Developing 'Mint Grade' Khalsa: From Birth, for a Lifetime

Dear Prabjot Kaur Ji,

The difference in the mental make up you have refered to is because of the prevailing body chemistry. Harmones is the blood and neurotransmitters in the brain. This will definitely influence the child to be born.

Knowing that we human are driven by the body chemistry, the individual can repeatedly tell itself that it is not normal, I should not get emotionally stressed, I should not feel stressed, I should be able to concentrate on Nitnem. The cortex of the brain will listen to these commands from you and if you have developed adequate linkage with it, it will initiate the counter measures to reduce the causes that makes the individual feels frustrated and irritated. It will no go away totally, but it will deminish; the extent will depend on the level of your own control over the mind. Our Guru Sahib had such a control over their mental faculties that he did not show any evidence of pain when he was made to sit on the hot plate with hot sand being poured over him.
Reference:: Sikh Philosophy Network http://www.sikhphilosophy.net/sikh-youth/1166-developing-mint-grade-khalsa-birth-lifetime.html

I hold the view that all this is science; the soul of the baby to be born is not controlling the behavior of the mother.

The behavior of the mother is controlled by what she eats, what she thinks, what she does and how she is affected by the environment around her. It is also true that during pregnancy the length of the fuse is terribly short, small provocation can disturb her. This not her normal behavior; it is because of the body chemistry of the lady at that time. All who are around her should show due consideration to it; it is in the interest of the family.
Reference:: Sikh Philosophy Network http://www.sikhphilosophy.net/showthread.php?t=1166

With love and respect for all.

Amarpal

 
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Dear Khalsa Ji,

With ‘The Sat’ willing, today I share with you my views on ‘Developing Mint Grade Khalsas’ based on my studies and learning in my life. What I know, I will share with you all in many small posts.

In the last 3 posts were (i) Introduction; (ii) Would be Mother; and (iii) The Baby to be Born.

In this post, I share with you my learning about the ‘New Born Baby’.

4. The New Born Baby:

As pointed out earlier, the baby’s travel from the cozy environment of the womb to the real world is scary and arduous. Fearful and sometimes starved of oxygen the ‘New Born Baby’ experiences our world; the family has the responsibility to soothe the discomfort and feelings of fear arising out of it. This can be achieved if the ‘New Born Baby’ does not receive any sustained dose of discomfort making its ordeal at the time of birth a matter of past.

The networking of neurons in the brain now starts at a high speed based on what the ‘New Born Baby’ experiences. We human cannot directly control this networking, but can influence it indirectly. Designing an adequate environmental interface for this ‘New Born Baby’ is what is needed. The intent of the design of this interface is to make the ‘New Born Baby’ feel that nothing much has changed for it and things are fine. While designing this interface one has to depend on what the child is already familiar with. We also know that the ‘New Born Baby’ does not have the ability to analyse and goes only based on feelings that get generated based on the inputs it receives through its senses, this should be made use of to stabilise the ‘New Born Baby’. How to do this is elaborated below.
Reference:: Sikh Philosophy Network http://www.sikhphilosophy.net/showthread.php?t=1166

4.1 Feeling of comfort - room temperature:

The temperature, of the space in which the child is, should be almost the same, which the child had experienced in the womb. With this done, on this account the temperature, the ‘New Born Baby’ will not feel that things have changed for it. Room temperature is one factor that will instill feeling of security in the child.

4.2 The sense of vision - room illumination:

The baby’s world in the womb was not very bright. Whatever light reached that world was through the mother’s skin to which the baby was used to. The ‘New Born Baby’ has still to learn to adjust its eye muscles to adjust the aperture in the eye. For this reason the space in which the ‘New Born Baby’ is kept should not be too bright. It is good that during the initial period the ‘New Born Baby’ sleeps a lot so the brightness may not be very big problem, but it will be a good idea to have adjustable illumination for the initial period when the ‘New Born Baby’ gets introduced to its new environment. The illumination level can be progressively increased as the ‘New Born Baby’ learns to control the muscles that help in effective adjustment in the eye. The illumination level can be as much as the mother needs when the ‘New Born Baby’ is sleeping.

