SHOULD CHILDREN BE BRAIN WASHED WITH SEX, RELIGION, CASTE?

by Dr. Leo Rebello

written on 2nd August 2008

Brain washing of children in the name of sex, religion, caste etc. is very much
being discussed day-in and day-out. I would say let us deal with solutions.

I have suggested to the Education Ministers that religion and caste column should
NOT be there in school admission forms. It is here children learn to discriminate
on the basis of religion and caste. It is here that children of lower caste learn
to be servile and children of upper caste learn to dominate and discriminate.

I did this experiment more than 22 years ago. When I went to admit my elder son
Ronald in a Christian missionary school. I wrote Religion NA, Caste NA. The
Fransiscan Brother who knew me well said: "Dr. Leo, I can understand your writing
Caste NA (being Roman Catholic), but if you say Religion NA, then why are you
seeking admission in the Christian Minority School". I replied, "Brother,
education is a fundamental right of every child. Admit my son in general category.
He will not attend the Sunday Bible study classes as the moral studies lessons in
the school text books are good enough". Then he said, the Educational Authorities
may object. I said refer them to me.

In 12 years that my son Ronald was in over 100-year old St. Francis d'Assisi High
School (12,000 boys) in Borivali, Mumbai, no educational authority asked me any
question. Then my son took admission on his own in Nuns-run Nirmala Niketan
College of Social Work, Bombay. And repeated the same thing. He got admission
there too and graduated magna cum laude from there and no one discriminated him.

In my second son Robin's school/college too we have NOT entered Religion and Caste
columns. If their colleagues asked them questions on religion they replied:
Humanitarian, on Caste: Intelligent Human Being.

My wife is a Parsi. I have not converted her. I did not baptise my two sons, nor
vaccinated them. I stopped going to Church some 35 years ago. My wife too does not
go to the Fire temple. Our children too did not go to any temple to pray, except
visiting them like they would visit a Museum or a Mall, to see the exquisite
architecture and what goes on in the name of religion in the shopping complex
called temples (I am using the word temple as any house of worship).

Early in their lives we replied to our children's questions simply and kept the
slate of their minds clean.
Question: Where God lives?
Answer: In your heart.

Our second son's teacher taught him in 2nd standard that English is a powerful
language.
So, the next question from Robin: Our God must be powerful, na?
Why? Because our God speaks English. Maya's God speaks Marathi, Sadiq's God speaks
Hindi.
I asked him who is your God? Jesus Christ. I said, who told you that? Teacher.
But we told you that God resides in our heart.
Robin: sorry daddy, I forgot that.
Okay, remember in future. And remember that God is only one and he speaks all
languages.
And no language is superior or inferior; it is only a medium of communication.
Only the language of the Heart, namely, Love is powerful.
In 3rd standard his teacher taught Robin: there is blood in the heart.
Now Robin was worried. He came home running and panting. Mummy, Daddy, God knows
swimming?
Why that question?
Because you said God resides in the Heart, and teacher said that there is blood in
the heart.
Now if God does not know swimming will he he not drown?
I understood Robin's concern and it also showed that he could think rationally.
Then we introduced both our sons the concept of Omnipotent (all powerful),
Omniscient (all knowing),
Omnipresent (all occupying).

One day, Robin came out of the bathroom halfway tying a towel around his waist.
Teehee, is God in the bathroom too?
Yes, sonny, everywhere, means everywhere.
Were you doing some mischief in the bathroom? God can see everything and through
him parents can know everything. Were you playing with your bird in the bathroom?
When he replied, there was no bird to play in the bathroom, we knew his innocence.

Simple questions, simple answers make teaching and learning a pleasant exercise
for both the educator and the learner.

Wash up the brains of children with the detergent of innocence. Don't put garbage
of religion (dogma), caste or any other ism there. Don't even teach them about
sex, as then promptly they start playing with condoms (pun intended) because
messages like "You get HIV through sex" and "condom protects", "for safe sex use
condoms" create promiscuity.

Our experiment has influenced many parents and teachers, priests and scholars.
Teach your children to see the seven colours of the spectrum simply. Universe is
vast, and it is India that gave the Vasudhaiv Kutumbakam (world is a family) idea
to the world. So, there is no room for religion, caste, dogma or ism in universal
education. From a frog in the pond, learn to fly like a lark in the limitless
azure sky. Let your children too fly freely. Presently the education system clips
their wings, puts them in various cages. And that is why, even though Man was born
free, everywhere he is in chains.

Best wishes
Dr. Leo Rebello
World Peace Envoy
International Association of Educators for World Peace
Mumbai
www.healthwisdom.org
Tel. 91-22 28872741