Often, when children pose questions that adults don’t have answers to, they avoid the questions by saying things like, ‘God only will have the answer to this’, and when asked, ‘Who is God? Who should we go to, to ask this?’, children are often pointed to an idol or an image of God. Then, the children bow their heads in front of this image daily and learn to talk to God. In this way, God or Bhagwaan enters the lives of children, and the presence of God becomes more believable than even those of fellow humans. Mavli is not visible; she has no photo or idol. She lives in the chulha or can be in the adaka. Mavli can be anywhere. And since she can be anywhere, everything that belongs to the Earth, whether it is living or not, should be respected. This is what Aaji (Gehna’s grandmother) tells young Gehna. Actually, Mavli lives within our homes and our consciousness. She can’t be felt just because someone tells us she is there. She can only be found when we try to find her within us, alone.
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