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what is right and of what is wrong! Your own life has been a waste, and yet you claim dominion over a small child? You say to him, "I am your father, so whatever I say is right and you must accept it as such." What is your motive? What do you mean by asserting yourself like this? You simply want to turn him into an object, into a thing; you want to kill his sense of freedom, his self-respect.
It generally happens that children who are lifeless, dull and lethargic are praised by their parents for their obedience, and children who are full of life, who are active, who jump up and down, who run here and there are complained about. Then it comes as a great surprise to parents when obedient children turn out to be worthless and the mischievous ones, shine. They shine because they have energy, vitality. They shine in spite of your whole clever conspiracy to control everything around you, to be the master of all.
The seed of love cannot sprout because of this burning desire to be the master, to be the be-all and the end-all. Love is the art of dissolving your ego. If you really love your son you will place your ego at his feet. Then you will not be an egoistic father. Then you will marvel at how your son will reciprocate. As soon as you set your ego aside he will set his aside. Now you will be cooperating with each other.
Before now the son has been feeling sad and troubled; he has just been waiting for the chance to be free. He has been telling himself that soon the opportunity will come, that as time advances you will become weaker and weaker and he will still be a strong young man. Your son will harass you; he will take revenge on you. Then you will think that he has gone astray. But in fact you have only reaped what you have sown. When he was weak you harassed him; now that he is strong and you are weak, he is harassing you. This is the unalterable law of KARMA -- you reap what you sow. If you are not egoistical with your son there is virtually no possibility of his being egoistical with you when you are weak, when you are old.
We have invented beautiful ways to harass one another. On the outside they are very attractively painted, and we
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