Q. How can I help my daughter in her spiritual journey? We are very close and she will listen to and respect what i say. I have given her a Gita and some beads and she is chanting some daily. She is very sincere.
Answer by Romapada Swami: The best way to help another is to show them by your own personal example what a true spiritual life really is. “Example is better than precept.”
Create an atmosphere around your daughter that is conducive to spiritual growth, without imposing standards/practices upon her. Invite her further steps in a loving way.
Help her to form friendships with nice devotees who you feel will be good association for her.
If she is not too shy, encourage her to directly communicate with experienced and senior devotees. I for one will be most happy to communicate with your daughter. She is a super-listener! I really appreciate her qualities, and will be glad to assist her directly in progressing.
Help her to identify two things:
1) A further do-able devotional practice that she feels she can comfortably add to her daily life (eg. some number of rounds, or offering her food, or reading a Bhagavad-gita verse a day, or something).
2) Something extraneous that she can do without in her life, some little time waster.
Support her in making and executing a commitment to do both #1 and #2 above.
This should provide a good beginning list of things to do to help your daughter!
