This is what my son asked me last night as I was lying next to him, he holding my hand, playing with my hair and nose, as I tried putting him down for the night. It was dusk, the sun bathing his room pale blue, no birdsong, just the calm silence of approaching nightfall. I told him that Shri Ganesha protected all the children, that he was the God of innocence, dharma, morality and courage, and that he was always everywhere. That he had countless hands and countless eyes, and was always listening and watching everyone. Like him all the Gods of all the religions were always present whenever you prayed to them, and they were always there to help him and me and everyone and even Elmo and King Fu Panda!

"But what about the Nazis? Did they have God too? Were there some good Nazis and some bad Nazis, mommee?" For a minute, I was amazed at the questions that a 4 yr old can ask, but that serves me right for letting him watch "DogFights" on the history channel. So, then I found myself talking about the Swastika (which is an ancient Hindu symbol of Shri Ganesha), and Hitler and Schindler. But the specifics oriented right brained child that he is, he just wanted to know if ALL Nazis were bad, or only some of them. And if they were "in between", then where was their Shri Ganesha? I think I found myself in meditation at that point. I got into such a deep state of meditation just lying there with my son, and I felt as if the silence of that profound moment answered him in the language of the cosmos, much better than I could have...

I think I will now start teaching him about Gandhi and his philosophy of condemning the crime and not the criminal.