2nd PUC On Children English Poem Notes Question and Answer Summary

2nd PUC On Children English Poem Notes Question and Answer Summary Guide Extract Mcq Pdf Download in Kannada Medium Karnataka State Syllabus 2025 on children poem summary on children poem class 12 on children short summary 2nd puc on children summary kseeb ಆನ್‌ ಚಿಲ್ಡ್ರನ್ ನೋಟ್ಸ್‌‌ kseeb solutions for class 12 English poem 3 notes 2nd puc english notes ಸೆಕೆಂಡ್‌ ಪಿಯುಸಿ ಇಂಗ್ಲಿಷ್‌ ನೋಟ್ಸ್‌ 2nd puc english poems summary pdf.

Poem Name : On Children

Author Name : – Kahlil Gibran

Comprehension 1 (TEXT BOOK)

1.And a woman who held a babe against her hosem said, “Speak to us of Children.” And he said: Here ʼheʼ refers to

Ans: (b) the Prophet

2. Your children are not your children’ means

Ans: (b) the children should have their own space.

4. “They come through you, but are not from you’ means

Ans: (a) though parents give birth to their children they do not own them.

5. According to the prophet, what may be given to the children?

OR

What can be given to the children by their parents, according to the prophet?

OR

According to the prophet, the parents may give _________ to their children.

According to the prophet, only our love may be given to the children.

6. ʼtheir souls dwell in the house of tomorrow’ means

Ans: (a, c) – children belong to the future/children have a different vision of life.

7. ʼThe bows’ and ‘living arrows’ refer to ________ and ________.

Ans: parents and children.

8. ‘For even as He loves the arrow that flies, so He loves also the bow that is stable.’ Discuss the contrast between the words underlined.

In the last four lines of the poem. Gibran uses the metaphor of archer bow and arresto explain the role of parents in bringing up children. In this metaphor God is the archer the parent represent the bow and the children are the living arrows. Like an archer, God hends the bows trong them for stability to aid the arrows as they try to reach their destination “It is the archer who decides the target, which is marked upon the path of the infinite, and He bends the parents (bows) with his might that His arrows may go swift and far”.

Children are lite’s longing for itself and it is the parents who serve as a passage for them to come to the earth. Once they are born, it is the parents responsibility to see that the living arrows (children) reach the intended target which has been decided by the archer himself. Each arrow is ready to fly but the bow must be able to withstand the strain or pressure caused on it and remain stable or firm so as to enable the arrow to reach its target. The arrows have to fly and the bow has to be stable because the bow must be flexible enough to bend according to the will of the archer This contras berween the role of the arrows and the role of the bow is brought out in the last line of the poem is the word ‘flies’ which refers to the arrows and stable which refers to the bows.

Comprehension II (TEXT BOOK)

1. Why does the prophet categorically state Your children are not your children?

OR

Your children are not your children: How is this statement relevant with reference to On Children? Explain.

OR

Your children are not your children: Why? What does the prophet mean by this?

OR

Your children are not your children: How does the poet illustrate this truth in the pom On Children?

According to Kahlil Gibran, love occupies the most important place in God’s creation Low not created by us but is sent from above and it directs everything in our life as it sees fit. In this poem Gibran illustrates haw love works in the intimate relationship of parenthood. Gibran wants t understand that our role as parents is only stewardship and nothing else.

In the line ‘Your children are not your children’ Gibran tells parents to be aware that a chui not a thing to be possessed by us because we have not created ‘life’. A child is eternal life itself and a gift from the abundance of existence. As parents, we may have brought them to the earth. This happened so because we have been chosen to be a vehicle and so we are nothing else but a pa It is life’s longing for itself that brings children to earth, as sons and daughters Since children are ileless things, we cannot possess them. That is why the prophet categorically states that ‘Your children are not your children’.

2. What does the metaphor of bow and arrow signify with regard to parent-children relationship?

OR

What do the bow and arrow signify in the poem ‘On Children’?

OR

How is the parent-child relationship brought out using the metaphor of bow and arrows?

OR

Bring out the significance of the metaphors ‘bows’, ‘arrows’ and ‘archer’.

OR

“Parents are bows, children are arrows and God is the archer.” How does the poem ‘On Children highlight these images?

OR

‘On Children’ refers to children as arrows and parents as bows. Exploin.

In his sermon on children, in the first part, Gibran explains to parents how they should take care of their children as ‘stewards. In the last part of the sermon Gibran uses the metaphor of the bow and the arrows to help parents visualize their role in bringing up children In this metaphor, God, or the supreme power, is the archer, the parents are the bows and the arrows are the children.

The archer uses the bow only as an instrument to send the arrows to their target. The archer decides the trajectory and the target on the infinite path and pulls the string with all his might. As he pulls the string, the bow has to bend and yet withstand the strain and pressure caused by shooting the arrow. The bow should not snap in two.

From this metaphor, it becomes clear that parents serve only as an instrument or as a vehicle to help the arrow fly to its destination and parents cannot own them.

3. According to the prophet, what attitude should parents have towards their children?

OR

How does the poet describe the responsibility of parents in the poem ‘On Children?

