Explaining God

The other day an idle thought flashed in my mind – how would I explain religion to Appu? It intrigued S too and we both sat and mulled it over. For a child whose comprehension is limited to the real and experiential, how does the abstract make sense?

Appu knows math. He loves science. He can spell excellently. He knows how to make his own snacks. He knows how to love and laugh. He also knows what angers him and why. He feels anxiety. He knows sadness. He is an emotional child with a heart of gold. But he does not know of God. And I realized that I do not know how to teach him about God.

Well, I thought to myself, let me lay it out logically. I expect him to understand that which he cannot see, touch, smell, feel or hear. It is no use asking him to believe that the beauty of all creation is attributable to an unseen force. He would simply stare in confusion. If I tell him that God will protect him even when his parents are no more, he would ask me where does God live, what kind of car does he drive, can God come to my house and endless such queries. He would also literally wait for God to arrive at his doorstep and keep an eye on him. He will ask me to show him pictures. Imagine having to google God and show him the results as I do with fractions or earthquakes or orangutans. In short, there is no logical way I can explain to a child with autism, the idea of God. And then I have to ask myself - why should you know of the idea of God to be the best person you can be?

Appu is the epitome of simplicity. He has all the characteristics of a good human being – lovability, generosity, inner joy without having any of the characteristics like envy, pride, vanity or egoistical arrogance that mar essential human nature. If I cannot explain God to him, how do I explain God at all? That being the case, why is it that this nebulous concept has created rifts among human beings – rifts of the sort that no one can bridge, rifts of the sort that see madmen opening fire on innocents including children, rifts of the sort that are made in the name of a compassionate and loving God? And how do I explain intolerance to him?

If the world were ruled by those with autism, it would be a far better place. It would be a world of discovery, of playfulness, of generosity. They would not see the logic in fighting over something that no one has ever seen. They would share their food with someone who has none. They would not mess up the world they live in. They would take joy in little things. On the days I wake up to headlines announcing death in a hundred different ways, I wish with all my heart that those instigating violence be given the understanding of children like my son. At least there would be no more killing over what one ate or how one chose to pray or how one decided to dress or whom one chose to make love to. The world could do a lot worse.