‘Baba, when the first person ever died, what did the others feel? Where does the dead person go after death? Can they come back to us?’
I don’t know why Kym seems to be so curious to know about death. Perhaps because we speak of Abhi as if he were still around, or maybe she remembers her Ajoba passing away and she recently heard us talk of her cousin, Raavi’s grandfather, pass, or maybe it is the news and the talk of pandemic around her, or it’s just natural for a child to wonder. I have no clue. But she does seem to have this fascination about what happens when someone dies. No, not just to others around that person, but to that dead person too.
Maybe this natural curiosity, coupled with awe, is how humans came up with the concept of heaven and hell, and thus a divine scorekeeper, God, followed by rules and laws that such a divine scorekeeper decreed, religion. Maybe it all started with how the bereaved reacted to the death, and the codification of the ‘correct way to react to death’ which resulted in the rituals to bid the deceased goodbye and to request divine intervention in ensuring they are happy after the fact. Or maybe I am completely wrong. Once again, I have no clue.
What fascinates me is her fascination with profound questions, and the way she reasons and argues her point about these intangible issues. The other day, she asked me what the first person born must have felt, being the first person ever. Did they have friends? Did they have other humans to play with? When I pointed out that they surely had parents, which she agreed, and she should rethink the question, she took some time, and I watched in fascination as it dawned on her and her eyes slowly got bigger and bigger as she exclaimed, ‘But how was the first person ever born, because they had to have parents, and how can the first person have parents?’
I have not offered her any explanation about this. I guess she will learn evolution from her Sci-Maths teacher soon, perhaps within this year, and then I can imagine we can have a deeper conversation about ‘first ever’ humans. If the Sci-Maths teacher does not reach evolution within the year, maybe I shall try my hand at it, though I will need to research a bit before trying to teach a 7yo (which she should be by then) such a complex yet simply elegant way to look at the world.
And you know what they say about ‘knowing’, right? If you can explain something to a 6yo, and she can grasp most of what you are saying, including the fundamentals, you can claim to ‘know’ the subject.
I am so impatient for her to grow up!
P.S: You think she’d be ready to have a philosophy teacher by next year? Naah! Just kidding.