OR

“The poem ‘On Children’ talks about the responsibilities of parents”. Discuss

Kahlil Gibran tells the parents that they are not the owners of their children. He argues that children have come to this earth as Life’s longing for itself and are born as sons and daughters and they are not created by parents. Hence, parents cannot possess them. Parents should consider themselves as ‘stewards’ and their role is only stewardship. Gibran wants parents not to look upon their children as their puppets and so not to impose their religion, politics and ideas on the innocent children. Parents may give their own love but not their thoughts, because the children have their own souls. They have the free will to do as they please and have a mind of their own. They are free to think for themselves. Parents merely act as ‘guiding lights’ for their children. They have the will to act as who they are and lead their own life and not how their parents want them to. The children have their own future, parents belong to the yesterdays, but children belong to the tomorrows. We should anly give as much love as we can and should let them grow according to their own potential. We may strive to be like them but we should never thrust our past on them. We should resist the temptation of making our child a carbon copy of ourselves.

Comprehension III (TEXT BOOK)

1. In this poem, ‘parents’ could stand as a metaphor for

a) In the poem On Children’ by Kahlil Gibran, ‘parents’ could stand as a metaphor for the older generation. The poem could be taken as a dialogue between Almustafa, the prophet, and the older generation. As advised by the prophet, the older generation must understand that the children of this generation are born with life’s longing for itself. They have their own souls. Therefore, the older generation must only strive to protect their bodies until they become adults so that they grow up as mature individuals and fulfill god’s mission for which they have come to this earth. The older generation should not indoctrinate the younger generation to lead a life as their parents like because the souls of the younger generation dwell in the house of tomorrow which the older generation cammot enter. However, their duty is to make the younger generation realize that they have been sent to the earth by god to fulfill their mission.

b) Similarly, parents’ could also be taken as a metaphor for leaders. As leaders, they can only protect their children physically, until they come of age. They should not compel them to accept their Ideologies and live to fulfill their mission. On the contrary, the leaders must understand that their souls dwell in the house of tomorrow, and hence the ideas of the older generation leaders will only talor them backward. But the leaders also are god’s children and have been utilized by god as his instrument to send the children to the earth. Therefore, they must see to it that they protect the younger generation until they grow and become mature individuals. They must also be made aware of god’s purpose in sending them to the earth.

c) The word ‘parents’ could also be taken as a metaphor for religious heads. The poem can be taken as a dialogue between the prophet and the religious heads. The religious heads are also children of god. They must realize that god wants them to protect their children when they are young and lead them in such a way that the children should have full freedom to obey the yearnings of their souls. Religious teachers should not force their children to obey and accept their ideas of god and his creation. They must only make them realize that as children they have been sent by god to this earth to fulfill god’s mission. Like his obedient children, they must be made aware that they have to fulfill god’s mission on this earth.

d) Similarly, the word ‘parents could be taken as a metaphor for teachers and the poem could be taken as a dialogue between Almustafa, the prophet, and the teachers. The teachers must understand that they are expected to serve only as guardians and protect their children until they grow up and mature into fully grown adults. As teachers, they should only make them aware that they have come down to fulfi god’s mission. Teachers should not think that they should punish and make them do what he or she likes On the other hand, their only job is to see that they are taken care of physically and are given complete freedom for their souls to grow and mature and understand god’s mission in sending them to this earth.

2. In the light of the poem, think of different levels of freedom children must have in shaping their lives.

The parents must understand that God expects them to work as guardians to protect their children physically until they grow up and mature and realize god’s wishes.

In their childhood, instead of getting overly attached to them, the parents should treat them like guests in their homes. They must love and respect them. They should help create an environment conducive to their growth and see that they grow and remain physically, emotionally, intellectually and spiritually healthy. All round development is important.

Care for their mental health is equally important. Parents can do this by creating an environment allowing the inborn talent and goodness of the children to blossom. Children are not born bad, the environment makes them so. Therefore, it is necessary to create a healthy environment for the children at home, in school and in society.

Parents should not treat their children as their puppets but shower their love as much as they can and take good care of them as we do to someone who is given to our charge. Parents should take care of their needs only and should not impose their thoughts and ideas on them.

The parents superimpose ideas, thoughts, and even their pride upon their kids. Instead of imposing philosophies and thoughts on the children, they should give them love and create an atmosphere for their inner talents to flower.

As they grow into adults, the parents must exercise all the more patience and give them the freedom to take their own decisions and let them do what they like for a living. They must also strive to make them aware of the pitfalls in their path if they choose the wrong path.

Finally, when they attain a marriageable age, parents should not influence their decisions by highlighting their lineage or wealth or caste. They must allow full freedom to love and marry a girl of their choice.

3. The poem ‘On Children’ does not focus merely on the lives of children but also talks about the responsibility of parents. Explain.

