“Mamma, who is God, and why am I praying for my wishes in front of Him? Papa can also fulfill them.”
When my 4-year-old asked me this, I felt a little confused about how to answer. I said, “He is superior. Whatever your father cannot fulfill, God can.”
“Ohh really?” he said, looking at me in a way that made me pause… as if he was imagining that there is something even his father cannot do. Then, very anxiously, he asked, “Mamma, but it is just an idol. Where can I meet Him to say my wishes?”
This question was really difficult to answer. I wanted him to understand that meeting God isn’t like meeting a person. Suddenly, an idea clicked in my mind. I took him out of the house, pointed at the sky, and said:
“He is God — the Sun. See, my dear, the Sun rises every day for us. But because we see him regularly, we often don’t realize all that he does for us. We call the Sun God, but we don’t always accept it. That is why we create idols — so we have a place to express our wishes. Not only the Sun, but water, trees, and the air — even though we cannot see the air, we can feel it — are also forms of God. You can pray to them too. Of course, they cannot talk like me, but in their own way, they help us. Remember, my son, God is always with you. You don’t need to see Him answer instantly. He has many children like you, but that does not mean He does not care. Just trust Him.”
Then he asked, “Mamma, then why do we need an idol?”
I replied, “Hmmm… because it is like a home. We create an idol and gather many people together in one place, filled with positivity. Let me give you an example — you go to school, right? You could read at home, but when you are with many students, you learn more. There, not only do you ask your own questions, but you also hear others’ questions every day! Temples are like that too — they remind us we are not alone.”
This is my way of helping him understand God. For now, he understands only a little, but as he grows, I am sure he will understand more.
Because of my son, I realized something important about our mythological books. We read about the Sun, Air, Water, Earth, and Fire as gods, but do we really believe in them? No, we don’t. We call rivers Maa Ganga or Saraswati, yet they are always there for us. Maybe that is why we seek God in other forms — we often take for granted what we already have and run after what is imagined.
We all know the Sun had a human son named Karna, or the God of Air, Pavandev, had a son, Hanuman, yet we still look for more proof to believe in God. That’s okay. You don’t need to believe, but take care of nature, because nothing is more powerful than it. We are slowly destroying our Earth — not the other way around. Nature doesn’t need humans; we need it.
So, when my son asked about God, I realized it is not just a question about faith — it is also about understanding the world around us, noticing what we take for granted, and appreciating what is already there. God is everywhere. He is in the Sun, the water, the air, the trees — in everything that nourishes life. And even if we do not see Him answer our wishes instantly, His presence is always around us.
Nature is my religion.
The Earth is my temple.
— Bharti Suryavanshi