Holistic Living - Letter to God

by Life Positive

Or, as my husband, a self-proclaimed atheist, perceives, according to my convenience. It does not rattle me because I strongly believe that for each of us the concept of the unseen power and our relationship with it is unique. The more personalized our concept of the Supreme Being is, the easier it will be for us to live with it. Many adults are caught in the whirlpool of rationality and logic, trying to understand and describe the Infinite with the finite abilities of the senses.

This often undermines their faith, which is the key to spiritual growth and the very basis of one's relationship with the inexplicable. Children, on the other hand, have a brilliant way of working out their own concept of the invisible who is the cause of all that is visible.

During my childhood, when my grandmother spoke of Allah, she made me think of him as a perpetual threat. Her parables likened him to a strict disciplinarian, a minute-by minute monitoring device for my moral and immoral acts and the source of the painful doom that awaited me if I dared to transgress even a wee bit.

When my father spoke of Allah he emphasized the Rahmaan (the Beneficent) and the Raheem (the Merciful) aspect of the Almighty. His narration of religious stories made him appear to me as a comforting presence who knew everything about me anyway, so I need not pretend to him. He was someone to reach out to when everything else appeared to be crumbling. Even as a little girl, I could figure out the multiplicity of beliefs. My friend Mala prayed to Krishna, Adrian prayed to Christ, while I asked Allah for an 'A' grade, so how come all three of us got 'A+'? Simple; all three of us asked in different ways, but from the one and only Supreme Being, and we all received his munificence. I had arrived at my own concept of Allah the all encompassing, the beneficent, the merciful.

Today, as part of a value education workshop, I ask children to write a letter to God. One common view of God is that of a cosmic bellboy for whom you press a button to get things done, whatever the things may be. Here are some letters, which tell us about children's concept of God, their faith, and their ability to give us food for spiritual thought.

Dear Devi Ma,
Papa smokes too much. We are all worried about his health. Help him to stop smoking. Why did you make cigarettes? It must be the devil's work, na?

Pooja 10

Dear God,
My Mummy and Daddy have divorced. It is two years now. I love both of them very much and like to live with both of them. But I can go and be with Daddy only on Sundays, and for 15 days on out of station trips during the Diwali and May holidays. God, why did you pick on me? Please God, make Mummy and Daddy get along on Sundays and holidays, so at least for some days in the year we can live together.

Dina, 11

Dear Bhagwanji,
Thank you for Diwali holidays. Dada and Dadi (grandfather and grandmother) had come to visit us. They live in Bangalore. I love them. I wish you could move Bangalore closer to Bombay.

Surya, 9

Dear Allah,
Please do a Tomorrow's World on Sky TV at prime time. It would be super-duper because you and only you know the future. Everybody would watch and your show would be on top of the world!

Safeer, 11.

Dear Veer Hanumanji,
Bhaiya thinks he is you. Please teach him a lesson.

Zimpal, 9

Dear Krishna,
Thank you for all the toys and games. Please come to play with me one day. I will wait for you. We can play Govinda ala re, Mahabharata or whatever you like. Lots of love.

Chandan, 8

Dear Ramji,
You did not hesitate to give up your kingdom and throne and went on banwaas (exile) for 12 years. Now in your name, a Masjid (Babri mosque) was broken and many people lost their lives,. How did it feel? Could you do nothing to prevent the riots and the tradegy? Please never let it happen again.

Anirudh, 10
Dear Allah Pak,
I wanted Abu (father) to get well soon and come home from the hospital. But Ammi (mother) says you called him to you because he was suffering a lot. Now he is very happy and well with you.

But I think it was very mean of you to take him away. You could have easily made my Abu well and sent him home to us. WE need him here more than you do up there. Whenever I say this, Ammi says you will look after us. Let me see. Tell Abu I love him and miss him.

Ashfaque 10