The poem ‘On Children’ is a sermon on parents. It does not focus merely on the lives of children but also talks about the responsibility of parents. In the first part, Gibran argues that children take birth as life’s longing for itself. Since we do not create children, we cannot possess them. However, Gibran argues that parents do have a role in the life of children. He says that we should give our children as much love as we can but never our thoughts. The children must be let free to think for themselves, and parents must not thrust their ideas on them. Next, Gibran talks about the responsibility of parents. He states that God is the archer, and parents are his bows. The archer decides on the target, bends the bow to suit his target and shoots the arrows. The arrows are the children. Thus, the archer wants the parents to serve as his instrument. If the bow remains rigid and inflexible, the arrows may not reach the desired destination. Therefore, as parents, it is our responsibility to be flexible enough to allow our children to live their own lives.

ADDITIONAL QUESTIONS:

I. Answer the following questions in a paragraph of 80-100 words each:

1. How, according to the speaker, should parents look upon their children?

According to the prophet Almustafa, parents should never believe that they own or possess their children. They should behave as though their role is that of being guards and/or ‘stewards: Parents should not treat their children as their puppets but shower their love as much as they can and take good care of them as we do to someone who is given to our charge. Parents should not impose their thoughts and ideas on them because our children belong to the future whereas we belong to the past generation.

2. How should parents raise their children, according to the speaker?

OR

How should parents take care of their children, according to the speaker in ‘On Children?

OR

What attitude should parents have towards their children?

Almustafa tells parents that they can only act as ‘stewards’ and their role is one of ‘stewardship’: parents should not treat their children as their puppets but shower their love as much as they can and take good care of them as we do to someone who is given to our charge. Parents should take care of their needs only and should not impose their thoughts and ideas on them. They should not do so because our children belong to the future whereas we belong to the past generation.

3. What are the views of the Prophet on parents and children in the poem “On Children?

OR

How does the speaker describe the characteristics of children in ‘On Children? Explain.

OR

On Children’ refers to children as arrows and parents as bows. Explain.

According to the Prophet, a child is a gift from the abundance of existence and it is eternal life Itself. Children are born as sons and daughters as ‘life’s longing for itself. Parents do not create them and hence cannot possess them. Parents serve as a “passage’ or vehicle to bring their children into this world. Further, children have their own thoughts because they have the free will to do as they please. Whereas parents belong to the yesterdays, their children belong to the future. The children will have their own scriptures and saints; hence parents should only give them as much love as they can and not their thoughts. Parents should not thrust their past as an inheritance on their children but should let them grow according to their own potential.

Gibran uses the metaphor of archer-bow-and-arrows to explain the role of parents in bringing sup children. In this metaphor, God is the archer, the parents represent the bow, and the children are the living arrows. Like an archer, God bends the hows testing them for stability to aid the arrows as they try to reach their destination. “It is the archer who decides the target, which is marked upon the path of the infinite, and He bends the parents (bows) with his might that His arrows may go swift and far”.

4. How is the parent and children relationship brought out in Kahlil Gibran’s poem ‘On Children’?

OR

“The poem On Children’ is about the relationship between parents and children” – Describe.

In his sermon On Children, Gibran assumes the persona of Almustafa and speaks to the people with the Intention of enlightening them about ‘children’ and guiding them as to how they should bring up their children.

First, he says that ‘children’ are born to fulfil the longing’ of life itself. They are a gift from the abundance of existence. God, the supreme power, uses parents as a vehicle or passage to bring children to this earth. Since parents do not create life, parents do not own children. They may house their bodies but not their souls. Secondly, children have their own souls and are not non-living things. Therefore, parents cannot possess them as puppets. Life’s longing for itself brings forth children in the form of sons and daughters. Hence, our sons and daughters do not belong to us though we have borne them. Thirdly, since parents bring children to this earth, they should also take care of children as ‘stewards’ and protect them, taking care of their needs until they grow and mature and become fully developed individuals, Parents should take care of their needs only and should not impose their thoughts and ideas on them.

II. Answer the following questions in about 200 words each:

1. Your children are not your children: How does the poet illustrate this truth in the poem?

OR

How does the poem bring out the relationship between parents and children?

The poet firmly believes that life is a journey, and God is both the ‘starting point and the destination. This journey is an inner one, a spiritual one and we are born to undertake this journey. The whole poem serves to express this belief. The poet attempts to explain what role the parents should play in bringing up their children.

The speaker says that a child is a gift from the abundance of existence and it is eternal life Itsell. That is why the poet says that ‘your children are not your children. Then he makes our role clear. He tells the parents that they have brought their children to this world because they have been chosen to serve as a passage or vehicle to bring them to this world. Further, he tells us that since children belong to the future, they have their own thoughts and the free will to do as they please. Then he tells us that we have to take care of our children as ‘stewards’ and give them ‘love’ and physical nourishment so that they grow up to serve their role.

Since God is the creator and the final destination, God is the archer, the parents his bow and the children his arrows. We only serve to send the arrows swift and far and help them reach their destination. God loves both the bow and the arrows because God is the eternal creator of ‘nature’.

2. ‘On Children’ offers new insights into parent-children relationship. Discuss.

OR

“On Children persuades parents to see their children in a new light. Elaborate.

“On Children’ is a sermon given by Almustafa to a woman holding a babe against her bosom. The fourteen-line poem is in the form of an imaginary conversation between a mother and the prophet. Of the fourteen lines, the first five lines are devoted to enlightening the parents about who the children are and the remaining lines explain the role of the parents in bringing up their children.

