Son, you are away,
all grown up,
acting like a grown up;
I am allowing you to be that way;
I know you did not need
my permission for that.

I have been in labor
for the last sixteen years.
Your body was easy to be born;
it is different with your mind.

You came with the seeds of kindness
and gentleness towards all;
"Mom, let that fly eat,
it is hungry that is why
it is sitting on my food.
I was teaching hygiene
and removing that fly;
coming from a two year old,
it was so profound.

Roots of compassion are
deep in your heart;
in the midst of lessons in economics
you told me
"Mom I gave money to a poor woman
in Port Authority,
she looked as if she needed it.

I never knew you could tell
other people's needs;
I have screaming my needs everyday,
"Put your shoes away,
"Don't drink too much soda,
"Don't play that music too loud."
and you pay no mind.

In the midst of my labor pains,
in the midst of your fast pace of growing up,
I only hope that I have planted
some seeds of Jainism in your heart
that will bloom for ever and ever
even in a foreign soil.

For these seeds contain
the essence of life;
they make life easy
and they give meaning to life.
I only planted them;
keeping them alive
is up to you.
That is my wish for you.

Son, you were six years old.
We lived in a holy city.
We took you to the Jain temple,
we recited Namokaar Mantra,
and many prayers and worships.
We taught you not to hurt even an ant,
and to be kind to all living beings.
But above all, we taught you to be gentle
and fair and straightforward.
It was a profound lesson.

One day, we went to a movie.
It was the story of a young man and his mother.
When it was intermission and the lights came on,
we found that you were sobbing softly
and tears were rolling down your tender cheeks.
We were at a loss to understand
What had gone wrong.
With much difficulty you said,
"Why does that young man neglect his mother?"
He should not hurt her feelings;
he should fulfill her wishes and keep his mother happy."

Once we were going in a rickshaw
from the city to the university.
The sun was hot;
the man was working hard,
pushing the pedals of the rickshaw.
We had agreed to pay him a rupee.
You observed the sweat flowing down
the poor man's bare shoulders;
and said in profound wisdom,
"We have already traveled
the distance worth a rupee;
now we should pay one and one-half rupee
to the man taking us to the university."

Son, we were filled with joy
and we felt so proud of you,
for your kindness and fairness.
Your kid brother followed in your footsteps
and imbibed these qualities.

The world is not fair always
and there is violence all around us;
there is greed and selfishness,
and virtue is not rewarded sometimes.
But I hope you will fill the air around you
with sacrifice and love and joy,
like the roses that bloom among thorns.

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