Do I believe in God? Yes, of course. And Harini is well fed with stories from Ramayana and Mahabharata and other devotional stories. She sings Bhajans, Aartis and knows various Shlokas by heart.
One day, as we stood in the terrace watching a heavy downpour, Harini remembered the story of how Lord Krishna had saved the people of Gokul by lifting the Govardhana hill. She said "Amma, Lord Indra is up to his old tricks again". Then all of a sudden, she asked me about the seating arrangements in the Heaven. She wanted to know if all the Gods sat together or did they have different rooms or palaces. "Is it possible for Indra to share his room with Lord Agni?", she wondered.
Why didn't I get such questions clarified when I was little? :-(
Anyways, I told her that what was more important was to understand that we should respect nature's elements like water, fire etc. And maybe having separate gods for each element was to make people respect them and not take them for granted. I told her I imagined them to have their own palaces. She was convinced and did not probe further.
But, a few days back, we started reading "Sophie's world" by Jostein Gaarder. I initially thought it was a book for kids. However, it turned out to be a book on philosophy. Harini thoroughly enjoyed the book and said she wanted to be a philosopher on growing up. But when we reached a point in the story, where some myths related to Greek Gods are discussed and proved to be a myth, I stopped reading it with Harini. I am reading it alone though.
I am really confused. No matter what Jostein says, I know I would not lose my faith in God. But I don't want to impose my beliefs on Harini. I want her to know all different views and make her own choice. So, when can I give back the book to her? What would be the right age?
One day, as we stood in the terrace watching a heavy downpour, Harini remembered the story of how Lord Krishna had saved the people of Gokul by lifting the Govardhana hill. She said "Amma, Lord Indra is up to his old tricks again". Then all of a sudden, she asked me about the seating arrangements in the Heaven. She wanted to know if all the Gods sat together or did they have different rooms or palaces. "Is it possible for Indra to share his room with Lord Agni?", she wondered.
Why didn't I get such questions clarified when I was little? :-(
Anyways, I told her that what was more important was to understand that we should respect nature's elements like water, fire etc. And maybe having separate gods for each element was to make people respect them and not take them for granted. I told her I imagined them to have their own palaces. She was convinced and did not probe further.
But, a few days back, we started reading "Sophie's world" by Jostein Gaarder. I initially thought it was a book for kids. However, it turned out to be a book on philosophy. Harini thoroughly enjoyed the book and said she wanted to be a philosopher on growing up. But when we reached a point in the story, where some myths related to Greek Gods are discussed and proved to be a myth, I stopped reading it with Harini. I am reading it alone though.
I am really confused. No matter what Jostein says, I know I would not lose my faith in God. But I don't want to impose my beliefs on Harini. I want her to know all different views and make her own choice. So, when can I give back the book to her? What would be the right age?