Life of the Promised Messiah — Page 59
59 Hazrat Maulvi Abdul-Karim while in their own childish tongue, they will tell him, for hours, stories of toads, crows and birds; and the Promised Messiah as will go on listening with pleasure, as if someone was reciting the Mathnawi of Maulana Rum. Compassionate Upbringing of Children His Holiness as is extremely opposed to hitting and scolding children. No matter how much a child may cry or make trouble, or complain, or make unreason- able requests, or continuously insist for something that is a figment of their imagination or beyond reach, His Holiness as will neither hit them, nor scold them, nor express any signs of anger. Mahmud was perhaps three years of age when the Promised Messiah as was in Ludhiana; I was there as well. It was summertime and very hot. A wall divided the men’s and women’s quarters. It was in the middle of the night when I woke up and heard sounds of Mahmud crying and His Holiness as trying to console him by speaking to him of various things. His Holiness as would pace with the child in his arms, but the child would not be paci- fied. After all this, the Promised Messiah as said: “Look Mahmud, what a beautiful star. ” The child turned to its new centre of attention, became silent for a moment and then began to cry and bawl, and said: “Father! I want to go to the star. ” I immensely enjoyed the endear-