The Little Philosopher

My three and half-year-old little granddaughter Chery can not stop talking even for two minutes and when ever she is silent at home, either she will be busy watching 'Peppa Pigs' on screen or discreetly painting the freshly whitewashed bedroom wall with her colour pencils away from every body's notice.

The only language she knows for communication is English and so fluent she is in that, it's difficult to keep pace with her. We (me particularly) call her the Oxford English professor.

Though we are on the thirteenth floor of a multistoried flat in 'White Field', her favourite outing often during the day is the children's park at the ground and she possesses the liberty of commanding her grandpaa (me)to escort her to the park as many times as she likes. The grandpa is also ever-willing to escort the VIP to the park. While in the lift, she unsuccessfully tries to reach the switch and each failure ends in using the most successful weapon CRY to get a lifting in the arm to reach the switch. Every time she gets encouraging tips from GrandPaa to eat properly to get tall enough to independently switch on and off the lift.

And one evening while playing in the park she asks GrandPaa (Aajaa), where is your mother. Instead of saying that my mother is no more since 1997, I tell her that she has become a star in the Sky.

Pat comes the response 'Yes I heard that from Mama, but what is the name of the Star'?

I tell her 'the name of the Star is Sebati (my mother's name).

 Silent for a few seconds, she asks can you show me her in the Sky. Above us is a piece of sky, conta

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ining few stars most of them half-visible /invisible due to the city's pollution. What can I say? My response is ....its difficult baby to locate her among so many.

Her next query is..is it compulsory for all to become Star in the sky?

Before getting the answer from her fumbling GrandPaa, she asks.....when she will be 'normal' and back again.

For the innocent imagination of a child, it's not 'normal' to become a star and there should be a time frame set to become "normal" and come back to the family frame! I recollect the hypocritic sermons of some religious Gurus that "Atman" should get salvation, mingle with the "Paramatman" and never come back to this Earth, full of sorrows. At this moment I recollect the longing of an octogenarian neighbouring lady who desires to remain alive for few more years to witness the marriage of her nephew, though the poor lady is out and out neglected by her only son and daughter-in-law.

The Dharma Gurus should take a tip from this innocent child that nobody wants to die and if at all death is compulsory, becoming "normal"(in a child's language) should be guaranteed.

"When you will become a star ?", is her next query.

Maybe after few years, I reply.

"And how much time you will take to be normal and come back? asks my little angel.

I am spellbound. What could I say!! This biggest question has not been answered by any philosopher or scripture satisfactorily sofar.

Wherefrom life comes? Where it goes after death !!So far nobody has satisfactorily answered this innocent but Big question...

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