By Kesava Krsna Dasa
If a devotee child grows up to be a non-devotee, is this evidence that the parents mood at the time of conception was anything but Krishna conscious? Are the parents to be blamed, or are there other factors that determine this outcome? Is it possible that in spite of the parents best interest and loving Krishna conscious attention given to their children, that such children can turn their backs altogether, to pursue life, as they desire most? Would there have to be a major problem for this to occur, or is “desire” the one insurmountable force that eludes all but themselves? It might sound extreme to say that such grown-up kids can relinquish Krishna consciousness altogether. Can it really happen? As we, all get older and mature as adults, and look back at the folly of our rebellion from parental conditioning – depending on how helpful it was - we often revert to the assurances of our earlier years. “Mum and Dad knew best,” I suppose. This seems to be a likely outcome in many cases. It can appear somewhat strange for younger devotees to see how active senior devotees, being good examples for the rest, but whose grown-up children prefer more worldly pursuits. These observances might also strengthen the case for being a staunch brahmacari or sannyasa. Would anyone go so far as to judge whether conception times for the parents were properly focused or not?