Transforming from Being Childish to Being Childlike - Swami Dipankar writes

Part of being a spiritual soul is always retaining childlike tendencies and nature. It’s the notion of acting on your heart, and your heart always responding to situations as a child would. This does not necessarily mean immature responses, it simply means that you respond without the conditioning of the material world. Because they are not limited in their beliefs, children often have an easier time with spirituality and lack the clouded thoughts that adults tend to suffer from. The prideful attributes that often come with physically maturing in a material world are very hindering in spiritual practices. This is why it’s incredibly important to always be childlike in your spirituality. 

When it comes to spirituality, it’s important that you distinguish childlike from childish. Childish behaviors hinder maturation at all levels, especially spiritual. To reach spiritual maturity you must detach yourself from the black and white thinking that the material world usually operates in. Spiritual maturity does not necessarily coincide with physical maturity, as every individual is on a different spiritual path. This is why it’s common to see younger people with incredible spiritual maturity and awareness, while many older people are just beginning their journey. Neither one is inherently wrong or right, it’s just important to acknowledge that physical and spiritual maturity are two entirely different things.

Spiritual maturity is a long path and full maturation is typically thought of as the state of reaching spiritual enlightenment. Enlightenment is the uncovering of the absolute truth that most individuals are unable to see.

This is due to the fact that the majority of people cannot comprehend any reality past their own. Another aspect of spiritual maturity is true self-acceptance. When one reaches a state of full self-acceptance, you will also realize that your journey of learning never truly ends. Enlightenment and spiritual maturity are a constant journey. Self-exploration and pursuing the absolute truth, all while maintaining your childlike self, is no easy task. 

Reflect on your childhood passions and the way you viewed the world when you were a child. Chances are you had no limiting beliefs and felt free to be passionate about whatever brought you joy. As the material world gains grip on individuals as they age, childlike tendencies are stomped on and given negative connotations. Conformity is the way society teaches individuals to act. Having differing thoughts and ideas can cause you to be considered an outsider, which is less than desirable for most individuals. However, if you feel left out, it is only because you weren’t surrounded by the right people and situations in the first place. Sometimes it takes a brutal reflection of yourself to determine if you’ve moved away from your spiritual path by leaving your childlike tendencies behind. Remember your childhood wonder at the simple joys in life like how each snowflake is unique or dancing in the rain? Reflect why you don’t value these things as much as you used to and what changed. How did societal expectations weigh you down and inhibit your spiritual growth?

There’s a reason spiritual individuals are still thought of as outsiders in society. If everyone was enlightened and didn’t feel pressured to conform, then the whole world would change. The foundations of society as we know it would crumble. People would begin to question authority, and the material world would start to collapse.

While it’s not our individual civic duty to change the whole world, we can change the way we act and view the world, which may just inspire other individuals to do the same. We must use our past childlike attributes to further our own spiritual journey and eventually attain a state of enlightenment.

Swami Dipankar is a meditation guru and a social reformer. He is also the founder of the Dipankar Dhyaan Foundation an NGO that aims at promoting Vedic teachings. He is currently working on the GreenAgain Campaign, an initiative to raise awareness for environment conservation.