India, Nov. 22 -- "Your children are not your children.

They are the sons and daughters of life's longing for itself.

They come through you, but not from you,

And though they are with you, yet they belong not to you."

Of late, these lines from Khalil Gibran resound in my mind. I tell it to myself when I watch my son grow. And I remember these lines when I see so many parents around me who refuse to let go of their grown up sons and daughters.

I then resolve not to be and become like them, and recite these lines aloud, as if it's a holy chant that would protect my son from my clutches of desire.

Our children's have their own desires

Our children have a life of their own. Their interests, talents, thoughts, preference of certain food...