“On Children’ offers new insight into parent-children relationship, and rejects our traditional, time-honoured and conservative ideas of bringing up children.

According to the speaker, a child is a gift from the abundance of existence and it is eternal life itself Children are born as sons and daughters as life’s longing for itself. Life longs to reproduce itself, and parents are its servants who execute that master plan. God uses parents as his instrument to send living ‘arrows to the earth. God, or the Supreme Being, is the archer, the parents are the bows and the children are the living arrows. Parents do not create them and hence they cannot possess them. They are only the medium through which life expresses itself. Children have their own thoughts because they have the free will to do as they please. Parents can only act as ‘stewards’ and their role is one of ‘stewardship Parents should not treat their children as their puppets but shower as much of their love as they can.

Parents should take care of their needs only and should not impose their thoughts and ideas on them because our children belong to the future, whereas the parents belong to the past generation. Therefore, parents should also not burden their children with their dead past, their scriptures and their saints. Since life looks forward and does not linger on, parents should let their children build their future, realize their potential and resist the temptation to force their children to be like their carbon coples.

3. The poem, ‘On Children’ rejects the conservative upbringing of children. Explain.

For answer refer Q. No. 3.20.

4. We cannot keep pace with our children’s life and thoughts. How is this elaborated in ‘On Children’?

According to the speaker in ‘On Children, a child is a gift from the abundance of existence and it is eternal life itself. Children are born as sons and daughters as ‘Life’s longing for itself. Parents may have brought them to this world because they have been chosen to serve as a ‘passage’ or vehicle to bring the children into this world.

Children are closer to the very source of life than old people. Children have their own thoughts because they have the free will to do as they please. Parents should not impose their thoughts and ideas on them because our children belong to the future, whereas parents belong to the past generation.

As parents, our days are over. We may try to be like our children, but our past acts like a barrier Since parents belong to the yesterdays and their children belong to the tomorrows, parents cannot conceive of their future. The children will have their own scriptures and saints. The present is not only a meeting point but also a point of departure. Every day the gap between parents and their children will become wider and wider. The children have their own future and we should let them grow according to their own potential. The children are closer to existence than we are. Life looks forward and does not linger on. Hence parents cannot keep pace with their children’s lives and thoughts. Parents should let their children build their future, realize their potential and resist the temptation to force their children to be like their carbon copies.

Multiple Choice Questions:

I. Answer the following questions by choosing the right option:

1. Your children are not your children means ___________

a) they do not belong to their parents only

b) the children should have their own space

c) parents should not be possessive of their children

d) their souls dwell in the house of tomorrow

2. And a woman who held a babe against her bosom said. “Speak to us of Children” And he said: Here ‘he’ refers to __________

a) her child

b) the Prophet

c) the poet

d) the archer

3. The Prophet was asked to speak on children by ________

OR

__________ asked the speaker to speak an children.

a) a woman who held a babe

b) parents who held a bow and an arrow

c) sons and daughters

d) children whose souls dwell in the house of tomorrow

4. ___________ brings children to the earth.

a) Life’s longing for itself

b) life that does not go backward

c) Bodies that house them

d) Soul that dwells in the house of tomorrow

5. Our children are the sons and daughters of _________, according to the speaker, in ʼOn Children.ʼ

a) the bodies that house them

b) the children should have their own space

c) life’s longing for itself

d) the soul that dwells in the house of tomorrow

6. According to the prophet, the parents may give ________ to their children.

a) thoughts

b) love

c) money

d) dreams

7. “They come through you, but are not from you’ means __________

a) children have their own thoughts

b) children have independent personalities

c) parents should be indifferent to their children

d) though parents give birth to their children they do not own them

8. According to the prophet, parents should not give their ___________ to their children.

OR

According to the speaker, what may not be given to the children?