4.3 The senses of touch, and smell:

In the womb the child felt supported all over. In the world in which the ‘New Born Baby’ finds itself this feeling need to be given through make shift arrangements. The ‘New Born Baby’ should be wrapped with s soft clean cloth. Whenever the ‘New Born Baby’ is taken in hands, the whole body should be fully supported. This feeling of support the ‘New Born Baby’ gets from the sensors in its skin that sense the pressure resulting from the contact.

The number of individuals that handle the ‘New Born Baby’ should be minimum as the ‘New Born Baby’ is not used to variety. Mostly it should be the mother who should handle the ‘New Born Baby’. This is useful for emotional bonding.

The emotional relationship of the ‘New Born Baby’ with the mother starts with the bodily contact between the two while feeding the baby. The body odour of the mother plays an important role for the child to identify her. The discomfort resulting from hunger that the ‘New Born Baby’ experiences and its satiation get associate with this special feeling of touch and smell that the baby experiences. The ‘New Born Baby’ starts recognising the mother as the solution for its difficulties. This emotional relationship grows as the child learns more and more through its mother.

Physical contact is very important for the feeling of security for the ‘New Born Baby’. Traditionally, in India, this contact is provided through the so call ‘oil massage’, which is given to the ‘New Born Baby’ almost every day. The resulting feeling of security allows all the systems of the body of the ‘New Born Baby’ to work at maximum effectiveness and the baby grows ay its maximum potential. It must be kept in mind that the contact through the cloth is not as comforting to the child as compare to the contact of bare skin. The contact where the child feels the body warmth of the mother is also very soothing to the child.
Reference:: Sikh Philosophy Network http://www.sikhphilosophy.net/showthread.php?t=1166

All human contact with the ‘New Born Baby’ should be gentle and smooth. Rocking movements should be avoided for this initial period till the ‘New Born Baby’ starts feeling at home with its new world and develops confidence in those who handle it.

4.4 The sense of hearing:

As mentioned earlier, the baby in womb had been hearing all the sounds that reach it through the body of the mother. Prominent among these are mothers heartbeats and mothers voice. If in a noise free environment, the mother had been talking repeatedly the same thing to the baby in womb, then this tone and rhythm too becomes familiar for the baby to be born. The baby to be born also registers any soothing, soft music (Kirtan) that is played in absence of other audio disturbances. These are extremely important linkages of continuity in the life of the ‘Baby to be Born’ and the ‘New Born Baby’. These help the child to feel the same sense of security that it had felt while in the womb even when it is no longer in that cozy place. Their importance should not be underestimated.

Mother should repeat the same words in the same tone and rhythm; the soft music (Kirtan) should be played at low volumes. Though the sounds as heard by the ‘New Born Baby’ will not be exactly the same that ‘Baby to be Born’ had heard that reached it thought mother’s body, yet the rhythm and the tone will by very similar to the lure the ‘New Born Baby’ into a sense of security. This is a very important interface that provides a real continuity.

The ‘New Born Baby’ should not be exposed to loud or harsh sounds. They should be protected against the sound of crackers and blaring loud speakers.

With this initial stablisation, the ‘New Born Baby’, having successfully established relationship with the new world, crosses the transition phase and becomes the ‘Learning Baby’.

This post I close here.

With love and respect for all.


Amarpal Singh

Dear Khalsa ji

Few months back I read a book regarding pregnancy it was from One of my friend working in paediatrics (child specialist) . It was really a nice book and it is really amazing that it also covers many things as Amarpal ji is telling us. Personally I liked the book very much I would recommend it more specifically to mothers in western culture because as book tells you many things it also gives scientific reason and explanations which make it more plausible to western rational mind setup


The Secret Life of the Unborn Child
Thomas Verny, MD, with John Kelly
Synopsis ©1998 by Meryn G. Callander

By creating a warm, emotionally enriching environment in utero, a woman can make a decisive difference in everything her child feels, hopes, dreams, thinks, and accomplishes throughout life.
Reference:: Sikh Philosophy Network http://www.sikhphilosophy.net/showthread.php?t=1166

Verny is a pioneer in the field of pre- and perinatal psychology, a father, and psychiatrist in private practice. Here he presents a wealth of research indicating that the unborn child is a deeply sensitive individual who forms a powerful relationship with his or her parents--and the outside world--while still in the womb.

