"But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die". Genesis 2:17

One of the first 'stories' that we were taught as children and which has been harped on endlessly, is the fall of grace by Adam and Eve. I think it is one of the saddest stories I have ever read or heard of. History and Literature has given us great and tragic love stories.

I shudder in my chadds when I use the word 'love' for the sure reprimand that will come my way from Anjali, but anyways the more tragic the story, the better it captures our imagination. Successful love stories don't possess the charisma of a failed one. Maybe that is why I have been moved by the story of God and Adam. To many people and the varied interpretations, the story of the Beginning is largely narrated to display the grandoise and magnificence of God and his creation and secondly as a reprimand to all of us who believe that the pleasures of the flesh are pleasures indeed. I can go on about the stigma of sin attached to it and what it does to our psyche and the guilt trip we fly into the sunset with... but that is another post at another time!

So... God creates Paradise and gives Adam everything he thinks Adam needs but withholds from him the Tree of Knowledge. Hmnnn... the prostitute (protestant!) in me has always balked at this what I have considered as mean and unfair. Why dig up a carrot and dangle it tantalisingly and say hands off??? (Bugs Bunny is nodding in vigorous approval), to which the answer has always been that there are some things you are better off not knowing and that all knowledge is not good. Prostitute is all up in arms!!! How can you say that... What do you mean... Let me learn what there is to and then decide whether that is true or not...

Hasn't taken me too many years to do a U-turn on this. Ever since I became a mother I began believing in this adage and have used it endlessly with the kids. "Mum... what is xyz?". Although flummoxed that the question is thrown at me I look and behave nonchalant and brush it off with a "You don't need to know now, you're too young for that". Now as they are older and are probably more knowledgeable in various fields ( I'm not even going there!) I'm having similar conversations about substance abuse with the kids and I tell them that "some things you are better off not knowing and all knowledge is not good".

The internal prostitute weeps.

Life's all about U-turns and eating your words faster than they got out of your mouth. Kids make you do that. I guess that's one knowledge we should all have and pass down to all. That we really should be careful and mindful of what we say, because we may have to eat them one day!

And... do I concede defeat now and say I was wrong about knowledge... :)

I bow down as gracefully as I can... People who know me will know why I used 'graceful' and simply say... He who made me knows Best!!! Knows what's right for me and what's not and know's what I need and when and He makes All things beautiful, in his time...

Ended rather dramatically didn't it... Mother will be proud (if she ever discovers this blog :D)