a) thoughts

b) love

c) money

d) souls

9. In “On Children, you may give the children your love but not your __________

a) dreams

b) gladness

c) thoughts

d) bodies

10. Parents may house their children’s bodies but not their _________

a) spirit

b) souls

c) thoughts

d) dreams

11. Parents may give their __________ but not their thoughts to their children.

a) dreams

b) wealth

c) souls

d) love

12. The souls of the children dwell in the _________

a) house of today

b) house of tomorrow

c) house of yesterday

d) house of dreams

13. According to the speaker in ‘On Children. ________ have their own thoughts.

a) parents

b) souls

c) sons and daughters

d) parents and children

14. _________ dwell in the house of tomorrow

a) Parents

b) Dreams

c) Soul of Children

d) Gods

15. “Their souls dwell in the house of tomorrow’ means __________

a) children belong to the future

b) parents cannot shape their children’s future

c) children have a different vision of life

d) parents belong to the past

16. According to the speaker, parents cannot visit __________

OR

__________ cannot be visited by parents even in their dreams, according to the speaker in ‘On Children’

a) life that goes backward

b) their children who dwell in the house of tomorrow

c) the path of the infinite

d) the thoughts of their children

17. According to the Prophet, __________ dues/do not go backward.

a) life

b) children

c) dreams

d) bows

18. The house of tomorrow in ‘On Children’ cannot be visited even in ________

a) thoughts

b) ideas

c) reality

d) dreams

19. The bows’ and living arrows’ refer to __________ and __________ .

a) god, Children

b) parents, Children

c) god, parents

d) children, parents

20. In the poem, ‘bow’ refers to _________

a) parents

b) children

c) god

d) soul

21. According to the speaker in ‘On Children’, life does not tarry with _________

a) today

b) tomorrow

c) yesterday

d) the future

22. According to the speaker in ‘On Children,’ _________ are sent forth as living arrows.

a) parents

b) children

c) souls

d) bodies

23. In the poem,’living arrows’ refers to _________

a) god

b) parents

c) souls

d) children

24. Parents are compared to ________

a) bows

b) spears

c) arrows

d) archer

25. God users _________ as his instrument to send living arrows to the earth

a) the prophet

b) children

c) parents

d) women

26. According to the speaker in ‘On Children’, the archer sees the mark _________

a) in the house of tomorrow

b) in his dream

c) where the souls dwell

d) upon the path of the infinite

27. In the poem, archer’ refers to _________

a) god

b) father

c) mother

d) child

28. The archer bends his _________ so that his arrows might go swift and far.

a) arrow

b) soul

c) baw

d) body

29. The one who sees the mark upon the path of the infinite in the poem is _________

a) parents

b) children

c) archer

d) poet

30. God bends the parents with all his might to _________

a) test them for stability

b) test them for strength

c) see that the arrows they shoot travel far and reach their destination

d) All of the above

31. According to the speaker, “Let your bending in the archer’s hand be for __________

a) gladness

b) longing

c) striving

d) swiftness

32. In ‘On Children God (the archer) loves the arrow that flies as well as the bow that _________

a) does not bend

b) breaks

c) is stable

d) is swift

33. The archer wants the arrows to go __________

a) slowly

b) far

c) swiftly

d) backward

34. The phrase the bow that is stable refers to _________

a) parents who give their thoughts to their children

b) children who dwell in the house of tomorrow

c) parents who seek to make their children like them

d) parents who serve God’s wishes without fail and with conviction

35. According to the speaker in ‘On Children, the one who loves both the arrow and the bow is _________

a) the archer

b) the parents

c) the children

d) the poet

36. __________ may not be housed by the parents in ‘On Children’.

a) Thoughts of children

b) Souls of children

c) Dreams of children

d) Life of children

37. “They are sons and daughters of life’s longing for itself”. Here, ‘they’ refers to _________

a) children

b) parents

c) archers

d) souls

38. According to the Prophet, the archer loves the bow that is __________

a) swift

b) infinite

c) unstable

d) stable

39. According to the speaker in ‘On Children’, life does not go __________

a) fast

b) swiftly

c) slow

d) backward

40. According to the speaker, parents may _______ to be like their children, but seek not to make the children like them.

a) work

b) strive

c) dream

d) plan

41. The speaker in the poem ‘On Children’ is __________

a) parents

b) prophet

c) children

d) woman with a babe

42. “You may strive to be like them, but seek not to make them like you.” In this statement from ‘On Children’, them refers to __________

a) parents

b) God

c) children

d) women

43. According to the speaker in ‘On Children’, life does not go __________

a) fast

b) slow

c) swift

d) backward

44. The prophet says, ‘Life does not go __________ nor tarries with yesterday’:

a) forward

b) upward

c) backward

d) inward

45. In the poem ‘On Children’, _________ bends the bow to send the arrows swift and far.

a) the prophet

b) the woman

c) the child

d) the archer

About the poet:

Kahlil Gibran (1883-1931) is a Lebanese-American artist and poet. His poems are considered ‘poetic essays, as they do not adhere to the usual versification. “The Prophet’ is his best-known work and has been translated into more than 25 languages including Kannada.

‘On Children’ is a selection from ‘The Prophet, which offers a critique of the usual expectations of parents about their children and urges them to introspect.

Background:

‘On Children’ by Kahlil Gibran is an excerpt from “The Prophet, one of his most popular works. The Prophet’ occupies a unique place in world literature. It is a work of remarkable compassion, insight, hope and inspiration, with a timeless message that combines the dignity of the Christian Bible and the wisdom of the Sufis of Islam, phrased with a simplicity and rhythmical quality that renders it accessible to a wider readership.

It represents an appeal for a return to and reconciliation with nature, emphasizing the relationship that binds individuals to their environment and their fellow creatures. They all become denizens of one world bound together by life and death. The speaker in ‘The Prophet’ speaks in the persona of ‘Almustafa. Almustafa sets out his own version of the golden rule common to all great religions that we must do as we would be done by. What he voices is not some unattainable ideal, but practical wisdom and simple moral and spiritual values.