While it is widely believed that the human fetus is a blank slate, lacking true sensation, emotional affect, or even the ability to feel pain, pregnant women through the ages have intuitively known what scientists have only recently discovered: that a mother's unborn child hears her voice and senses her love. The unborn child has significant sensory capabilities. He can see, hear, and feel.
Reference:: Sikh Philosophy Network http://www.sikhphilosophy.net/showthread.php?t=1166

For example, by the fourth month after conception, the unborn child has a well-developed sense of touch and taste. He can perceive a bright light shining on the mother's abdomen; if the light is particularly bright, he will lift his hands to shield his eyes. At five months, he will react to a loud sound by raising his hands and covering his ears. The unborn has the capacity to perceive and remember sounds of speech, to recognize a story heard repeatedly in utero, and to recognize his own mother's voice. He has formed the brain structures necessary for learning, and even awareness, sometime between the 28th and 32nd weeks of development.

Prenatal psychologists see the very core of human personality forming in the womb. Studies show that this personality formation takes place through intensive communication between parents--especially the mother--and the unborn. We know that most of what a mother eats, drinks or inhales is passed through her bloodstream into the body of her baby; maternal emotions are transmitted physiologically as well. Stress hormones travel through the mother's bloodstream to the fetus, inducing the same stressful state in the unborn child. Babies respond not only to a surge of adrenaline, but also to mother's behavior. When she pats her stomach, talks, sings, or dances, the unborn child knows that mother is actively there. Communication also occurs on the psychological plane, with baby responding to mother's deepest thoughts and feelings. This does not mean that every fleeting worry, doubt, or anxiety a woman has rebounds on her child. What matters are deep persistent patterns of feeling, such as chronic anxiety or a wrenching ambivalence about motherhood. On the other hand, thoughts infusing the baby with a sense of happiness or calm, set the stage for a balanced, happy, and serene disposition throughout life.
Because a child is the product of an unhappy marriage or the baby of a cool, ambivalent, or even catastrophic mother does not necessarily mean he will develop an adult case of schizophrenia, alcoholism, promiscuity, or compulsiveness. Nothing about the mind is that neat. But the womb is the child's first world. How he experiences it, as friendly or hostile, does create personality and character predispositions.
Verny also presents research indicating that the role of father is much more significant than generally accepted. His support is essential to the mother's--and thus, to their child's--wellbeing; what affects his sense of commitment to the marriage most deeply, is if and when he begins bonding with his child.

Profound parental and environmental influences also occur during and immediately after birth. The newborn responds best to gentleness, softness, and a caring touch--as distinct from bright lights, electrical beeps and the cold, impersonal atmosphere often associated with a medical birth. All this means that a mother's ability to remain calm during her pregnancy, to communicate a sense of love to her unborn baby, and to orchestrate a joyous, positive birth, contributes immensely to the emotional and physical health of her child for the rest of his life.

Fascinating research, replete with practical implications.

It is really surprising to note that the "Khalsaa " can be graded like this.
The word Khalsa itself carries lot of meaning.Did we ever had any such system of grading of Khalsa advocated by Guru Gobind Singh ji.?
Reference:: Sikh Philosophy Network http://www.sikhphilosophy.net/showthread.php?t=1166
I feel most of us may find the concept facinating but I feel differently.
Reference:: Sikh Philosophy Network http://www.sikhphilosophy.net/showthread.php?t=1166
We should understand the essnce of the concept from within Gurbani too.
These are my personal views only not intended to negate any bodys efforts.
Prakash.s.Bagga

It is a good idea but all khalsa should be the best there is without being graded like hotels or judo enthusiasts as examples to their fellow Sikhs and to the rest of humanity as Sikhs/people who are honest/reliable/trustworthy who willbe there for you be you Sikh or non-Sikh without discrimination..Just this Singh's humble opinion on this
Reference:: Sikh Philosophy Network http://www.sikhphilosophy.net/showthread.php?t=1166
Reference:: Sikh Philosophy Network http://www.sikhphilosophy.net/showthread.php?t=1166