An existential dilemma ...

It is not often that we surmise the fuzzy messages that Providence throws upon us, from the spatial domains you never expect. But I guess the world never gets tired of springing up that surreal moment.

It was a serene place on the Hyderabad-Nagpur highway. It was one of those places which is camouflaged by banality, but gets melancholic when you get the feel of the place. The pleasant churning of a thin stream of a rivulet embracing the constant chirping of a bird characterized the place. Welcoming us was a grand ancient archeway of the local deity. I wish I could write odes about the place, but let me reserve that for one of my puristically inclined moments. With my folks, I entered to pay my respects to the Almighty. The door was ajar, and it looked like a small but constantly glowing lamp inside the sanctum.

And then, we were greeted by a small ten-year old boy who appeared to be the kid of the temple priest. But with his devout and calm visage, he gestures us to give way, gets in and sincerely starts attending to his divine responsibilities. He comes out, blesses us and seemed to be unnerved by a couple of soiled 10-rupee notes on his plate. He again gestures the defaulters to offer them in the donation-box. I was just caught between the boundaries of astonishment and introspection.

Losing the battle of wits to my irresistible urge to talk to the boy, I try to accost him and enquire about what he is studying. He tersely asks me, "Pursuing what knowledge ?". I would be lying if I say I wasn't jostled up a bit. Naively, I explained that I was referring to the mainstream education system. He smiles at me and ascertains if my education had achieved its objectives. His sharp sight demands an answer though he could easily sense my discomfort going down this path. Cutting short my attempts to explain my job and background, he quips, "You sell what you have for what you think you do not have." I really could not deny it. I gathered that he had been in a gurukul at a place south of Chennai for a couple of years and had nearly mastered all the Vedas and Upanishads. Our conversation steered towards the duality of mind and matter. He asked me if I really believed that speed of light is the only constant we knew ? He challenged me to disprove his theory of the five elements of nature fuelling a cluster of parallel universes interacting constantly to preserve life.

Let us just say, the rest of our dialogue was heavily front-loaded with his streak of spiritual and metaphysical brilliance. More than his command of fundamentals, what stupefied me was this kid's calm confidence and alacrity. Sometimes makes me wonder whether I should consider him a prodigy or myself a part of the growing mediocre educated class not sure of our existence and mechanically creating a motive to live. If only we pause and try to apply what we know and relate it to the basic questions that nature poses us.

God Bless the kid !