The keynote of ‘The Prophet’ is pantheism. Its central article of belief is that God is latent within everyone as a Greater Self, and that, this is attained through aspiration, or ‘yearning, which is comparable to prayer in religion, and also through successive reincarnations. Life is a journey, and God is both a ‘starting point’ and a ‘destination’. The journey represents the condition of full awareness when the soul has embarked on the path leading to its desired union with God. The journey is an inner one, a spiritual one, in contrast to the travels of the twenty-first century man or woman, which are all physical.

Summary:

‘On Children’ is an excerpt from “The Prophet, one of Kahlil Gibran’s most popular works. “The Prophet’ includes twenty-six sermons on varied topics like Love, Marriage, Children, Houses, Clothes, Laws, Crime and Punishment, Buying and Selling, etc. The sermons are given by Almustafa who speaks in the persona of the poet.

‘Almustafa’ means the ‘chosen one. The name also implies that he possesses spiritual knowledge and divine characteristics. Almustafa is a man of inner purity and is believed to be the ‘Perfect man’ or the ‘Universal man’.

In the opening sermon titled “The Coming of the Ship, we learn that Almustafa has waited twelve years in the city of Orphalese for the ship that was to return and bear him back to the isle of his birth. The ship has arrived and he is about to go on board. Before he boards the ship, he is met by a woman named ‘Almitra’, who is a seeress. She prays to him to speak to the people of Orphalese about all that he has been shown about what lies between birth and death. Each of the 26 sermons is the reply given by Almustafa to all those who request him to speak about a particular topic.

‘On Children’ is one such sermon given by Almustafa to a woman holding a babe against her bosom, when she asks him to speak to the people ‘Of Children. Almustafa begins his sermon with the topening line ‘Your children are not your children’.

In this imaginary conversation, there are fourteen lines of which five lines are devoted to enlightening the parents about what/who the children are and the remaining lines to explaining what role the parents should play in bringing up their children.

The speaker wants to make the parents aware that a child is a gift from the abundance of existence and it is eternal life itself, just as we have seen eternal life flowing through mountains, through forest and through plains, children are born as sons and daughters as Life’s longing for itself. Life longs to reproduce itself, and we are its servants who carry out that master plan. Parents do not create them and hence parents cannot possess them. Parents may have brought them to this world because they have been chosen to serve as ‘passage or vehicle to bring the children to this world. They are only the medium through which life expresses itself. Children are closer to the very source of life than old people Furthermore, children have their own thoughts because they have the free will to do as they please.

In the next few lines, the speaker educates parents as to how they should treat their children.

Almustafa tells parents that they can only act as ‘Stewards’ and their role is one of ‘Stewardship parents should not treat their children as their puppets but shower their love as much as they can and take good care of them as we do to someone who is given to our charge. Parents should take care of their needs only and should not impose their thoughts and ideas on them. They should not do se because our children belong to the future whereas we belong to the past generation.

As parents, our days are over. Parents may try to be like their children but their past acts like a barrier. On the contrary, children belong to the future. Since parents belong to the yesterdays, and their children belong to the tomorrows, parents cannot conceive of their future. Hence, they should not burden their children with their dead past, their scriptures and their saints. The children will have their own scriptures and saints, parents should only give them as much love as they can. The present is a meeting point but also a point of departure. Every day the gap between parents and their children will become bigger and bigger.

And so, parents should not thrust their past as an inheritance on their children. The children have their own future and we should let them grow according to their own potential. The children are closer to existence than we are. Since life looks forward and does not linger on, parents should let their children build their future, realize their potential and resist the temptation to force their children to De like their carbon copies.

In the next few lines, Almustafa, the speaker, tries to give a visual account of how we should play our role as parents and how we can win God’s love:

Almustafa tells the parents that God uses parents as his instrument to send ‘living arrows to the earth. God or the Supreme Being is the archer, the parents are the bows and the children are his living arrows. An arrow does not have its own power nor does it create its own path of direction. Both these are provided by God. The archer is God and the path is infinity. Just like the archer, God decides the mark on the infinite path for each child as its destination and using the parents as bows, shoots the arrows. like an archer, God bends the bows (which are the parents) testing them for stability.

The bows must help the arrows to reach their destination. Existence wants parents to bend like a bow before their own children because they have to travel far and they have to give them strength. Parents should not despise the tests God provides in the image of children, for these tests only make God love the parents more. The speaker wishes us to know that existence loves both parents and children because parents are also children of the same existence. God loves not only parents who are stable, but he also loves children who as arrows will be bows in the future and shoot their own arrows.

At the end of the sermon, the speaker says that while the archer loves the arrows (the children), “He also loves the bow that is stable”, which presents before the reader a paradox. As parents involved in the care of children, Gibran appears to be asking us to be strong and bendable at the same time.

This may seem like a contradictory idea, but if we examine the metaphor of the bow, it begins to make sense. The bow has to be able to withstand the force of its string being drawn back. To do this without snapping in two, the bow also has to have strength. This tensile strength allows the arrow being held on the string to be released with optimal energy as it creates balance through resistance and tension, not unlike the kind of discipline we try to adjudicate in the making and breaking of boundaries for our children either at home or in the classroom. Such discipline uses rules and regulations as guides that will hopefully enhance a child’s sense of freedom by engendering a balanced sense of responsibility within him or her as well.

