World Through the Eyes of a Child

With Micky Mouse comic although she do not know how to read.

I've a beautiful, smart and talkative niece. Her name Chimi Eden was given by my guru, Kyabje Namkhai Nyingpo Rinpoche. She's only four years old. She never makes me feel bore. Whenever she sees me, she greets me, “Kuzu Zangpo la Aku,” and then she would come closer to shake hand. Then she would put me so many questions. I've to be clever enough to defend otherwise she will keep on asking one after another. She is never tired of inquiring anything. Once I read in an article where psychologist have highlighted parents to give enough time to child during their early years. It is a crucial stage of learning for them. Bad environment or bad influence may help them become aggressive and otherwise. I've been keeping myself at par with the aforementioned  findings whenever I meet children. As I was saying about Chimi, let me share one of the incident with her that made me to rethink time and again.

Chimi and I were washing kitchen utensils. We were only three of us at home including her eldest brother. As usual she was asking me many thing and in between I was also actively involving her do the washing. Since I've a backache, I often stretch and ease my stiff muscles. That time too I erected my back, twisted my neck and ultimately muttered, “a-la-la-la Shi-lay-la Jung.” She paused her busy hand and looked quzzically at me. She then said, “Aku, we will die even having a backache?” It prompted me to ask about death instead of answering her. 

“What is dying?” Said I.

“Aku, you don't know?” Said she, “It is like sleeping.”

Like sleeping, I thought. Of course we go for a longer sleep. Wow feeling aroused in me. “Are you afraid of dying?”

“Obviously I'm afraid,” She replied, “are you not?”

“Why?” Said I.

She was trying to find something in her head and then reassured herself by asking me. “Aku, if there is lots of blood coming out, you will die. “ she said and continued, “are you not going to get scared if blood oozes from your body?”

“Oh, we will die only if blood comes out?” I rephrased the line.

“Yes.” She confidently said.

“Chimi, who taught you all this things?” I said.

“Aku my ama told me.” She adorably said this line.

To check her, I couldn't hold myself from creating lots of question in my head but she was not willing to respond to every question. We know how scared children's are just when they see blood, even if it comes out of their scratched skin. For them world is defined by whoever is around them. Chimi is scared of death but she don't know why? Seeing a red blood Chimi gets afraid so much so that she finds death in it.  Maybe we carry the experience of death from our past lives though it is difficult to recollect. I'm sure Chimi will come to ķnow life more deeper as and when she enters the different stages of life. I hope that she'll also know about birth and death better than her mother’s words. The ultimate goal of us is to improve in life eventually reaching a desired goal.