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All blessings of our Guru Paramparā. Good evening, dear brothers and sisters. We gather again to discuss how to educate our young children. Of course, the mother is the first and best teacher. She gives the child loving instruction on how to live, play, and be healthy. Mother is the mother. As Bhagavān Śrī Dīp Nārāyaṇa Mahāprabhujī said, the foundation of knowledge and education begins with the mother and father. We know parents love their children immensely. Neighbors and friends also love our children and contribute to their upbringing. Ideally, one parent should be at home with the children. Parents know this better than I do. Yet, I sometimes see both parents going out to work, leaving the child in another's care for the whole day. Those caregivers may love the child, but it is not the same love parents can give. In many countries, mothers take about a year of maternity leave before returning to work. I recall being in America and visiting a doctor couple—the mother from China, the father from America. They were very nice people. I was at their home with a disciple when the child, about ten months old, began crying from another room. The father went to comfort the child. I asked where the child's bed was. He explained the child slept in a room downstairs while they slept upstairs. They used a monitor to alert them if the child moved or cried. This is modern life. I did not comment, but later my disciple said such arrangements are common in America. By age two, children often go to kindergarten, where caregivers look after them. Parents pick them up after work, care for them at home with feeding and bathing, but the deep, continuous connection can be missing. I heard of a child who later asked, "Who is my mother? I have a mother at kindergarten and a mother at home." The love given is not the same foundational love. The child goes to school, then spends time with friends, and a true family life is absent. We risk a future where children are born but raised in collective homes, visiting parents only occasionally, without developing a deep bond. They miss the essential education of the home. By the 10th grade, a child may become depressed, feeling friendless and unloved, asking, "What should I learn? Who cares for me?" They may refuse to go to school. I was once asked by a parent: "My child is depressed. There was not enough love or play with friends. What should I do now?" My answer is clear: the solution lies with the mother and father. If you have grandparents, they can help. Parents working is acceptable, but if a child of four or five comes home to play alone, it is a problem. Once a child grows distant and defiant, it is very difficult. Children are intelligent and willful. We must take care of them from the beginning. When asked what to do now, I suggest seeking help from the school or a private tutor. The best approach is for a parent to spend one and a half dedicated hours daily with the child, teaching and bonding. If a tutor is needed, a female teacher is often best, as women possess a motherly understanding. For a boy of seven to ten years, a female teacher can be very beneficial. When a child is depressed, it is not just about academic teaching. The teacher should talk with the child, tell stories, and provide emotional support to alleviate the depression. Male teachers are also very good; there is nothing wrong with that. The point is to place your child in the care of a compassionate teacher at home who can offer parental-like love and knowledge about the world, play with them, and help them feel relaxed and happy. The child will then become eager to learn. This is the best way, but we should strive to keep our children close to us as much as possible. In this world, everyone seeks money. A husband's income is separate, a father's is separate. Observe nature. Look at animals—a dog, goat, horse, or cow. Their young ones instinctively seek their mother. From birth until about two years, the baby, whether male or female, stays close to its mother. The father also loves the child deeply. At home, if the father is with the child, the child is happy. But when the mother returns, the child's joy is immense. If the mother is home and the father returns from work, the child runs to him, asking if he brought something. This is the natural dynamic of father and mother. When the child is at home, we should spend at least one to two hours with them, sharing stories and conversations. I remember my own childhood with my mother, father, brothers, and sisters. Every parent loves their child, but often the child is given to another while the parents work for money. Similarly, our school teachers are very good. Children should listen to and learn from them. As years pass, children study and engage in games like football, swimming, and running, which open their minds. They develop hobbies, which we should support in a positive way. Nowadays, many people worldwide, including children, are drawn to yoga practice. Parents who practice yoga often involve their children, who enjoy it very much. Thus, we come to yoga. There are two aspects: the physical practice of training, and the deeper understanding of the aim of life. Every parent works hard to educate their children, funding their studies through to university. This is great. But modern