These lines imply that God, the archer, loves parents who give their children roots to grow in and the freedom to fly when their time has come to do so. He loves those who slowly step back and set them free as their children grow up, encouraging them to learn from their own experiences and to dream their own dreams. He expects parents to do all they can to help their children to fulfill their own highest potential.

The archer expects wise parents to tell the children in their care that they are the children of God and that therefore each child is as precious and unique as the other. Further, God expects parents to respect their children because they know that even when a child is still living in a smaller body than their own, it has nonetheless come into their world as a fully developed soul and spirit in its own right, who may have a long history of evolution behind it that could have taken more lifetimes than those of its parents.

God expects wise parents to tell their children that they have come into this life to learn, evolve and grow some more through their own experiences. When their children go to school, wise parents point out to them that they are learning for themselves and for life itself, not only for this lifetime but for Eternity. He expects wise parents to explain to their children the laws of the universe and that because of this, whatever anyone sends out to life has to return to them. Finally, God expects parents to teach children by their good example.

In conclusion, we may say that in this sermon (‘On Children’) Gibran illustrates how love works in the intimate relationship of parenthood.

ಸಾರಾಂಶ:

ಖಲೀಲ್‌ ಗಿಬ್ರಾನ್‌ ರವರ ಅತ್ಯಂತ ಪ್ರಸಿದ್ದವಾದ ʼThe Prophetʼ ಎಂಬ ಕೃತಿಯಿಂದ ಪ್ರಸ್ತುತ ಭಾಗವನ್ನು ಆಯ್ದುಕೊಳ್ಳಲಾಗಿದೆ. ಅಲ್‌ಮುಸ್ತಫಾ ಎಂಬ ಪ್ರವಾದಿಯು ಪ್ರೀತಿ, ಮದುವೆ, ಮಕ್ಕಳು, ಮನೆ, ಬಟ್ಟೆಗಳು, ನಿಯಮಗಳು, ಅಪರಾಧ ಮತ್ತು ಶಿಕ್ಷೆ, ಕ್ರಯ-ವಿಕ್ರಮ ಮುಂತಾದ ಹಲವಾರು ವಿಷಯಗಳ ಬಗ್ಗೆ ವ್ಯಕ್ತಪಡಿಸಿರುವ ಇಪ್ಪತ್ತಾರು ಕಾರಣಿಕವಾದ ಬೋಧನೆಗಳನ್ನು ನೀಡಿದ್ದಾರೆ. ಅವುಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ಒಂದು ಮಕ್ಕಳನ್ನುಕುರಿತಾದದ್ದು. ಪ್ರಸ್ತುತ ಭಾಗದಲ್ಲಿ ಒಬ್ಬ ಮಹಿಳೆಯು ತನ್ನ ಮಗುವನ್ನು ಎದೆಗವಚಿಕೊಂಡು ʼನಮಗೆ ಮಕ್ಕಳ ಬಗ್ಗೆ ಹೇಳಿʼ ಎಂದು ಕೇಳಿದಾಗ ಪ್ರವಾದಿಯು ಈ ಮುಂದಿನ ಮಾತುಗಳನ್ನು ಆಡಿದ್ದಾರೆ.

ನಿಮ್ಮ ಮಕ್ಕಳು ನಿಮ್ಮ ಮಕ್ಕಳಲ್ಲ. ಅವರು ಜೀವನೋತ್ಕಂಠಿತ ಬದುಕಿನ ಮಗ-ಮಗಳಾಗಿದ್ದಾರೆ. ಅವರು ನಿಮ್ಮ ಮೂಲಕ ಈ ಲೋಕಕ್ಕೆ ಬಂದಿದ್ದಾರೆ, ನಿಮ್ಮಿಂದಲ್ಲ. ಅವರು ನಿಮ್ಮೊಂದಿಗೆ ಇದ್ದಾರೆ ಎಂಬುದು ನಿಜವಾದರೂ ಅವರು ನಿಮಗೆ ಸೇರಿದವರಲ್ಲ. ನೀವು ನಿಮ್ಮ ಪ್ರೀತಿಯನ್ನು ಅವರಿಗೆ ನೀಡಬಹುದು ಆದರೆ ವಿಚಾರಗಳನ್ನಲ್ಲ. ಏಕೆಂದರೆ ಅವರಿಗೆ ತಮ್ಮದೇ ಆದ ಚಿಂತನೆಗಳಿರುತ್ತವೆ.

