A Lesson To Ponder Over Poem by Rajaram Ramachandran

I asked the hot Sun,
'Oh, you mighty one,
Why you rise in the East
And set in the West? '

It laughed and said,
'Oh, no, you're misled,
For I rise or set not,
Nor go or move about.'

'The Earth which rotates
On its own orbital axis,
Throws out an illusion,
Thus gives a false vision.'

I asked the cool Moon,
Thereafter but soon,
'Why are you waxing
And also waning? '

It smiled and said
'Sir, pay no heed
To this kind of lie
That your look goes by.'

'It's the shadow of the Earth,
In between the sun's path,
Cast over me, left or right,
Turns me dark or bright.'

I asked the hanging stars,
'How you twinkle across,
All over the night sky,
Brightening the milky way.'

They said, the Sun's light,
That keeps us bright,
In turn, we do reflect,
His rays, what we get.

I asked the blue Ocean,
A different question,
'Why you create the waves
Which make much noise? '

It explained in brevity,
The theory of gravity,
That makes the water,
Rise and fall all over.

Why the classroom lessons say,
The truth in a different way,
That the Sun rises in the east,
And sets in the west?

That the Moon waxes and wanes,
While in full shape it remains?
That the waves are born
Out of the ocean and so on?

The teacher came with a reply,
When I asked him why?
The kids what they see,
Accept it simply, confusion-free.

Oh Sir, better teach the truth,
Right from their youth,
And let not, what is untruth,
Be taught from your mouth.