How to know whether you’re ready to become a parent? Humanity is struggling with excess population, which is taking its toll around the globe. Sadhguru puts things into perspective when it comes to children and child bearing:

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Sadhguru:
Reproduction is not just about you and your mate; you are producing the next generation of people. Is it not a tremendous responsibility? How the world will be in the next 25 years is determined by what kind of children you are producing today, isn’t it? So they should not happen accidentally, they should not happen un-lovingly, they should happen consciously. They must happen in utmost pleasantness.

if you want to bring a child you must understand that this is a 20 year project
In today’s world, unlike what it was a few decades ago, you are able to choose when to have a child. It was not so in the past. Children just happened; people did not choose most of the time. So now when there is such a choice, it is very important that parents look at this – whatever their aspirations, whatever their goals – if you want to bring a child you must understand that this is a 20 year project. If your child does well it is a 20 year project. If he does not do well, it is a lifelong project. When you start on a 20 year project, you must have at least a 20 year commitment. Our emotions, our thoughts, our ideas may change as we are moving on. Many discords, disagreements and struggles happen. When two human beings are in a certain level of proximity, certain level of sharing, many things happen, but because we have a 20 year project we must be committed at least for 20 years.

This much maturity and commitment one must have before they decide to bear a child, otherwise it is not needed for you. You are still a child; you can fight and go away today. You can disagree with somebody and leave the house today. If you are in that condition, you are still a child, you don’t need another child. Asking a child to bear another child is not fair, so you don’t have to do it. You will be doing a great service to the world because right now our only problem is excessive human population.

Picture Courtesy - Rob Parker @flickr