Child Guru - Freedom from Ego

Krishna: "(gesturing toward young ones running freely in a field) Watch the children playing, Uddhava. In them, the avadhuta found one of his most profound teachers."

Uddhava: "(skeptical) Children? They know nothing of philosophy."

Krishna: "And in knowing nothing, they embody everything. Observe: the child plays intensely, totally absorbed. Then hunger comes, and immediately all play is forgotten—the child runs to eat. Full belly, and back to play. No lingering, no carrying forward. Each moment complete in itself."

Uddhava: "(thoughtfully) They have no attachment to outcomes."

Krishna: "None. A child builds a sand castle with absolute concentration. Then destroys it with equal joy. No mourning for what was created, no anxiety about creating something permanent. Adults would say, 'Don't destroy it! We worked hard on that!' The child laughs and begins again."

Uddhava: "There is a freedom there."

Krishna: "A freedom most adults have lost and must laboriously recover. The child has no reputation to protect. It will sing off-key without embarrassment, dance without skill, speak without filtering. There is no ego monitoring for social approval."

Uddhava: "But is this not also ignorance?"

Krishna: "A happy ignorance, perhaps. The child doesn't know that society judges, so it cannot fear judgment. The sage, knowing fully that society judges, has transcended the fear through wisdom. Different paths to similar freedom."

(Uddhava watches a child stumble, fall, cry briefly, then resume playing with immediate joy.)

Uddhava: "The child does not hold grievances."

Krishna: "The most remarkable quality. A playmate pushes the child; moments later, they are best friends again. No resentment stored. The mind is clean slate, constantly wiping itself fresh. How many adult conflicts persist only because parties cannot forget?"

Uddhava: "This quality seems to fade with age."

Krishna: "It fades as 'I' and 'mine' solidify. The child says 'my toy' today and forgets the toy exists tomorrow. The adult says 'my property' and remembers it, defends it, worries about it for decades. The sense of possession grows heavier with time."

Uddhava: "Can we return to this state?"

Krishna: "Not by becoming childish—that would be regression. But by becoming childlike—that is evolution. The sage who has worked through all philosophies arrives at a simplicity that resembles the child's. Spontaneous, unaffected, present."

Uddhava: "What specific qualities should we cultivate?"

Krishna: "Fearless self-expression. Absorption in the present. Quick forgiveness. Easy joy. Light relationship with possessions. And perhaps most important—the ability to begin fresh each moment without the burden of past narratives."

Uddhava: "The child creates no stories about itself."

Krishna: "No victim stories, no hero stories. Just presence. When the child is hungry, it cries. When satisfied, it smiles. No editorial commentary: 'I'm always hungry, nobody feeds me properly, I've been suffering since yesterday...' Just the honest experience of now."

Uddhava: "(smiling) So the simplest beings teach the highest truths."

Krishna: "Creation is generous with teachers. The child walks among us, radiating lessons. Most adults are too 'wise' to learn from children. The avadhuta was wise enough to be humble."

(The children's laughter echoes across the field, unknowing teachers offering their curriculum of joy.)