Srila Prabhupada on Child Abuse

BY: PRIYA SAKHI DEVI DASI

"Now the thing is, children should not be beaten at all, that I have told. They should simply be shown the stick strongly. So if one cannot manage in that way then he is not fit as teacher. If a child is trained properly in Krishna Consciousness, he will never go away. That means he must have two things, love and education. So if there is beating of child, that will be difficult for him to accept in loving spirit, and when he is old enough he may want to go away—that is the danger. So why these things are going on - marching and chanting japa, insufficient milk, too strict enforcement of time schedules, hitting the small children? Why these things are being imposed? Why they are inventing these such new things like marching and japa like military? What can I do from such a distant place? They should run and play when they are small children, not forced to chant japa, that is not the way."  (Srila Prabhupada on child abuse)

There have been so many issues, but we should remember that a society that mistreats their children is a sick society. These children are going to be the hope of our society but not if their remembrances are so full of abuse, mistreatment, hate, etc. Srila Prabhupada wanted a society in which everyone could live except our children????.

Myself, I joined at 15, so I understand their suffering. My best friends are some of these gurukulis, how they have suffered. Let protect our kids. Srila Prabhupada will be so happy.

Yours in the service of the Vaisnavas,

Priya Sakhi dd