Becoming as Little Children

Taming the mind is fraught with paradoxes. You have to give it all up to have it all. Turn off your mind. There is a place in you beyond thought that already knows— trust in that. Jesus tells us that unless we become like little children, we cannot enter the kingdom of heaven. That child mind, sometimes called beginner’s mind in Zen, is the innocence of pure being, of unconditional love.

Dass, Ram; Das, Rameshwar (2013-08-01). Polishing the Mirror: How to Live from Your Spiritual Heart (p. 6). Sounds True. Kindle Edition.

Childhood is a mixed bag.  Yes there is a basic innocence, openness and trust but there is also impulsive, ego-centric desire.  When Christ suggested that we become like little children I’m pretty sure he didn’t mean become self-centered little bastards.  Few of us can remember that we came into this world from a place of purity and innocence and that our true nature is unconditional love.  Our soul-essence becomes compromised by this world early on in life, in fact, almost immediately.

From the Yogic perspective we understand that we have entered this life – entered into these limited body-mind vehicles – because we were impelled by previous karma.  We come already loaded with the software of ego and attachment.  However, that ego-attachment is not who we are.  The deeper essence of our being, known as Atman, in Yogic terms, is never really contaminated by our conditioning.  We know it as the inner witnessing awareness.  It is the presence of God within us.

As little children we were in contact with this deeper aspect of our beings.  Because we are creatures of desire the world has easily seduced us out of it.  We have identified with our egos and have fallen into the world-dream.  When we start to awaken karma has less significance for us.  Karma only pertains to the ego. 

“Becoming as a little child” is a metaphor and can’t be taken too literally.  Otherwise as we reach old age and need diapers we might think we’re closer to the kingdom of heaven.  As Ken Wilber pointed out we have to distinguish between pre-rational and trans-rational modes of being.  Spiritual awakening requires self-discipline and the ability for mature reasoning.  It also requires that we transcend these at the appropriate stage.