, there is no way they cannot be disciplined. Discipline will happen to them.
