What was Kalam’s father’s response to his son’s query about prayer and spirituality?

What did Kalam’s father tell him about the relevance of prayers?

In the prose piece ‘Strong Roots’, extracted from APJ Abdul Kalam’s autobiography ‘Wings of Fire’, we see that as a child, Kalam was convinced that their prayers reached God. When he grew older, he asked his father about the relevance of prayers. Kalam’s father gave a meaningful answer. He said that prayers help us to transcend our body and become a part of the cosmos which knows no division of wealth, age, caste or creed. Therefore prayers help us to overcome the narrowness of mind, separatist tendencies and control negative emotions like anger and hatred. Kalam’s father also conveyed complex spiritual concepts in lucid Tamil. He pointed out that every human being is a specific element within the whole of the manifest divine being. Hence one should not be afraid of sufferings and problems, rather try to analyse its relevance and reasons. Adversities should be treated as opportunities for introspection. Thus, he enriched young Kalam with spiritual knowledge.

What information do we get about the daily routine of Kalam’s father from the autobiographical piece Strong Roots’? How did it inspire young Kalam?

Kalam’s father led a very disciplined and austere life. He used to wake up at 4 a.m. every day and started his day by reading the namaz before dawn. After the namaz, he used to walk down to their small coconut grove which was about four miles away from their home. He would return with a dozen of coconuts tied together thrown over his shoulder and only then he would have his breakfast. He followed this strict routine even when he was in his late sixties. In the evening, he went to the mosque where after the namaz, people of all religions used to come to him with bowls of water in which he dipped his fingertips and prayed. This water worked as medicine for the invalids. He also spent time discussing spiritual matters with Pakshi Lakshmana Sastry, the high priest of the Shiva temple. 

This hardworking nature of his father inspired young Kalam to become like him-patient and wise. His father’s spiritual concepts made Kalam believe in the supreme divine power that can lift one up from misery and failure. He learnt that instead of fearing the odds, one must introspect and try to find the reasons behind his sufferings.