life is different. In my youth, a schoolmaster told parents: "I know you love your child very much. But I tell you this: do not give pocket money to your children. When they need something, you provide it—clothes, etc. But if you give pocket money, I fear it may lead them astray." Children with money might buy cigarettes or experiment with other things. A percentage of young people in schools want to test things. Some have money; others do not. Those without pocket money feel depressed, thinking, "My parents don't give me anything." They might then take cigarettes or, worse, drugs. By the grace of God, I never took drugs. This is not because our teachers, schools, or universities are failing. In class, they do not provide such things. But children are clever. They might go to the bathroom for ten minutes and, hidden somewhere, take something from a piece of paper. Within five minutes, they return to class, sitting dazed. This destroys young lives. We have seen many such cases. It is very hard to raise children well. Consider the tree behind me. It has a branch growing in a certain direction. Once it has grown, I cannot twist it back without breaking it. Some branches grow down, some up, some sideways. Similarly, if we try to force or "twist" our children, they may become angry with their parents for life. In earlier times, parents were at home, playing and working with their children. Families practiced their religion, going to church or temple. In a similar way, yoga and a yoga teacher can provide guidance. It is not easy. If a teacher instructs them, they may listen. Some people come to yoga or a guru with the feeling, "I know I have not lived rightly, and I will now follow this path." What is a guru? A teacher. That is the language. Your master. What is a master? The guru. It is the same. We impart the knowledge and philosophy of every country, for each has a different culture. Many people come to yoga; they are not dependent on their yoga teacher or guru. Many wish to return to the right path. Many who drank alcohol or smoked cigarettes give up these habits, become healthy again, and understand something about their life. Thus, a yoga teacher is like a teacher for your little child. When you delve deeper into spirituality, you follow a teacher who guides you away from wrong paths. Sometimes, when children do not follow their parents, other teachers can guide them back to the parents' values. They need not go directly to the parents, but they impart such knowledge that the child realizes, "Aha, this is life." My dear, we are all learning until our last breath. In India, we have Sarasvatī, the goddess of knowledge. We pray to her in our schools. In other countries and in Christianity, they also have prayers in school, though in big cities this practice may be fading. The divine Goddess Sarasvatī holds a book in her hand. This is not an ordinary book; it symbolizes knowledge, like the book "Yoga in Daily Life." A great person from India, who owned a large newspaper company, once visited me in Europe. We were in Hungary together during the communist era, staying in a nice hotel. In the morning, we met for tea. He pulled a very old, half-page newspaper from a cupboard. I remarked that the paper was old and perhaps not clean. He said, "No, I cannot sleep without learning something, even from an old paper. I may have read it before, but reading it again might give me new knowledge." Before sleeping, do not drink alcohol or engage in trivial things; instead, read a paper or a book. That is why, in hotels across Europe and other countries, you often find the Holy Bible and the Śrīmad Bhagavad Gītā. I do not know about the holy books of other religions, as I cannot read them, but they are also great. Every country, culture, and religion provides such books. Muslim children, both girls and boys, learn diligently. We sometimes see this on television. Knowledge is the mother Sarasvatī. It does not matter by which name you call the divine. When you go to sleep, read just one page. For example, I will read a little: Siddhi Pāna and Bhagavān Kīja Jaina Siddhi Guru, Ātmā Paramātmā, Omātmā, Puruṣottama, Sakala yāga ke yantra, jamī, cāra, acāra kī ātmā. Naba roop vyāpo sathya yāpo vimala chetan ātmā. Dūna dhyān yāge yāgam jāge nigam se nitya yātmā. Pār se parvān yāge pratit ho adhyātma. Nirādhar ho ādhar ho aisa ho avichal yātmā. Alakadeva ajabseva brahma beva ātmā. Sunseho Par Prabhujī, Sākṣī Śuddha Ātmā, Dharādhyāna Soham Munimoham, Sukhasvarūpa Sahaja Dhyātma, Gurū Dīpa Ho Paranam Sayar, Āp Hī Paramātmā, Surat Kar Gurū Dhyāna, Dharasī Bhav Dukh Setarī, Ātmā Śiv Ānand Bole, Āratī Gurū Dev, Nirguṇa Mātmā. Singing such bhajans and prayers before sleep ensures that good thoughts fill our minds throughout the night. In Rajasthan, the person with me was named Kulishjī Kapur Janjī, a great and learned man. His son is also very great and learned. He accompanied me to conferences in Australia, Austria, Hungary, and other countries. It is said that it does not matter what is written, only the essence. Consider the two figures: Nārada Ṛṣi and Janaka. If you think of Nārada Ṛṣi before sleep, you may dream of beauty and knowledge—of Lakṣmī and Sarasvatī. I may speak of Lakṣmī tomorrow, but for today, this is enough. Śrī Dīp Nārāyaṇa Bhagavān. Oṁ Namaḥ Śrī Prabhu Dīpa Nārāyaṇam. Oṁ Namaḥ Śrī Prabhu Dīpa Nārāyaṇam.