ಅವರ ದೇಹಕ್ಕೆ ನೀವು ಮನೆಯನ್ನು ಮಾಡಿಕೊಡಿ. ಆದರೆ ಆತ್ಮಕ್ಕಾಗಿ ಬೇಡ ಏಕೆಂದರೆ ಅವರ ಆತ್ಮಗಳು ನಾಳೆಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ಬಾಳುವುವು. ಆ ನಾಳೆಗಳನ್ನು ನಿಮ್ಮ ಕನಸಿನಲ್ಲಿಯೂ ಸಹ ನೀವು ಕಾಣಲಾರಿರಿ. ನೀವು ಅವರಂತರಾಗಲು ಪ್ರಯತ್ನಿಸಿ. ಆದರೆ ಅವರನ್ನು ನಿಮ್ಮಂತೆ ಮಾಡಲು ಯತ್ನಿಸಬೇಡಿ. ಏಕೆಂದರೆ ಜೀವನವು ಎಂದು ಹಿಮ್ಮುಖವಾಗಿ ಚಲಿಸುವುದಿಲ್ಲ ಮತ್ತು ನಿನ್ನೆಯೊಂದಿಗೆ ನಿಲ್ಲುವುದಿಲ್ಲ. ಅದು ಯಾವಾಗಲೂ ಮುಮ್ಮುಖವಾಗಿಯೇ ಚಲಿಸುತ್ತಿರುತ್ತದೆ.

ಮುಂದಿನ ಕೆಲವು ಸಾಲುಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ಪ್ರವಾದಿಯು ಉತ್ತಮ ತಂದೆತಾಯಿಗಳಾಗಿ ನಡೆದುಕೊಳ್ಳುವ ಮೂಲಕ ಪಾಲಕರು ಹೇಗೆ ದೇವರ ಕೃಪೆಗೆ ಪಾತ್ರರಾಗಬಹುದೆಂಬುದನ್ನು ಒಂದು ರೂಪಕದ ಮೂಲಕ ಸೊಗಸಾಗಿ ನಿರೂಪಿಸಿದ್ದಾರೆ. ದೇವರು ಒಬ್ಬ ಬಿಲ್ಲುಗಾರ. ತಂದೆತಾಯಿಗಳು ಆತನ ಕೈಯಲ್ಲಿರುವ ಬಿಲ್ಲನ್ನು ಬಗ್ಗಿಸಿ ಮಕ್ಕಳೆಂಬ ಜೀವಂತ ಬಾಣಗಳನ್ನು ಮುಂದೆ ಚಿಮ್ಮಿಸುತ್ತಾನೆ. ಅನಂತಪಥದ ಕಡೆಗಿನ ತನ್ನ ಗುರಿಯನ್ನು ಲಕ್ಷಿಸಿ, ನಿಮ್ಮನ್ನು ತನ್ನ ಶಕ್ತಿಯಿಂದ ಬಾಗಿಸಿ ತನ್ನ ಬಾಣಗಳು ಅತ್ಯಂತ ವೇಗವಾಗಿ ಬಹುದೂರ ಹೋಗುವಂತೆ ಮಾಡುತ್ತಾನೆ.

ಆ ಬಿಲ್ಲುಗಾರನು ನಿಮ್ಮನ್ನು ಮುಟ್ಟಿ ಮಣಿಸಿದಾಗ ನೀವು ಸಂತೋಷಪಡಿ. ಏಕೆಂದರೆ ಗಾಳಿಯಲ್ಲಿ ಚಿಮ್ಮಿ ಹಾರುವ ಬಾಣವನ್ನು ಆತ ಪ್ರೀತಿಸುವಂತೆಯೇ, ಗಟ್ಟಿಮುಟ್ಟಾದ ಆದರೆ ಬಾಗುವ ಬಿಲ್ಲನ್ನೂ ಪ್ರೀತಿಸುವನು ಎಂದು ಗಿಬ್ರಾನ್‌ ಹೇಳಿದ್ದಾರೆ.

“ಮಕ್ಕಳು ನಮ್ಮ ಸಂತಾನ. ಅವರು ನಮ್ಮಂತೆಯೇ ಚಿಂತಿಸಬೇಕು, ನಮ್ಮಂತೆಯೇ ಜೀವಿಸಬೇಕು. ನಾವು ಹೇಳಿದಂತೆ ಕೇಳಿಕೊಂಡು ವಿಧೇಯವಾಗಿರಬೇಕು. ಅವರು ಎಂದಿಗೂ ನಾವು ಹಾಕಿದ ಗೆರೆ ದಾಟಬಾರದು. ಅವರ ಒಳಿತು-ಕೆಡಕುಗಳೆಲ್ಲವನ್ನೂ ನೋಡಿಕೊಳ್ಳಬೇಕಾದ ಜವಾಬ್ದಾರಿ ಪಾಲಕರಾದ ನಮ್ಮದೇ ಆಗಿರುತ್ತದೆ” ಎಂದು ಎಂಬ ತಂದೆತಾಯಿಯರ ಸಾಂಪ್ರದಾಯಿಕವಾದ ಚಿಂತನೆಗಳಿಗಿಂತ ಭಿನ್ನವಾದ ಆಲೋಚನಾ ವಿಧಾನವನ್ನು ಪರಿಚಯಿಸುವ ಮೂಲಕ ಗಿಬ್ರಾನ್‌ ಮಕ್ಕಳ ಬಗ್ಗೆ ಪಾಲಕರ ದೃಷ್ಠಿ ಹೇಗಿರಬೇಕೆಂಬುದನ್ನು ತಿಳಿಯಪಡಿಸಿದ್ದಾರೆ.

Glossary:

house (v) : shelter, protect

tarry (v) : linger, stay in one place

archer : one who uses bow and arrow (here God)