Уроки Бхагавад-гиты: как воспитать эмоционально устойчивых детей

The Bhagavad Gita has long offered guidance on dealing with emotions, challenges, failure and difficult situations. Although it is not explicitly concerned with parenting, its ideas may serve as guidance for raising emotionally strong children. Some of its timeless teachings can be applied to parenting, helping children develop patience, confidence, self-control and the ability to handle life’s ups and downs. Here's a look: (Photos from Shutterstock) The Bhagavad Gita advises not to get fixated on results but to focus on the process, thus getting the results as a byproduct. Parents may use this lesson to teach their children to appreciate the journey, the preparation and the acquired skills regardless of the final grade, mark or achievement. It will help the kids not to be devastated by one failure and underwhelmed by one success. The Bhagavad Gita advises to be even-minded in success and failure, pleasure and pain, victory and defeat. As parents, one should teach the children to enjoy their successes, be it grades, achievements or rewards, without becoming arrogant and accept failures without despair. It is important to make them understand that both can be devastating if not properly dealt with, hence the necessity to appreciate the former and view the latter as a learning opportunity. The Bhagavad Gita teaches control the mind rather than let it control you. By extension, as parents, you can teach your children to become aware of their minds. That means acknowledging their thoughts and emotions without getting overtaken by them. You can explain to them that their feeling of anger, for example, is normal, but it is their actions that have the power to make them look bad. The lesson can be used to teach children to recognize their emotions and to give themselves time to deal with them before reacting. The Bhagavad Gita advises recognizing that happiness and sorrow are transient; they come and go. Parents can use this piece of wisdom to help their children deal with disappointments and let go of minor inconveniences. It is important to validate the child’s feelings without reinforcing them, allowing the kid to accept the reality without letting it affect them for too long. Emotionally strong children are not emotionally numb. The Bhagavad Gita teaches cultivating compassion, which allows one to be kind, gentle, humble, and forgiving. As a result, children who are emotionally strong are likely to be less aggressive and violent, less selfish, and more considerate of others and their feelings. The Bhagavad Gita strongly advises not comparing oneself to others and following one’s own path. Parents should be careful about not shaming their children for being different from their peers. Every child is unique, which means that they can be good at different things and achieve varying levels of success. Parents should encourage the kids to strive for personal improvement rather than comparing themselves to others and feeling inferior or dissatisfied with their own lives. The Bhagavad Gita advises to cultivate fearlessness and self-discipline. As parents, one can encourage the kid to master these virtues on the individual level. It is important to recognize that they can be flexible, depending on the situation, and to make the child understand that there are times for boldness, self-improvement, and action, and the times for reflection and introspection.